Awardee presentations

This year, IVEC is recognizing two groups whose presentation proposals received exceptional feedback from the technical review committee. We have invited them to give their presentations before the conference to spotlight their work. These sessions are free and open to anyone who registers for them using the links below (conference registration is separate and not required).

Building Belonging Into the Blueprint: Equity-Centered Virtual Exchange

Oct 14, 2026, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Eastern Time

A workshop presented by Olga Aksakalova, LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York, and Eva Haug, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

Register now!

Virtual exchange promises connection across borders, but proximity on a screen is not the same as belonging. Many COIL projects bring diverse students together while quietly reproducing language hierarchies, power asymmetries, and “virtual exchange tourism.” This 90-minute, practice-based workshop invites primarily COIL/VE coordinators (and interested faculty) to redesign their exchanges through the twin lenses of belonging and intercultural humility, aligned with SDGs 4 (Quality Education), 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

This workshop aims to help participants identify where belonging is supported or undermined across the COIL lifecycle and equip them with concrete, culturally inclusive design strategies that position students as co-owners of the virtual exchange space.

From Interaction to Augmentation: Human–AI–Human Virtual Exchange for Deeper Global Learning

Oct 19, 2026, 08:00 AM – 9:00 AM Eastern Time

A facilitated discussion led by Ayame Ishida, Keiko Ikeda, and Kinnosuke Manabe, Kansai University

Register now!

Virtual Exchange (VE) has traditionally centered human-to-human interaction as the foundation for intercultural learning and collaborative knowledge construction. Yet the rise of generative AI invites a reconceptualization of VE as a Human–AI–Human (HI–AI–HI) learning ecology, in which AI is not a replacement for human exchange but a mediating layer that can support more inclusive, reflective, and dialogic participation. This session presents an emerging pedagogical model developed in connection with the second phase of the JIGE (Japan hub for Innovative Global Education) initiative, where AI-augmented VE is being explored as part of a broader effort to evolve globally networked learning environments. 

Drawing on COIL-based implementations across different regions, the presentation demonstrates how AI can support different stages of the exchange cycle: pre-exchange preparation through discourse rehearsal and contextual framing; live interaction through linguistic support and participation balancing; and post-exchange reflection through perspective expansion and critical interrogation of assumptions. The session pays particular attention to persistent inequities in VE, including linguistic hierarchy, uneven participation, and power asymmetries, and considers how AI may help address these without eroding the human core of intercultural dialogue. By shifting the focus from interaction design to learning ecology design, this session proposes a model of productive augmentation in which AI is intentionally orchestrated to enrich, rather than dilute, intercultural meaning-making. 

Awardee Bios

Olga Aksakalova is Professor of English at LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York where she founded and has been leading the COIL program since 2016. She was also a co-founder and continues to serve as a director of LaGuardia’s Office of Global and Experiential Learning. She is a member of the Advisory Board of COIL Connect, and she is frequently invited to lead professional development in the US and abroad around COIL pedagogy, research design, and program development. Olga is an author of multiple publications on the role of COIL in the US community college context and on COIL as an effective cross-border pedagogy for facilitating transnational dispositions. She has been a recipient of several grants for designing innovative and accessible virtual exchange programs, such as Global Scholars Achieving Career Success supported by the Stevens Initiative (2021-2023). Outside of Virtual Exchange, Olga’s scholarship focuses on composition pedagogy and writing center administration in transnational settings, as well as on life writing.  

Eva Haug is the Educational Advisor for Curriculum Internationalization and COIL/virtual exchange at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. She’s also an elected member of the EAIE Thematic Committee Teaching, Learning & Curriculum, where she’s been volunteering since 2018 and in 2024 she received the EAIE award for Outstanding Contribution. She wrote two Pathways to Practice publications; one on IaH for International Officers and the second on Getting started with virtual exchange. Eva’s a research fellow at the University of the Free State (SA) and an advocate for inclusive and decolonized COIL/VE. She has built a sustainable COIL practice at the AUAS, offering thousands of students the opportunity to experience international and intercultural teamwork. She has presented about COIL at many conferences and is regularly invited by universities to provide professional development for IoC and COIL.

Keiko Ikeda, Ph.D., is Professor in the Division of International Affairs at Kansai University and Vice-Director of the Institute for Innovative Global Education (IIGE). She specializes in Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)/Virtual Exchange, intercultural education, educational digital transformation, and micro-credentials. She has led numerous national and international initiatives aimed at advancing higher education internationalization and developing globally competent, future-ready learners. She received her Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Ayame (‘Amy’) Ishida, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Division of International Affairs at Kansai University, Japan. Her research focuses on educational psychology and international education, particularly learning motivation and AI-supported learning. She also practices Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) in her teaching. Her recent research has been selected for SPReAD, a MEXT initiative supporting pioneering AI for Science research. She received her Ph.D. from Kyoto University.

Kinnosuke Manabe obtained his Ph.D. degree in Engineering at National Central University in Taiwan. He developed learning theories as well as learning systems, and published journal papers in high-index prestigious international journals. Starting in 2023, he took a position at an Assistant Professor and project coordinator. His main research areas are human-computer interaction, digital recognition technology, and technology-enhanced education and pedagogy.