Rethinking Quality and Accountability in Educational Technologies
Bielefeld University
May 26-28, 2026
Digital technologies are impacting education worldwide, raising new questions about quality, responsibility and trust. Join us at Bielefeld University and Wissenswerkstadt to explore ideas and exchange perspectives with researchers and edtech professionals from ten European countries.
Practical information
Time: May 26-28 May 2026
Venue: Bielefeld University https://maps.app.goo.gl/6kkkATyRq5P3yv7y9
Wissenswerkstadt Bielefeld https://maps.app.goo.gl/iFdtNLub1QTdUC3e8
Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please note that places are limited.
Provisional agenda
Tuesday, May 26 – Focus on quality
When does technology become valuable in education?
Workshops & Capacity building
| Bielefeld University – Room X-E1-201, X Building, Universitätsstraße 24, 33615 Bielefeld https://maps.app.goo.gl/6kkkATyRq5P3yv7y9 |
| Morning session | |
| 09:00-09:30 | Arrival and registration |
| 09:30-10:00 | Welcome to Bielefeld University –Opening address – Prof. Dr. Barbara Thiessen, Dean of the Faculty of Educational Science, Bielefeld University –International projects and collaborations – Kristina Schröder, Bielefeld University, Germany -EdTech Talents project – Prof. Dr. Janika Leoste, Tallinn University, Estonia -Introduction to the event – Dr. Cristina Popescu, Bielefeld University, Germany |
| 10:00-11:00 | Panel session – Digital landscapes in German education Moderator: Dr. Antoanneta Potsi, Bielefeld University, Germany –Digital technologies: Services, spaces, and support at Bielefeld University – Jan Felix Trettow, IT-Service center (BITS), Bielefeld University –University:Future Festival. Under Pressure! – Johanna Leifeld, Hochschulforum Digitalisierung –From idea to impact: Supporting EdTech startups in Germany – Nik Riesmeier, Founders Foundation, Bielefeld |
| 11:00-11:30 | Coffee break |
| 11:30-12:30 | Panel session – Quality and assessment of EdTech solutions in practice –Learning Cabinet initiative – Olli Vallo, UNICEF (online) –EdTech Evidence Report – Dr. Nicole Law, Researcher at Instructure –When certification substitutes regulation – Dr. Veli Hillman, EDDS Institute and Goldsmiths, University of London, UK |
| 12:30-13:45 | Lunch break |
| Afternoon session | |
| 13:45-15:45 | World café and round table – AI in (higher) education. Challenges and opportunities across countries Moderators: Sebastian Schwaebe, Blinc eG, Germany and Prof. Dr. Piedad Tolmos Rodríguez-Piñero, Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain Round table participants: Sarah Becker, CHE/Hochschulforum Digitalisierung Prof. Dr. Janika Leoste, Tallinn University, Estonia Prof. Dr. Luis Pastor, Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain Prof. Dr. Giedrė Tamoliūnė, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania Dr. Eva Ulbrich, Linz University, Austria |
| 15:45-16:00 | Coffee break |
| 16:00-17:00 | Theme session – Pedagogy and digital tool design Moderator: Prof. Dr. Simona Szakács-Behling, Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg, Germany –Co-design of digital tools – Chaula Gupta and Dr. Stefani Pautz Stephenson, Digital Promise (online) –Frictions and fractures in the making of Edtech: When pedagogy meets technology – Julie Lüpkes, University of Oldenburg, Germany |
Wednesday, May 27 – Focus on accountability
Should we trust AI and digital technologies in education?
