Keynote Speakers

(In alphabetical order by surname)

Title: Generative Online Course: An Innovation in Theory & Practice for Adult Education in the Age of AI

Li Chen
Professor and Former Vice President
Beijing Normal University

Profile

Prof. Li Chen is a PhD supervisor at Beijing Normal University. She is the Vice President of China Association for Educational Technology, CAET. She was formerly Vice President of Beijing Normal University.

She is the leader of Master Program and PhD Program of Online Education in Beijing Normal University. Her research is mainly focusing on Online Learning and Lifelong Learning. She is deep engaged in policy consulting in Online education and lifelong learning. She has authored and published more than 10 books and 200 papers.

Keynote address

The speech will present how generative online course can provide more valuable content to adults. Generative Online Course (GOC) is a new type of online course, which is based on the Regressive View of Knowledge and Connectivism. Generative online course is a knowledge community, not knowledge transfer activity, which is focusing on production and sharing of practical knowledge instead of theory. The speaker has been devoted to the research of GOC for 9 years with a team from Beijing Normal University. The team developed the third-generation online platform, which has offered more than 10 pilot courses of DOC in Mainland of China. The speech will present the theory, the practices, and findings from the date of pilot courses. The speaker wishes to emphasize that traditional courses are not good at delivering practical knowledge, which is the key nutrients for adult. The online space and AI can support the production and dissemination of practical knowledge by DOC, which is a historical opportunity for adult education in age of AI.

Title: AI Will Shape Universities. The Question Is Who Governs It?

Graham Kendall
Deputy Vice Chancellor
MILA University

Profile

Professor Graham Kendall is the Deputy Vice Chancellor at MILA University, Malaysia.

Prior this he was the Vice-Provost for Research and Knowledge Exchange at the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) from 2011 to 2016 and was then asked to head up the campus as Provost/CEO (2016-2021). He was also a Pro-Vice Chancellor of the (global) University of Nottingham. When he left the University of Nottingham in 2021, he was made an Emeritus Professor. He is currently a visiting Professor at the Hong Kong Metropolitan University and was previously a Distinguished Professor at the same institution.

Prior to moving to Malaysia (in 2011), Graham was a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham. He completed his PhD at Nottingham (1997-2000) and took on an academic role part way through his PhD. He worked for the University of Nottingham for over 20 years, split almost equally between the UK and Malaysia.

He has a 1st class degree in Computation from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) (1994-1997).

Graham started his career as a computer operator, eventually holding senior positions in the Information Technology sector, before going to university as a mature student in 1994.

He has been a fellow of both the British Computer Society and the Operational Research Society. He holds honorary and distinguished professorial positions at universities in Hong Kong and India.

His research is focussed on solving real world problems through the use of Operations Research, and utilising Artificial Intelligence methods which are based on Charles Darwin's principles of natural evolution.

He has written about 300 peer reviewed papers and has served on several editorial boards including being the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions of Computational Intelligence and AI in Games and an Associate Editor of the Journal of the Operational Research Society.

He has recently developed an interest in publication ethics and bibliometrics, including predatory publishing.

Keynote address

Artificial Intelligence is transforming finance, healthcare, logistics, media, and government. It is reshaping business models, decision architectures, and governance frameworks at strategic scale. Higher education presents a paradox. While universities are centres of knowledge creation, AI adoption across the sector remains fragmented and institutionally under-coordinated.

Lecturers, students, and research groups are utilising AI. Yet these developments are often disconnected from institutional strategy. AI is being embedded in practice without investment in governance, infrastructure, or long-term design. As a result, there is a risk that technological convenience replaces strategic intent.

A deeper concern is that universities are becoming consumers of AI rather than leaders in its development. Although research on AI is prolific, the sector is not consistently translating that expertise into institutional capability. Increasing reliance on external analytics providers, bibliometric platforms, automated writing tools, and AI detection or “humanisation” services reflects a market evolving faster than university strategy. Commercial incentives are shaping educational environments in ways that do not always align with academic priorities.

Governance is therefore the central challenge. Boards and executive teams acknowledge that AI is transformative, yet institutional oversight often lacks technical depth, data interrogation, and strategic coherence. Decisions are often informed by AI-derived data, predictive analytics and by relying on press reports as a main source of information. When fragile data underpin strategic judgement, institutional risk is amplified.

