Doctoral Consortium

Call for Participation

The 8th International Conference on Higher Education Learning Methodologies and Technologies Online (HELMeTO 2026), to be held in Cagliari, Italy, on 28–30 September 2026, is excited to announce its Doctoral Consortium, a dedicated session aimed at supporting the next generation of researchers in the field of educational technologies and methodologies in online higher education.

We warmly invite:

  • PhD students at any stage of their doctoral journey,
  • Recent graduates applying for PhD programs
  • Advanced undergraduate or master’s students planning to pursue a PhD

to submit their research work, even in early or conceptual stages.

List of Topics

Join us in exploring the future of technology-enhanced higher education! We welcome submissions touching on diverse and cutting-edge topics in digital technologies and methodologies in higher education. Here is a glimpse of the key themes you can engage with at the Doctoral Consortium:

Online Pedagogy and Learning Methodologies

  • Digital and hybrid teaching strategies
  • Feedback-centered and formative assessment approaches
  • Integration of formative and summative assessment
  • Case studies and best practices across disciplines

Learning Technologies, Data Analytics, and Educational Big Data Mining

  • Learning management systems and adaptive assessment tools
  • Learning analytics for performance improvement
  • Educational data mining for institutional enhancement

Artificial Intelligence in Education

  • Personalized and adaptive learning systems
  • Intelligent tutoring systems, chatbots, and virtual assistants
  • AI for automated assessment, feedback, and content creation
  • Generative AI for educational games and simulations
  • AI tools for syllabus design, instructional planning, and strategic support

Opportunities and Challenges of AI

  • Improving engagement, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity
  • Ethical issues, data privacy, transparency, and explainability (XAI)
  • Teacher roles, training, and professional development in AI-rich environments
  • Cost, infrastructure, and organizational challenges
  • Long-term trends and emerging research directions

Mathematics Education and AI

  • Digital tools and AI integration in university-level mathematics teaching
  • Blending concrete and digital resources in math education

Creative and Artistic Practices in Digital Learning

  • Use of visual arts, performance, music, and creative writing in online education
  • Aesthetic, narrative, and participatory approaches to foster engagement and inclusion
  • Digital platforms as creative, collaborative learning spaces
  • Multidisciplinary intersections of art, pedagogy, technology, and design

Inclusive Innovation: UDL and AI

  • Implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher education
  • AI-driven solutions supporting personalization, accessibility, and adaptive learning
  • Teacher education (pre-service and in-service) for inclusive digital practices
  • Policy, governance, and institutional strategies for UDL and AI adoption

Why participate?

The Doctoral Consortium offers a unique opportunity to:

  • Present your ongoing or planned research in a relaxed and supportive environment.
  • Receive constructive feedback and suggestions from experienced faculty members, senior researchers and peers.
  • Gain an overview of the breadth and depth of the conjunction between three main sectors Education, Computer Science and Psychology.
  • Network with leading academics and other early-career scholars as well as with peers and future colleagues.
  • Share experience and collect insights taken by other doctoral candidates.
  • Discuss concerns about research, supervision, the job market, and other issues.
  • Improve the quality and impact of your research project.
  • Publish the abstract in the HELMeTO 26 Book of Abstracts (with an ISBN).
  • Compete for the Doctoral Consortium Best Presentation Award, thus gaining the opportunity to publish an extended version of the abstract in the Springer post-conference proceedings (Communications in Computer and Information Science series.)

Submission Details

  • Submission format: A unique document including an extended abstract (maximum 2 pages + 1 page for references) and a PhD info sheet (after the references, on a separate page).
  • Language: English
  • Your abstract should clearly state:
    • Title of your research project.
    • Your name.
    • Research objectives and questions.
    • Context and motivation for your research project.
    • State of the art and/or key related work that frames your research.
    • Methodological approach.
    • Expected outcomes.
    • Preliminary results (if available) or expected contributions.
  • Your PhD info sheet (to be included after the references) should clearly state:
    • PhD study status:
      • PhD student (please specify your current year in the PhD program and the expected thesis defense date – month and year)
      • PhD candidate (currently applying for doctoral programs)
      • Student planning to apply for a PhD in the future (please specify your current year at the university and the expected graduation date – month and year)
    • Advisor/s name/s
    • University of belonging
    • PhD studies advancement:
      • Start date of the PhD program (in the case of a current PhD student)
      • Expected PhD program start date (in the case of a PhD candidate)
      • Expected graduation date (in the case of a master degree’s student)
    • 5 keywords describing your research studies
    • Key challenges or aspects on which you would like feedback.
    • One of the two main areas in which the presented research studies are framed:
      • Technology Enhanced Learning 
      • Educational methodologies
  • In addition, please note that:
    • Abstract must refer to main research proposal of the PhD candidate
    • Each abstract must not have contributors that hold a PhD including supervisors. They could be acknowledged in the “Acknowledgements” section of the paper
    • Each abstract must be presented by the student/s during the Doctoral Consortium
  • The abstract must adhere to the Springer Communications in Computer and Information Science (CCIS) instructions, that may be found here.
  • Authors are required to format their abstracts using the official Word and LaTeX templates provided for the HELMeTO conference. Specifically:
  • Submission system: EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=helmeto2026 (please select the “Doctoral Consortium” topic during submission)

All abstracts submitted for the Doctoral Consortium will be judged by a panel mainly on relevance, originality, potential impact and clarity.

The accepted abstracts will be published, free of charge, in the digital book of abstracts of the Conference (with ISBN). Each accepted abstract must have at least one registered author by September 01, 2026.

Students’ Participation Modalities

The authors of accepted abstracts will be asked to present their work at the Conference as follows:

  • An introduction of themselves and their Ph.D. project for the introductory session (1 slide). Duration: 1 minute.
  • A 9-minute presentation of their Ph.D. project to be used for introducing discussion about their project and its main issues. The Doctoral Consortium advisory board will comment on each presentation.

Advisory board

At the end of the Doctoral Consortium session, the advisory board there will promote a general debate based on all the students’ presentations, including a reflection about current and future research topics in the area. 

Doctoral Consortium Best Presentation Award

The best presentation will be honored with:

  • An official certificate of Best HELMeTO 26 Doctoral Consortium presentation
  • The opportunity to publish an extended version of the abstract in the Springer post-conference proceedings (Communications in Computer and Information Science series, indexed in Scopus and other major databases).

Important Dates

  • Abstract submission deadline: June 20, 2026 June 27, 2026 (extended)
  • Abstract notification of acceptance: July 14, 2026
  • Abstract camera-ready submission: July 31, 2026
  • Registration deadline for authors presenting at the Doctoral Consortium: September 1, 2026
  • Conference dates: September 28–30, 2026

Registration fees

For the authors of papers accepted to the Doctoral Consortium, reduced registration fees are available (refer to the Registration page).

Contact

For questions or further information, please contact the Doctoral Consortium chairs at conference@helmeto.it.

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