International conference
| Wissenswerkstadt Bielefeld Wilhelmstraße 3, 33602 Bielefeld https://maps.app.goo.gl/iFdtNLub1QTdUC3e8 |
| Morning session | |
| 09:00-09:30 | Arrival and registration |
| 09:30-09:45 | Conference opening |
| 09:45-10:45 | Theme session – The terms of trust Moderator: Dr. Davide Taibi, Institute for Educational Technology, Palermo, Italy –What counts as (un)ethical in educational AI? – Prof. Dr. Michał Wieczorek, University College Dublin, Ireland (online) –AI literacy for soft regulation: what frameworks do (and don’t) do – Dr. Veli Hillman, EDDS Institute and Goldsmiths, University of London, UK |
| 10:45-11:15 | Coffee break |
| 11:15-12:30 | Theme session – Making sense of digital technologies in schools Moderator: Dr. Davide Taibi, Institute for Educational Technology, Palermo, Italy –Trained to take the lead? AI-related school leadership qualifications in Germany (and some impressions from China) – Dr. Sarah Fichtner, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany –From policy to classroom practice: Educational technologists as key actors in Estonia’s EdTech ecosystem – Tiina Kasuk, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia –Teachers’ professional agency in the age of algorithmic tools – Prof. Dr. Tobias Röhl, University of Education Zurich, Switzerland |
| 12:30-14:00 | Lunch break |
| Afternoon session | |
| 14:00-15:15 | Round table – Intelligibility and responsibility. Perspectives from the EdTech sector José María Cañas, JdeRobot, Spain Balázs Pethő, Education:NEXT, Hungary Sebastian Schwaebe, Blinc eG, Germany Liis Siiroja, EdTech Estonia, Estonia |
| 15:15-15:30 | Coffee break |
| 16:00-17:00 | Fishbowl conversation – Why research and evidence matter Participants: researchers, teachers, students, edtech representatives Dr. Veli Hillman, EDDS Institute and Goldsmiths, University of London, UK Dr. Nicole Law, Researcher at Instructure Julie Lüpkes, University of Oldenburg, Germany Dr. Davide Taibi, Institute for Educational Technology, Palermo, Italy |
| 16:30-17:00 | Collective conclusion – What’s next? Engaging with (post)digital futures |
Thursday, May 28 – EdTech Talents project meeting
| Closed-door session |
About the event
This event brings together diverse stakeholders, such as educators, students, edtech professionals, or researchers, from across Europe to exchange perspectives through interactive workshops, evidence-informed discussions and invited talks.
It offers a space to challenge assumptions and further develop ideas.
Why this matters now
Educational technologies are increasingly used in different contexts, sometimes with the idea that their value is self-evident. Yet the ways in which they are introduced and interpreted raise important questions about who defines their value and under what conditions.
In this context, the event focuses on two interconnected notions, quality and accountability, both conceptually and in practice. They are intentionally framed in a broad way to create space for dialogue across diverse disciplines and professional contexts.
Quality
Quality is about the value given to educational technologies by various actors. This includes assessment practices, international frameworks, and policy approaches, as well as how certain technologies come to be seen as desirable or worth investing in. It also refers to more personal ways of defining what is good for one’s own teaching and learning practice.
Within this landscape, stakeholders may assume they “know how things work”, but do they? Such situations highlight the need for clearer communication and raise questions of explainability and intelligibility. How do various groups make what they do clear to one another? How does this shape how people think and organize their activities?
Accountability
Further issues point to less discussed questions of accountability and responsibility. They may be understood in a focused way, for example, in relation to data protection, transparency of AI processes, bias, or ethics.
But accountability can also be approached more broadly. What kind of education of tomorrow are we shaping through today’s decisions? How are responsibilities distributed at both local, national and international levels?
Meet the panelists and speakers
Sarah Becker
Sarah Becker is a student research assistant at the Hochschulforum Digitalisierung (HFD) and currently a Master’s student in philosophy at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. Her work focuses on the intersection of higher education, technology ethics and participatory design, with a focus on educational technologies and artificial intelligence.
She explores how AI reshapes relationships between stakeholder groups in universities, particularly regarding trust, participation and the role of students in governance processes. Her aim is to move beyond framing students as merely affected by technological change and instead position them as active co-creators.
Dr. José María Cañas
José María Cañas is a telecommunication engineer (1995) and PhD (2003) by U.Politécnica de Madrid. Cofounded the RoboticsLabURJC at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) in 2000, where he holds a tenured position as Full Professor. He was member of Robot Learning Lab at Carnegie Mellon University (USA), did research at the Georgia Insitute of Technology (USA) and at the Instituto de Automática Industrial. He researches and regularly publishes scientific papers on AI driven Robotics and Robotics Education. He participates and leads competitive projects and private technological projects for companies. He teaches several courses on the same topics at bachelor degree and master degrees, has advised 10 PhD theses (+5 ongoing) and 40 Master theses.
He also leads the non profit JdeRobot organization (https://jderobot.github.io://jderobot.github.io), which develops open source software on Robotics and AI and develops robot programming tools. It has been selected by Google for its calls GSoC-2015 and 2017-2026, with more than 47 international contributors.