This keynote argues that the future of open and innovative education will not be determined by how quickly universities adopt AI, but by how deliberately they govern it. If higher education does not strategically shape AI, AI will shape higher education, and that will be detrimental to the sector.

Title: Artificial Intelligence and Open and Innovative Education

Mark Nichols
President, International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE)
Executive Director, Learning Design & Development, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand

Profile

Dr Mark Nichols is a global leader in open, distance, and innovative education, known for his contributions to the advancement of learning systems that expand availability, inclusivity, scalability, and sustainability. He currently serves as Executive Director, Learning Design & Development at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, where he leads education design and the adoption of artificial intelligence into curriculum design.

With more than two decades of experience across the tertiary and international education sectors, Mark has shaped policy, research, and practice in open and distance learning worldwide. He is President of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) and a Commonwealth of Learning Chair, roles through which he contributes to global dialogues on the future of technology enhanced education. He is also a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), an EDEN Fellow, a founding member of the Aotearoa Tertiary AI Network (ATAIN), and a lifetime member of the Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand (FLANZ).

Mark's research spans the pedagogical implications of digital innovation, organisational capability and strategy, and the ethical and strategic integration of AI in education. His published work includes contributions to international journals, books, and edited volumes that foreground openness, learner centred design, and system level transformation. A sought after keynote speaker, Mark is recognised for his ability to connect rigorous scholarship with practical insight. His work emphasises not only what AI can do for education, but what it should be based on – a clear vision of what education is and how learning works.

Keynote address

Artificial intelligence (AI) holds significant promise for transforming open and innovative education, yet many institutions struggle to move beyond small scale experimentation. A recent 2025 report highlights that while organisations are increasingly engaging with both agential and generative AI, few achieve meaningful, scalable implementation or realise measurable efficiencies. This ambiguity is amplified in open education contexts, where the potential applications of AI span learning, teaching, and administrative domains, but adoption remains uneven and largely operational rather than strategic.

This keynote introduces a practical, institution-wide framework designed to help open universities harness generative AI in ways that create genuine improvements for students, academic staff, and administrators. The framework emphasises the importance of a clear vision, coordinated strategy, and deliberate integration of AI supported practices across the organisation. It explores how institutions can cultivate experimentation while maintaining momentum toward sustainable implementation, balancing innovation with accountability, with the result of embedded AI capabilities that endure.

By focusing on process rather than output and grounding AI adoption in scholarly curiosity, reflective practice, and meaningful human oversight, the keynote argues that universities can raise institutional capability and deliver demonstrable improvements. Ultimately, it offers actionable guidance for navigating the complexity of AI adoption through an “all-of-university” perspective, ensuring that AI contributes positively and strategically to the future of open education.

Title: The Role of AI and Digital Assistance to Transform Higher Education: Lessons Learned from the Open University UK

Bart Rienties
Professor of Learning Analytics,
Director, Institute of Education Technology
Open University (UK)

Profile

Dr. Bart Rienties is Professor of Learning Analytics and Director of the Institute of Educational Technology (IET) at the Open University UK (OU). Since IET was established in 1970 we have been central to the OU's mission to be the world leader in researching, innovating and delivering supported, open and distance learning. As educational psychologist, he conducts multi-disciplinary research on work-based and collaborative learning environments and focuses on the role of social interaction in learning, which is published in leading academic journals and books. His primary research interests are focussed on Learning Analytics, Learning Design, and the role of motivation in learning. Furthermore, Bart is interested in broader internationalisation aspects of higher education. He has successfully led a range of institutional/national/European projects, currently leads the £5M Research Capacity Hub for ESRC, and has received a range of awards for his educational innovation projects. He is President of the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), the largest researcher community on learning analytics. He has published over 300 academic outputs, and is the 1st most published and cited author on learning design and learning analytics in the period 2014-2023 (Drugova et al. 2024), the 2nd most published author on learning analytics in period 2004-2024 (Kılıç & İzmirli, 2024), Networks in Education in period 1969-2020 (Saqr et al. 2022), and social network analysis in period 1988-2022 (Gandasari et al., 2024).

Keynote address

The World Economic Forum (2025) has estimated that around half of all employees would need reskilling due to technology adoption, underscoring how learning must be continuous and adaptable. Lifelong learning – embracing both new technologies like AI and the transition to a net-zero economy – is becoming the cornerstone of individual resilience and collective progress. Many students and educators already use publicly available Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or Mistral for academic purposes. However, there are concerns around the use of such tools, particularly in terms the impact on the quality of education, data privacy, intellectual property, and obviously academic integrity. Furthermore, many higher education institutions and distance learning organisations like The Open University (OU UK) have substantial learning materials and data about students that they may not want to share with others.

