ASCILITE NEWS

ASCILITE 2026 Conference announcement

We’re excited to announce the 2026 Conference theme: The Future is Connection: Collaboration, Creativity and Compassion in a Digital Society. The theme invites us to explore how meaningful human connection continues to shape learning, teaching and educational innovation in an increasingly digital world.

We’re delighted to confirm our two keynote speakers for 2026: Maren Deepwell, an internationally recognised coach and consultant in digital education and leadership, and René Kizilcec, Associate Professor of Information Science at Cornell University and Founding Director of the Future of Learning Lab. Together, their work spans digital leadership, learning across networks and contexts, and the human dimensions of educational technology.

Save the date: 29 November – 2 December 2026

Elaine Huber
ASCILITE 2026 

Expressions of interest (EOI) are now open for the Community Mentoring Program

Are you looking for a mentor in 2026?  The Community Mentoring Program (CMP), including the Research Mentoring Program for Third Space, is a 12-month for program professional and academic staff, who want to partner with a mentor to work towards professional goals (such as research experience, building a professional profile or career development).

You can apply for the CMP as a mentee or mentor here.

If you would like more information about the CMP, please join our upcoming webinar. You will have the opportunity to hear from previous mentees and mentors talking about their experience of the program.

Date:  Monday 16 February
Time: 1:00pm AEDT
Zoom Link

Alternatively, more information is available on our webpage.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact CMP leads Pennie White, Lisa Bugden or Justine Maldon.

Pennie White, Lisa Bugden, & Justine Maldon
CMP Leads 

Women in Professional Leadership Program Open for EOI

The Women in Professional Leadership (WiPL) Program is now open Expressions of interest (EOI) for our 2026 intake from the 2 – 20 February 2026. You can apply as a mentor (here) or mentee (here).

WiPL is a 2-year mentoring program and is for women who are professional staff, and in roles HEW/HEO level 7 and above. The WiPL program provides emphasis on leadership development. The mentors are often in leadership positions with their own professional staff, and who understand the opportunities and challenges in these roles.

For more information about WiPL, you are welcome to attend our upcoming webinar:

Date: Tuesday 17 February
Time: 1:00pm AEDT
Zoom Link

Alternatively, more information is available on our website.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact WiPL co-leads Karine Cosgrove, Lisa Bugden or Justine Maldon.

Karine Cosgrove, Lisa Bugden, & Justine Maldon
WiPL Leads

TELAS in the Age of AI

It has been five years since the operationalisation of the TELAS framework. In that time, the emergence of generative AI has transformed many aspects of learning and teaching in higher education. The TELAS team is now exploring how the framework might evolve to reflect these changes and ensure its continued relevance in an AI-enhanced educational landscape.

Our work began with a session at the conference to gather feedback and ideas for an updated version of the framework. Thank you to those who came along and contributed.

We now invite anyone with a working knowledge of TELAS to join us in an online consultation session to contribute your feedback. Registration details:

Date: Monday 23 February 2026
Time: 2pm AEDT
Format: Online (Zoom)
Register – here

The revised TELAS framework is scheduled for publication by April 2026.

Elaine Huber, Chris Campbell, Lisa Jacka & Lisa Bugden
TELAS leads

Enhance Teaching Quality and Gain Recognition through TELAS: Apply for your course or program to have a TELAS Peer-Review

Are you looking to enhance the quality of your online or blended learning?

The Technology Enhanced Learning Accreditation Standards (TELAS) offers a rigorous, evidence-based framework to review and improve the design of digital learning, whether at the unit, course, program, school, or institutional level.

TELAS reviews provide valuable, structured feedback and benchmarking aligned with national standards. Reviewed learning packages receive a TELAS digital badge, which can support promotion, award applications, or internal quality assurance processes. Most importantly, the process helps ensure that students benefit from a more coherent and high-quality learning experience.

We currently have capacity in our review schedule. If you’re curious about how TELAS could be applied in your context or would like to explore a School or institution-wide approach please contact us on admin@telas.com for a conversation with the TELAS team. You can also review the accreditation fees here.

Elaine Huber, Chris Campbell, Lisa Jacka & Lisa Bugden
TELAS leads

Contextualising Horizon 2026

The Contextualising Horizon Report for 2025 is now live on the ASCILITE website
here.

We encourage you to read, use and share the report widely through your networks. The strength and impact of Contextualising Horizon rests on shared responsibility across the sector, and the more this work is circulated, discussed and applied, the more powerful it becomes in shaping learning, teaching and educational technology futures.

This fourth edition reflects another year of collective horizon scanning, sense-making and generous contribution. Looking ahead to 2026, we warmly invite the community to get involved by signing up for the STEEP and Technologies & Practices scanning sessions in February and March. We look forward to continuing this shared work together in 2026 and would love to see as many people as possible help us build the report for this year.

STEEP Workshops
11 February, 12pm – 2pm AEDT  (11am -1pm AEST)  https://bit.ly/44x6P3d
16 Feb, 12pm – 2pm AEDT  (11am -1pm AEST)  https://bit.ly/48GWWCv
Technology and Practice Trends Workshops
3 Mar, 12pm – 2pm AEDT  (11am -1pm AEST) https://bit.ly/4oYqh0g
5 Mar, 12pm – 2pm AEDT  (11am -1pm AEST) https://bit.ly/457skYv

Dani Logan-Fleming, Simone Poulsen, Rachel Fitzgerald, Keith Heggart & Henk Huijser
Contextualising Horizon leads

OTHER NEWS

University of Auckland Teaching Well Symposium 2026

This signature event brings together thought leaders, educators, and innovators to explore how education can reclaim its human-centered purpose in an era of rapid technological, social, and environmental change.

Theme: Re‑humanising Education: Utopia, Provocation or New Directions?
Date: Wednesday 18 February 2026,
Time: 9:00am–2:00pm NZDT
Where: In person – University of Auckland, City Campus

Registration and further details available here.

This year’s symposium features a keynote from Emeritus Professor Ronald Barnett (UCL), alongside a cross‑sector panel exploring what it means to teach well in the context of AI, ecological challenges, policy pressures and human‑centred education.

Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching MOOC Semester 1

The CAUT MOOC was awarded the inaugural 2024 CAULLT/HERDSA Award for Outstanding Leadership in Research and Development in Higher Education. If you missed out on this MOOC last year then Semester 1, 2026 enrolments have opened for the Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching MOOC. There are 24 modules to choose from!

This course is for those who:

•  teach in higher education anywhere in the world
•  are sessional, contract or continuing teachers.
•  want content designed by learning and teaching experts
•  want to reflect on your teaching and enhance your students’ learning
•   want to evidence your professional learning
•   are interested in scoping the course for their institution’s professional development program

You can choose which modules you explore and when, but we recommend one of the four pathways: new to teaching, enhancing student learning, enhancing your teaching practice or leading learning and teaching. Study is self-paced in two-hour modules that can be completed over a semester.

MOOC content is available to universities to share and adapt under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. The course is presented under the auspices of the Council of Australasian University Leaders in Learning and Teaching (CAULLT) and is led by Professor Agnes Bosanquet (Torrens University) and A/Prof Marina Harvey (Macquarie University).

16 February 2026 – 28 June 2026

Enrol here.

Enquiries: mooc@caullt.edu.au