ECTEL 2026: Keynote Speakers

Cristina Conati is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She received an M.Sc. in Computer Science at the University of Milan, and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Intelligent Systems at the University of Pittsburgh. Cristina has been researching human-centered AI and AI-driven personalization for over 25 years, with contributions in the areas of  Information Visualization, Intelligent Tutoring Systems, User Modeling, Affective Computing,and Explainable AI.

Cristina’s research has received 10 Best Paper Awards and  the Test of Time Time Award  2022 from the Educational Data Mining Society. She is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of AI (AAAI) and of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and co-Editor in Chief of the International Journal of AI in Education. She served as President of Association for the Advancement of Affective Computing (AAAC), as well as Program or Conference Chair for several international conferences.

Rupert Wegerif is Professor of Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge and the founder and academic director of the Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI) at Hughes Hall, Cambridge. He is the author of several influential books and articles in the area of educational theory, educational psychology and education with technology. His recent talks, articles and books offer a theoretical foundation for the design of dialogic education with AI and with technology more generally.