IVEC 2026 Call for Proposals
IVEC 2026 will be held October 26-29, 2026, and will be a fully online event.
The proposal submission process opens February 19.
Download the Call for Proposals guidelines for further information on formats, review criteria, and other submission instructions.
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IVEC 2026 will be a fully online event. Reflecting input from the IVEC community and building on previous events, IVEC 2026 will foster engagement among attendees through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions and activities.
We invite proposals from individuals, institutions, and organizations worldwide focused on virtual exchange. We welcome proposals from virtual exchange practitioners (instructors, staff), administrators, and students who have participated in virtual exchange.
The conference language is English, and proposals should be submitted in English. However, in alignment with the ethos of the IVEC community, we encourage the inclusive and innovative use of multiple languages within conference sessions. All submissions will undergo a double-blind peer-review process. IVEC will notify applicants of the review process outcome in time to register by the early registration deadline.
IVEC 2026 will be held in a fully online format. Applicants must designate a presenter as the session moderator. The moderator will introduce the session topic and speakers, proactively invite audience participation throughout the session, and manage questions. For sessions with a single presenter, IVEC will provide a session moderator. In pursuit of including varied voices, participants can present in up to three (3) accepted sessions among synchronous workshops, synchronous facilitated discussions, and asynchronous flash presentations. The limit does not apply to networking events and synchronous invited roundtables. Please note abstracts have a 2,000-character limit for all session formats.
2026 Conference Tracks
Submissions are welcome in the following tracks. The descriptions below indicate the topics prioritized within each track.
- Innovation in VE Practice: Explorations of the use of innovative pedagogies and technologies, practice reports, case studies, and accounts of student experiences.
- Impact through Research: Presentations on research evaluating the impact and outcomes of virtual exchange projects, as well as the field more broadly. Proposals must clearly articulate the research questions and methodology and present concrete, completed results/analysis. Research conducted across multiple projects and/or with multiple iterations will be given preference.
- VE for Global Change: Presentations on intentional efforts to promote social justice, equity, inclusion, global citizenship education, peace education, and solving global challenges aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, either within the context of a virtual exchange project or by engaging the local and international community.
- Strategy and Policy: Presentations on the implementation of virtual exchange strategy and policy at departmental, school, faculty, institutional, and system levels.
- Shaping the Field: Proposals for defining virtual exchange, universal standards for professional development, assessment, ethical use of AI, privacy policies, etc.
Review Criteria
Proposals will be assessed on the following criteria:
- Alignment with a Conference Track: See specific criteria above
- Relevant: The proposal has high potential to attract conference attendees by addressing the community’s needs, raising issues important to virtual exchange and engagement, and offering content that can be broadly disseminated and understood.
- Clear: The session’s intended outcomes are easily understood.
- Engaging: The proposal prioritizes active engagement of participants, rather than simply sharing information.
- Well Researched: Claims are backed by sufficient data; claims draw upon relevant literature and/or multiple perspectives; and limitations are described honestly (research sessions only).
- Scope: Applicable to a broad range of practitioners at various levels
Session Formats
Synchronous Workshops (90 minutes)
Workshops are action-oriented, hands-on sessions intended to train and actively engage participants. Workshop proposals must describe the intended content, the session goals, and how activities and technology will be used to enhance/maximize engagement through hands-on components of the session.
Synchronous Facilitated Discussions (60 minutes)
These sessions should propose a topic or challenge that is relevant to the wider field of virtual exchange and outline a set of thought-provoking questions and/or breakout activities in order to guide an interactive conversation with attendees. Proposals can include roles for up to four (4) facilitators, but should focus on engaging participants rather than developing a panel of presenters. Proposals must describe the topic or challenge and explain the framework for guiding discussion and involving groups of up to 50 participants in active conversation, which may include breakout rooms, interactive online collaboration spaces, or other tools. Submissions should also include two questions/discussion prompts that the presenter(s) would like to pose to attendees to spark further conversation on the presentation topic. Supplemental resources informing the discussion, such as handouts or reference material, are welcome and may be listed in the proposal.
Asynchronous Flash Presentations
Flash Presentations are a set of concisely prepared, narrated slides that will be shared with participants asynchronously. Slide decks will be limited to 10 slides (excluding a cover slide, references, and contact information). IVEC encourages keeping narrated slide shows to 10-15 minutes. Proposals should include an outline of the presentation topic and content to be shared, plus two questions or discussion prompts that the presenters(s) would like to pose to attendees to spark further conversation on the topic.
Synchronous Invited Roundtables To maximize participant engagement and generate discussion, IVEC will invite authors of a selection of accepted Asynchronous Flash Presentations to participate in synchronous roundtable sessions grouped by common themes or creative interdisciplinary connections. Applicants who submit an asynchronous flash presentation proposal do not need to make an additional submission to be considered for a synchronous invited roundtable. |
Networking or Special Interest Group Events (60 minutes)
Bring your creativity and interests to fruition with a networking session. Special interest groups who want to continue their dialogue and work, groups interested in broad discipline- or topic-specific partnering sessions, and community members with fun ideas for engagement, are all invited to submit proposals for networking events. Proposals must describe the activity or event, explain the approach to creating engagement, and be able to involve groups of up to 50 participants.