Dr. Sarah Fichtner
Sarah Fichtner is a social anthropologist and educational researcher. She is a post doc at the Institute of Educational Science at Leuphana University Lüneburg and was also a project manager and senior researcher at the FiBS Research Institute for Education and Social Economics until February 2026. Her research focuses on school leadership in both Germany and Africa. At FiBS, she led, among other projects, the first three editions of the Cornelsen School Leadership Study and, together with Hannah Glinka, the orientation paper “AI-Related School Leadership Training in Germany” for the Forum Bildung Digitalisierung. At the end of 2025, she was selected by the editors of Bildung.Table as one of the “100+10 Decisive Minds in the Education Sector” in the Think Tanks category.
Chaula Gupta
Chaula Gupta serves as Vice President and Chief Program Officer at Digital Promise Global, overseeing its national program team and its international portfolio. Previously, Chaula served as Vice President of The Chicago Public Education Fund, where she drove strategic programming and oversaw engagement, operations, and talent management. She founded Teach For America’s Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Initiative, which helped alumni entrepreneurs raise over $10 million to launch new education ventures. Chaula began her
Dr. Velislava Hillman
Velislava (Veli) Hillman is the founder of the EDDS Institute, a community-interest company that evaluates AI and education technologies and advocates for high-quality, child-centred digital learning. Her research examines the risks of weak guardrails in the commercial digitisation of education and the impact of data-driven systems on children’s learning and wellbeing. She has consulted organisations including UNESCO, the OECD, The World Bank, and the Council of Europe. Dr Hillman is currently a fellow of Asia-Europe Foundation, teaches at Goldsmiths, University of London, and is the author of Taming EdTech: Why Children Stand to Lose in an Unregulated Digitised Classroom (Bloomsbury Academic).
Tiina Kasuk
Tiina Kasuk is an Early-Stage Researcher and PhD candidate at Tallinn University of Technology, specialising in educational technology, hybrid learning, and telepresence robotics. With a background in computer science, multimedia, and pedagogy, she has over two decades of experience in digital learning and instructional design. Her research focuses on integrating telepresence robotics into education and supporting learning through digital tools. She has held leadership roles in educational technology at Tallinn University of Technology, contributed to EU-funded projects, and is an active member of the Estonian Association of Educational Technologists.
Dr. Nicole Law
Nicole Law, Ph.D., is a Researcher at Instructure, where she supports EdTech providers in developing research evidence. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oxford and has an extensive background in child development and literacy research. By bridging her academic research background with her work in the EdTech sector, she emphasizes the need for consistent, rigorous research that is directly applicable to the decision-makers and students it serves.
Johanna Leifeld
Johanna Leifeld works as a project manager at the Hochschulforum Digitalisierung (HFD), where she operates at the intersection of the present and what higher education institutions could make of it. Her work focuses on bias-sensitive AI use, mindset as a lever for transformation, and the strategic directions that institutions define. She is also part of the team behind the University:Future Festival, the largest event on the (digital) future of academic education in the DACH-region.
Links:
https://festival.hfd.digital/de/
https://hochschulforumdigitalisierung.de/
Dr. Janika Leoste
Janika Leoste is Associate Professor of Artificial Intelligence Didactics at Tallinn University and Assistant Professor at Tallinn University of Technology. Her research focuses on AI in education, educational robotics, telepresence robots, hybrid learning, and digital innovation in teaching and learning. She is the Principal Investigator of the EdTech Talents project.
Julie Lüpkes
photo: © Universität Oldenburg / Matthias Knust
Julie Lüpkes is a PhD candidate and research associate at the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany. She is critically investigating the digitalization of schooling, focusing on the genesis of educational technologies (edtech) in an AI startup. Using theoretical frameworks of Science and Technology Studies and Critical Data Studies and following a media ethnography approach, she looks at the creation of an AI-based grading tool. She examines frictions, fractures and dynamics in the ‘making of edtech’, between pedagogical concepts and sociotechnical environments, and looks into what these might mean for futures of and future-making in digital education.
In her talk, informed by her 10-month fieldwork in an AI edtech startup, Julie will give exclusive insights into her critical inquiry of the “making of edtech”. When edtech is being built, developers constantly negotiate which pedagogical frameworks should be realized in their technology, creating frictions and fractures along the way. In this dynamic process of translation, algorithmization, and automation, digital infrastructures play a defining role, often seeming to determine which concepts of education prevail over others. The primacy of pedagogical aims seems to clash with path dependencies of technology, a challenge edtech providers have to navigate through while trying to create better digital education futures.
