Special Sessions

Cybersecurity is an increasingly interesting area for many engineers of diverse backgrounds. Moreover, many disciplines that are not primarily related to Computer Science and Electrical Engineering are affected by the recent advances in cybersecurity. Traditionally, cybersecurity was related to mathematics for building cryptographic primitives and engineering for building secure systems. This is not the case anymore, since cybersecurity is a much broader and more complicated domain involving many different areas of knowledge from Computer Science to several other sciences (e.g., Law).

Transnational Education (TNE) involves academic programmes delivered in partnership between institutions from different countries. While offering students access to global educational opportunities, TNE presents unique challenges, including cultural diversity, curriculum alignment, and equitable access to resources. These challenges are particularly significant in engineering education, where industry standards, technological infrastructure, and pedagogical expectations can differ across contexts.

The fast-paced acceleration of Digital Transformation, fueled by advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), is profoundly reshaping industries, societies, and the very nature of work. This paradigm shift presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges for engineering education. To equip future engineers as leaders in this evolving landscape, a critical constraint is to move beyond simply teaching technical skills. Instead, we must cultivate a "human-centered" approach that integrates technical proficiency with business and ethical leadership skills, sustainable innovation, and adaptability in the face of continuous digital change.

Online and Remote Laboratories (ORLs) have matured into a central element of technology-enhanced learning in science and engineering education. They enable authentic experimentation with real equipment independent of time and place, overcoming the logistical and financial barriers of traditional laboratories. Research has shown that thoughtfully designed ORLs can yield learning outcomes equivalent to or even surpassing traditional settings (Brinson, 2015; Ma & Nickerson, 2006).

Despite decades of progress, women are still underrepresented in engineering-a field that shapes the world we live in. While initiatives to support women in STEM have gained momentum, barriers such as gender bias, lack of mentorship, lack of societal support, and systemic inequalities persist. Engineering a truly inclusive future requires not only acknowledging these disparities but actively working to dismantle them. This special session aims to explore the current landscape, highlights real-world challenges and successes, and outlines actionable steps for institutions, companies, and individuals to close the gender gap in engineering.

Higher education institutions face increasing pressure to prepare students for success in a rapidly evolving global society. For engineering students in particular, achievement requires not only advanced technical expertise but also the development of transversal competencies such as intercultural collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking, and digital literacy. Virtual Exchange (VE), which connects learners and educators across borders through structured online collaboration, offers an inclusive and scalable strategy to cultivate these essential skills while simultaneously advancing the internationalization of curricula. Digital Escape Rooms (DERs) are an emerging pedagogical innovation that can significantly enrich Virtual Exchange experiences. By embedding immersive, challenge-based scenarios into digital learning environments, DERs foster engagement, creativity, and teamwork, while reinforcing disciplinary content. Within engineering education, they are particularly valuable for replicating complex, real-world problem-solving contexts. Students must apply technical knowledge while working in intercultural and interdisciplinary teams, thereby integrating professional expertise with global and collaborative skills.

The Learning Sciences constitute a rich body of research on how people learn. Over decades, scholars have proposed theories, such as instructivism, cognitivism, constructivism, social constructivism, connectivism, discovery learning, situated and experiential learning, and many others. Also, a toolbox of methods and techniques have been proposed over the years. To mention a few, let's list for example, retrieval practice with flashcards o quizzes, spaced repetition, peer instruction, problem-based learning, project-based learning, one-minute papers, and the list continues. These methods and techniques have been used during many years; however, technology continually reshapes what is possible and how effective these methods can be. With the advent of Generative Artificial Intelligence, these techniques can be reimagined.

This Special Session focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of AI-enhanced educational platforms that prepare students for the future of engineering practice by fostering human-AI collaboration skills. Educational platforms-ranging from programming environments and simulation tools to virtual laboratories and project-based learning systems-play a central role in engineering education across disciplines such as computer, mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering. With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, these platforms are being transformed to include new functionalities such as auto-programming, AI-assisted problem decomposition, multi-agent collaboration, personalized feedback, and learning analytics. This session aims to bring together educators, researchers, and practitioners to explore how these innovations reshape engineering education and prepare students for emerging professional challenges.

This special session delves into the rapidly evolving landscape of engineering PhD programmes, with a particular focus on curriculum design, personalised learning paths, and the integration of formal and immersive educational formats. As the profile of PhD candidates diversifies, encompassing academic researchers, industry & business professionals, and future-oriented educators, engineering education must evolve to remain relevant, ethical, and human-centred in an increasingly digital and complex world.

This Special Session aims to explore how international collaboration, research-based approaches, and innovative teaching methods can significantly strengthen pre-university STEM outreach programs worldwide. By uniting passionate educators, dedicated researchers, skilled engineers, and forward-thinking policy-makers, it aims to foster meaningful global dialogue and build sustainable partnerships that expand and amplify the positive impact of STEM initiatives across diverse cultural, social, and educational contexts.

The special session "Engineering Education in the Global South: Contexts, Challenges, and Future Directions" at EDUCON 2026 is designed to shed light on how engineering education develops and adapts in environments that are often characterized by resource limitations, rapid demographic change, and urgent societal needs. Institutions in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and large parts of Asia are reimagining education not only as a pathway to technological advancement but also as a driver of social inclusion and sustainable growth. This session positions the Global South as a vital contributor to global conversations on education engineering, highlighting original approaches that respond directly to local realities while offering valuable insights for the international community.

This session focuses on the convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud computing in engineering education. Together, these technologies are reshaping teaching, learning, and institutional operations-from virtual laboratories hosted on scalable cloud infrastructure to AI-enabled adaptive learning systems and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms that support data-driven decision-making. The session will showcase research, case studies, and practical experiences that illustrate how AI and cloud can make engineering education more flexible, accessible, and responsive.

This Special Session focuses on advancing assessment in education by leveraging innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), learning analytics, and novel computational models. Traditional assessment strategies such as timed exams, quizzes, and static assignments often fail to capture the complex dynamics of modern learning.