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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE · ZAGREB, CROATIA
Ethical AIChallenges in Contemporary
Higher Education
CONFERENCE DATES18–21 May 2027In person · English
LOCATIONZagreb, CroatiaFaculty of Croatian Studies
An interdisciplinary conversation about the values, choices and practices shaping AI in higher education.
Call for papers openSubmission deadline: 15 February 2027
18—21 / 05 / 2027IN PERSON · ENGLISH
Key dates
2027- Submission deadline
- 15 February 2027
- Notification of decisions
- 5 March 2027
- Registration deadline
- 20 April 2027
- Conference in Zagreb
- 18–21 May 2027
THE CONFERENCEWhat should guide
What should guide
AI in higher education?
Ethical questions emerge wherever technology meets educational purpose.
Artificial intelligence offers opportunities to transform teaching, research and university administration, while raising concerns about academic integrity, human judgment and established educational practices. How these opportunities and challenges are understood and addressed varies across institutions, disciplines and stakeholder groups.
The educational and ethical implications of AI are not predetermined. They emerge through the interaction of technological capabilities, institutional goals and practices, and human judgment. What is considered acceptable, responsible or harmful depends on how AI technologies are designed, selected, implemented, governed and used.
The conference welcomes diverse perspectives and critical debate about the purposes and values of higher education and the ethical principles that should guide its engagement with AI. Discussions will explore how stakeholders understand and negotiate ethical priorities, how these deliberations inform institutional decisions, and how their consequences can be evaluated over time.
THE QUESTION AT THE CENTRE
What values and purposes should guide higher education as it engages with artificial intelligence, and under what educational, institutional, and social conditions can its development, adoption, governance, and use be ethically justified?
Four themes.
An open conversation.
Explore the questions connecting research, policy and institutional practice.
Ethical Foundations and Contested Purposes
The educational, scholarly and public purposes of AI, and the negotiation of competing values in higher education.
Ethical Foundations and Contested Purposes
The educational, scholarly and public purposes of AI, and the negotiation of competing values in higher education.
- What educational, scholarly and public purposes should guide the ethical development and use of AI in higher education?
- What distinguishes ethically justified AI practices from those that satisfy legal, technical, operational or commercial requirements?
- How should competing values—including academic integrity, academic freedom, equity, privacy, accessibility, human autonomy and reliable knowledge—be considered and negotiated? What roles should different stakeholders play?
Ethical AI in Educational and Institutional Practice
How different stakeholders understand, use and shape AI in teaching, learning, assessment, research and administration.
Ethical AI in Educational and Institutional Practice
How different stakeholders understand, use and shape AI in teaching, learning, assessment, research and administration.
- How and why do students, educators, researchers, professional staff and institutional leaders differ in their understanding and experiences of ethical AI, and how do these perspectives shape its use?
- How is AI being incorporated into teaching, learning, assessment, research and administration, and what ethical considerations shape these practices?
- How do different stakeholders participate in decisions about the selection, adoption, implementation and use of AI technologies and practices?
Accountability, Evaluation, and Adaptation
Responsibility, meaningful human oversight and the evaluation of educational and ethical consequences across groups and over time.
Accountability, Evaluation, and Adaptation
Responsibility, meaningful human oversight and the evaluation of educational and ethical consequences across groups and over time.
- Under what circumstances does AI advance or undermine educational and scholarly goals, including human judgment, pedagogical relationships, academic responsibility, student agency and trust in knowledge?
- How should responsibility and accountability be shared among individuals, institutions, developers and technology providers while maintaining meaningful human oversight?
- How can the educational and ethical consequences of AI be evaluated across stakeholder groups and over time, and how should those findings inform the improvement, redesign or discontinuation of AI practices?
Interdisciplinary Inquiry
An open theme for contributions on AI, ethics and higher education that cross disciplinary boundaries, introduce emerging questions or extend beyond the other themes.
Interdisciplinary Inquiry
An open theme for contributions on AI, ethics and higher education that cross disciplinary boundaries, introduce emerging questions or extend beyond the other themes.
- How can dialogue across disciplines, methods or traditions of thought reveal new questions about AI and higher education?
- What emerging issues, overlooked contexts or alternative perspectives deserve attention beyond the other conference themes?
- How can exploratory, critical, creative or practice-based contributions open new directions for understanding AI in higher education and its ethical implications?
CALL FOR PAPERSBring your questions.
Bring your questions.
Contribute your perspective.
We welcome empirical, theoretical, conceptual, philosophical, policy-oriented, design-based and practice-grounded contributions.
Proposals should identify an ethical question or competing values, explain their relevance to higher education, and clarify the context, perspective and evidence informing the contribution.
Discuss your idea with us
For a panel, workshop or another session format, contact the organisers by email. These proposals are handled separately from the online paper submission form.
Email the organisersEach successful submission receives a unique reference number.
Who should contribute, and how will proposals be reviewed?
We welcome perspectives from higher education studies, sociology, education, philosophy and ethics, law and public policy, science and technology studies, organisational studies, psychology, computer science and related fields. University leaders, professional staff, academic developers, students and technology practitioners are also welcome where they offer an analytical or evidence-based contribution.
Proposals will be reviewed for relevance to the conference theme, clarity and originality, explicit engagement with an ethical problem or value conflict, appropriateness of the argument or evidence, and potential contribution to interdisciplinary discussion.
KEYNOTESPerspectives that
KEYNOTE PROGRAMMEPerspectives that
open the discussion.
Keynote speakers will be announced.
Speaker profiles, lecture titles and details will appear here as the programme takes shape.
ORGANISED BY
HOST INSTITUTIONFaculty of Croatian StudiesUniversity of Zagreb
CO-ORGANISERUniversity of Arkansasat Little Rock
PEOPLEThe people behind
The people behind
the conference.
Conference co-chairs
Prof Elisabeth D. Sherwin
Professor and Chair, Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Dr Erik Brezovec
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb
Prof Christian Morgner
University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Prof Steven Watson
University of Cambridge
Prof Brian Berry, PhD
Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Prof Irena Cajner Mraović
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb
Dr Ana Marija Dunaj
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb
Prof Marko Kardum
Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb
Dr Vanja Kopilaš
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb
Dr Lana Pavić
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb
Dr Mohsen Rafiei
Assistant Professor of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Dr Vanesa Varga
Department of Communicology, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb
Dr Marija Zelić
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb
JOIN US IN ZAGREBA place for
A place for
shared enquiry.
Faculty of Croatian Studies
University of Zagreb
Zagreb, Croatia
When18–21 May 2027
FormatIn person
Working languageEnglish
Conference fee€250
Registration and travel information will be provided with acceptance notifications and published here. Proposal submission and conference registration are separate steps.
SUPPORTING THE CONFERENCE
Partners and supporters
THE CONVERSATION STARTS WITH A QUESTION.
Submit your proposal