University Profile: https://uol.de/en/educational-sciences/digital-education-and-schooling/team/julie-luepkes
Prof. Dr. Luis Pastor
Luis Pastor is full Professor at the School of Computer Science & Engineering in the Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid, Spain). His research interests include the use of technology in areas such as Education, Health and Training. Latest work includes using computer imaging, games and transmedia-like approaches for children with mild neurodevelopmental disorders.
Dr. Stefani Pautz Stephenson
Dr. Stefani Pautz Stephenson is Senior Director of Networks and Programs with Digital Promise. In that role, Dr. Stephenson leads a portfolio of projects catalyzing research-backed and co-designed solutions that respond to real-world contexts and challenges, including the Learner Variability Navigator. Her experience in education includes work in K-12 public schools as a teacher and administrator, in higher education, and in the nonprofit sector. She holds an EdD in Instructional technology and is passionate about including practitioner voice in research and development. Her areas of expertise include change leadership, instructional design, and learner variability.
Balázs Pethő
Balázs Pethő is an education expert, researcher, and manager with over two decades of experience in digital education, e-learning, and educational technology. He began his career in educational R&D at Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, where he worked as an assistant professor focusing on e-learning, ICT in education, and teacher training Throughout his career, he has led and contributed to numerous large-scale digital education projects, including the development of e-learning content, digital assessment systems, and innovative curricula used internationally. As founder of I-EDU Kft. he managed complex EU-funded education initiatives, supporting the integration of digital tools and methodologies in public and vocational education. He has been involved in creating STEAM courses, promoting robotics and AI.
Since early 2026, he has been working as a Digital Education Expert at Education:NEXT, supporting the organization’s professional activities. Education:NEXT is a leading Hungarian EdTech association that connects key actors of the educational ecosystem, promotes innovation based on international best practices, and supports the development and global market entry of educational technology solutions. His work focuses on bridging pedagogy and technology, supporting educators and institutions in adopting innovative, learner-centered digital solutions.
Cristina Popescu
Cristina Popescu is senior lecturer and researcher in digital literacy and inclusive education at Bielefeld University, Germany. With extensive international experience, she has previously collaborated as an expert with EASNIE-UNESCO, UNICEF and the French Ministry of Education.
Her current research draws on pragmatist approaches and on science and technology studies. It focuses on professionalization in the edtech sector from an international perspective, as well as on the ways knowledge and expertise move between science, technology and the wider public. In her work with student teachers, she also explores the technological and practical conditions for a more democratic and inclusive education of tomorrow.
She is the institutional lead at Bielefeld University for the Horizon project EdTech Talents and the organizer of the event “Rethinking quality and accountability in educational technologies”.
Nik Riesmeier
Nik Riesmeier is Director Education and Member of the Management Board at Founders Foundation in Bielefeld, Germany. He leads the EdTech Next programme — a publicly funded accelerator for educational technology startups in NRW — and oversees the startup education programmes at Founders Foundation as well as the Social Impact Republic. His work focuses on building bridges between startups, academia, and established organisations to drive innovation in education and beyond.
Prof. Dr. Tobias Röhl
Tobias Röhl is Professor at the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PH Zürich), working at the intersection of education and digital transformation. His research examines how schooling is changing in the age of artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on pedagogical professionalism, accountability, and the use of data-driven tools in education. He is a member of the Swiss Centre for Responsible AI, which develops responsible and ethically sound AI applications, and he also contributed to the European Commission’s expert group on artificial intelligence and data in education and training, whose work informed guidance on the responsible use of AI and data in schools. In a current project he investigates how the use of digital tools differentiated instruction contributes to (in)equity in education.
Dr. Eva Ulbrich
Eva Ulbrich is an educational scientist working at the intersection of STEAM education, digital fabrication, and teacher education. Her work focuses on integrating technologies such as 3D modelling and 3D printing (3DMP) into learning environments and developing frameworks that support teachers in adopting complex technologies in the classroom. She is involved in several European projects on STEM and STEAM education and collaborates with international partners on the design of experimental learning activities and teacher training formats.
Sebastian Schwaebe
Sebastian Schwäbe is a project manager specialising in European cooperation projects, including Interreg, Horizon, and Erasmus+, with a particular focus on digital education, competence-oriented learning, and validation. His work is situated at the intersection of educational innovation, competence development, and the pedagogically grounded integration of emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence as well as augmented and immersive reality.
