Media & Learning 2026 will take place in Provinciehuis, Leuven, Belgium from Wednesday, 17th to Thursday, 18th June 2026.
This year’s conference will run under the banner “Co-Creating the Future of Learning.”
For the MLA 2026 conference, we have identified 14 themes that invite contributions from a wide range of perspectives — whether you are a policy maker, media producer, learning designer, teacher, or beyond. Proposals may take the form of workshops, presentations, panel discussions, Pecha Kucha sessions, or demos.
NOTE:
The theme descriptions are intended as inspiration. If you are unsure where your proposal belongs, the context provided beneath each theme can help guide you.
- One-size-fits-all vs One-of-a-kind
With the rise of hyper-personalisation, teachers and designers are moving beyond a single media ‘route’ to offer multiple pathways. A student might choose to watch a video, read an infographic, do an interactive exercise, or listen to an audio resource covering the same content — depending on their preferences, needs, or context. The challenge is designing these unique pathways while maintaining fairness, shared standards, and authentic assessment.
- From passive media to generative co-creation
Exploring how generative AI (video, image, speech) is transforming and remixing media production and how it reshapes the roles of learners and teachers as co-creators.
- Narratives across modalities: story, sound, simulation
Humans learn, remember and make sense of the world through narrative. In higher education, media is no longer confined to text, lectures, or slides — teaching and research now unfold across multiple modalities, blending storytelling, pedagogy and cross-disciplinary media forms.
- Augmented agency: learners, media agents & AI companions
AI agents or media companions that scaffold, tutor, co-author — what does it mean to give agency, control, transparency, and how do we address the implications of these emerging roles in higher education?
- Media, memory & futures
In higher education, so much of what we create — from videos and simulations to online courses — can be short-lived. How do we preserve digital heritage, keep valuable media accessible and manage versioning as technologies and formats change in a sustainable way?
- Responsibility by design: evidence and myths in learning technology
Scientific evidence behind technology in education: which tools genuinely enhance learning, which fall short, and why. We invite researchers, teachers, designers, and policymakers to separate hype from reality, drawing on data, case studies and critical perspectives.
- Rethinking assessment: from exams to experiences
Assessment in higher education is shifting from standardised tests and essays to richer, more authentic forms. From video portfolios and podcasts to XR simulations and interactive dashboards, multimedia opens new ways for learners to showcase skills and creativity. The challenge is designing assessments that are engaging for students, workable for teachers, and trusted by institutions.
- Learning analytics–driven media iteration & feedback loops
Analytics are no longer just retrospective reports — they are becoming dynamic tools that shape how courses and media evolve in real time. By using engagement data, A/B testing, and media-level metrics, learning designers and educators can refine, remix, and adapt their content continuously. Media is no longer static; it is versioned, tested, and responsive. Advanced systems even suggest alternative media or prompt learners to switch modalities when attention drops.
- Future-ready media skills
The pace of change in media production within higher education and beyond. As budgets shrink, roles blur, and new tools emerge, the boundaries between professional media creators, educators, students, and non-professionals are shifting. What does it mean to be a professional media producer in 2026? How are student skillsets outpacing (or reshaping) staff expertise? How can institutions maintain high production standards with reduced budgets and rising expectations?
- Gamification & playful design
Gamification is no longer just points and badges — today it’s deeply embedded in learning environments through quests, narratives, AI-driven challenges, peer review systems, and game-like assessments. How do we ensure such gamification is sustainable, inclusive, aligned with learning goals, scalable and not just a novelty effect?
- Cognition without overload
How do we design courses and media that avoid overloading learners while still challenging them? What role do breaks, pacing, microlearning, narrative structure, and multimodality play in reducing unnecessary cognitive load? How do we promote healthy mindedness — resilience, focus, intrinsic motivation — in a high-pressure academic environment?
- Through the learner’s eyes (or ears)
There is often a gap between what educators, designers, and institutions aim to achieve with media and how students actually experience it. While staff may design with clear intentions, learners frequently interpret, adapt, or repurpose media in unexpected ways. Examining these differences highlights the importance of student agency, feedback, and co-creation, and helps us understand how media genuinely supports — or sometimes fails to support — learning in higher education.
- Beyond the degree
Micro-credentials, lifelong learning, and skills for unpredictable futures — how do we rethink recognition and achievement? What role should CTLs play in ensuring quality, equity, and sustainability in credentialing beyond the degree? How can learners be better supported in navigating lifelong learning journeys across disciplines, platforms, and borders? And how do audio-visual departments contribute?
- Learning Without Borders
Media can break down barriers of language, culture, geography, and accessibility, creating new opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange. Higher education can design inclusive practices that embrace diversity, amplify underrepresented voices, and foster equitable participation across global classrooms — while imagining the future of educational spaces as truly open, connected, and inclusive.
Submission deadline is 31 January 2026.