Therefore, the OU UK has been testing for 24 months with 1000+ students and 50+ staff in eight consecutive studies their own version of AI Digital Assistants (AIDA) using multiple methods and data sources (including surveys, interviews, think-aloud, alpha- and beta-testing of i-AIDA, live implementations). The findings indicated that 24/7 immediate feedback relevant to academic learning was essential for learners. Those who use AIDA are three times more engaged, and academic staff indicate that AIDA shortens their course production with 40-50%. At ICOIE I look forward to share our latest research findings of various AI applications and pedagogical innovations.

Title: A Critical Perspective on New Trends in Higher Education and Lifelong Learning

Katarina Popović
Secretary General, International Council for Adult Education, United Nations
Professor, Department for Andragogy, University of Belgrade

Profile

Katarina Popović, PhD, is a Professor of Adult Education at the Department of Andragogy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Serbia, where she also serves as President of the Faculty Council. She is a researcher at the Institute for Pedagogy and Andragogy and a visiting professor at several universities abroad.
She holds the position of Secretary General of the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), Vice President of the International Society of Comparative Adult Education, and President of the Serbian Adult Education Society. Additionally, she is Editor-in-Chief of Andragogical Studies and a member of the editorial boards of several other academic journals. Dr. Popović has authored numerous publications in the field of adult education and lifelong learning.
She is a certified adult education trainer (Swiss) with extensive experience conducting hundreds of training sessions worldwide. For many years, she served as Vice President of the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) and as Regional Coordinator for South East Europe at DVV International. In these roles, she participated in and coordinated numerous projects in adult education, lifelong learning, and vocational training, serving as a policy advisor, evaluator, curriculum developer, and trainer.
Dr. Popović frequently serves as a UNESCO expert and is a member of the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame. Her work bridges research, policymaking, advocacy, and practical adult education.
Driven by her deep engagement in global adult education policy, she actively contributes to the monitoring and implementation of Agenda 2030 within the UN system. She serves as Co-Chair of the Education and Academia Stakeholder Group and is a member of the Steering Group of the MGoS HLPF Coordination Mechanism for UN DESA's Agenda 2030 monitoring.

Keynote address

Higher education and lifelong learning are undergoing profound transformations, shaped by trends that offer both opportunities and significant challenges. This keynote examines key developments: digitalisation, ICT, and AI; economisation, marketisation, and internationalisation; skills-oriented learning; and the changing landscape of academic autonomy.
Digitalisation, ICT, and AI are expanding access to education, enabling personalised learning, and fostering new pedagogical approaches. Online platforms and AI-driven tools increase flexibility and adaptation. However, these technologies also exacerbate digital inequalities, undermine social-emotional and embodied learning, and raise concerns about privacy, algorithmic bias, and the diminishing role of human educators and social interactions in education.
Economisation, marketisation, and internationalisation have enhanced institutional efficiency, fostered innovation, and diversified funding streams. Stronger ties with industry and entrepreneurship link education more closely to employment. However, financial sustainability often takes precedence over academic integrity, shifting decision-making from educators to market forces and positioning universities primarily as service providers to industry. Meanwhile, internationalisation, while fostering collaboration and mobility, risks deepening global inequalities, marginalizing diverse perspectives, and reinforcing English-language dominance at the expense of local knowledge systems.
Skills-oriented learning addresses evolving labor market demands by promoting reskilling and upskilling. Competency-based programs offer flexibility and accessibility. Yet, an exclusive focus on skills reduces education to immediate employability, neglecting broader intellectual, civic, and cultural dimensions. This reductive approach undermines holistic learning and obscures structural power dynamics within education.
The shifting landscape of academic autonomy reflects evolving governance models and interdisciplinary collaboration, often framed as innovation. However, growing economic pressures threaten independent research and critical inquiry. Bureaucratic control, financial dependencies, and ideological pressures, including the influence of woke ideology, reshape academic priorities, narrowing the space for academic rigor and critical debates. As universities increasingly cater to external demands, students are positioned as clients, and knowledge is shaped by market and ideological imperatives rather than scholarly inquiry.

Keynote Speakers