Rather than treating these technologies as mere technical novelties, his perspective emphasises their pedagogical relevance, their didactic potential, and the conditions under which they can make a meaningful contribution to teaching, learning, and continuing professional development across different institutional contexts.
A central aspect of his work is the design and implementation of structured learning concepts that connect digital innovation with sustainable competence development. In this context, he draws particularly on the approach of competence-oriented learning and validation, which seeks to make learning processes more transparent, practice-oriented, and outcome-oriented.
The LEVEL5 approach provides an important conceptual foundation for this work, as it supports the differentiated description and assessment of competences across the dimensions of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. On this basis, his work contributes to the development of educational formats and project activities that combine methodological clarity with practical relevance for learners, educators, and organisations engaged in processes of digital transformation.
Liis Siiroja
Liis Siiroja
As CEO of EdTech Estonia and a board member since 2023, I lead a passionate community driving the future of education. Our mission is bold: to establish Estonia as the world’s leading EdTech nation. We connect, represent, and empower Estonian Ed Tech companies through collaboration, advocacy, and international partnerships- fostering a learner-first ecosystem that inspires global innovation.
In addition, I’m the co-founder and CEO of KideoCall, an Ed Tech supporting expat families in maintaining their children’s native language(s) and cultural ties through online playgroups. As a parent to multicultural children, I deeply relate to the joys and complexities of raising kids in multilingual, cross-cultural environments.
Though my professional roots are in communications, education has always been my passion. I previously led communications for Tagasi Kooli (Back to School), helping bridge the gap between students and the working world. I’m also active in the Estonian Montessori Association, championing interest-led learning and self-directed education. My journey in education began hands-on-as a camp counselor, kindergarten assistant, and substitute teacher.
Dr. Simona Szakács-Behling
Simona Szakács-Behling is a professor of education specializing in intercultural and comparative educational research at Helmut Schmidt University/University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg. Research interests: Transnationalization and internationalization of, and within, schools and education; global citizenship education; racism and discrimination; educational media; digital transformation; and qualitative and comparative methods in educational research.
Contact: szakacss@hsu-hh.de; ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4454-6008
Website: https://www.hsu-hh.de/ivb/en/prof-dr-simona-szakacs-behling/
Dr. Davide Taibi
Davide Taibi is a senior researcher at the Institute for Education Technology of the National Research Council of Italy. Since 2001 he has been working in the Educational Technology research area and his main interests concern pedagogical applications to smart environments, learning analytics, enriched reality, social media, and artificial intelligence in education. He coordinated EU-funded projects in the field of AI and Data Literacy. He is also a contract professor at the Computer Science department of the University of Palermo.
Dr. Giedrė Tamoliūnė
Giedrė Tamoliūnė is an associate professor at Education Academy and senior specialist at the Institute for Study Innovations at Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania. She is involved in European and national scientific and applied R&D projects focusing on technology-enhanced teaching and learning, which is also the core of her research. Her interests further include digital didactics, AI in education, digitally competent educators and organisations, and adult education. She has been a Deputy Chair of Steering Committee of the EDEN Network of Academics and Professionals (NAP) since 2023.
Prof. Dr. Piedad Tolmos Rodríguez-Piñero
Piedad Tolmos is a Professor at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Madrid, Spain), where she combines her academic activity with departmental leadership as Director of Department. Her research focuses on Mathematics Education, mathematics teacher training, and the application of digital technologies and artificial intelligence to enhance teaching and learning processes in higher education. She has published extensively in these fields and actively leads and participates in international and local research projects, and educational innovation initiatives.
Jan Felix Trettow
Jan Felix Trettow – IT staff, IT-Service center (BITS), Bielefeld University.
Olli Vallo
Olli Vallo is a former teacher who has worked in the EdTech field since 2013. He has contributed to the development of several EdTech evaluation methods and has evaluated hundreds of digital learning products. He now works at UNICEF, where he works on the Learning Cabinet initiative, a global catalogue of EdTech tools with demonstrated evidence of impact.
Prof. Dr. Michał Wieczorek
Michał Wieczorek is an Assistant Professor at the School of Education, University College Dublin examining how new technologies shape the goals, values and practices in education. Much of his work points out that a lot of technology that we see in schools today – especially AI – is pretty bad. His expertise in philosophy of education and applied ethics helps him define what counts as bad and discuss how to make edtech better.
Webpage: https://people.ucd.ie/michal.wieczorek/about
