Call for Speakers Now Open for Tech Tactics in Education: Thriving in the Age of AI

The annual virtual conference from the producers of Campus Technology and THE Journal will return on May 7, 2025, with a focus on AI, cybersecurity, and student success.

• By Rhea Kelly
• 11/13/24

The call for speakers is now open for Tech Tactics in Education May 2025, a fully virtual event developed by the producers of Campus Technology and THE Journal. Taking place on May 7, 2025, the conference will focus on "Thriving in the Age of AI," offering hands-on learning, practical tips, and strategic discussions on AI, cybersecurity, student success, and other key technology trends across K–12 and higher education.

Prospective speakers are invited to submit proposals for a variety of in-depth and interactive sessions, including panel discussions, hands-on tutorials, campus/expert perspectives, and interactive Q&As. Sessions should address current and emerging technology, data, and security trends impacting education institutions and provide models for implementation, best practices, and strategies for effective technology leadership. Of particular interest are presenters who can provide hands-on exercises or concrete takeaways that attendees can utilize to fine-tune IT practices at their home institutions. Proposals are due Jan. 6, 2025.

The conference program will feature concurrent sessions in three tracks:

AI Across the Institution
From the classroom to the Administration building and everywhere in between, there's not one aspect of education that is untouched by advances in artificial intelligence. How can schools make the most of AI across teaching and learning, IT, operations, and other key areas? For this track, we're looking for practical applications of AI to advance the institutional mission, expert advice on AI risks, trends to watch, and guidelines for formulating an institutional AI policy that establishes guardrails without stifling innovation.

• Potential topics include: AI in ed tech, generative AI's impact on learning, evaluating AI tools, AI skills/training, AI policy, AI risk management, responsible AI, workflow automation

Cybersecurity in an AI-Powered World
Education institutions of all levels are attractive targets for ransomware, malware, phishing, and other types of security breaches, and emerging technologies such as AI are bringing new capabilities to both attacks and defenses. For this track, we’re presenting information that IT leaders can use to help defend their institutions or help them recover after the worst comes to pass — with a particular focus on how AI is impacting cybersecurity strategy. We’re looking for best practices, case studies, lessons learned, tips and tutorials to avoid or recover from disaster, trends and predictions in the area of data/network security.

• Potential topics include: incident response planning, threat detection, ransomware, network/data security, student and staff privacy, security operations, strategic cybersecurity planning, IT security leadership, IT security funding/budgeting, identity management, zero trust, cloud security, phishing, cybersecurity awareness, cyber liability insurance, securing remote work/learning environments, risk management, disaster recovery, training staff

Developing Data-Informed Strategies to Enhance Student Success
Education institutions collect a wealth of data on students, but many still struggle to translate that into a quantitative impact on student achievement and other outcomes. In this track, practitioners will share how they are revamping their approach to data across campus to enable data-informed decision-making and support the institutional mission — all while avoiding pitfalls and ensuring that data is secure.

• Potential topics include: learning analytics, predictive analytics, data literacy, data privacy and transparency, cultivating a culture of data, data governance, data integration, data infrastructure, data-informed decision-making, retention and student success, developing metrics and an analytics framework, student support, student experience

Presentation types include:

Panel Discussion
Panel discussions feature a moderator and at least two panelists speaking conversationally about an important topic or issue in the education community. Panelists must be secured before submitting a proposal. 

Interactive Q&A
In Interactive Q&A sessions, an individual or team serves as leader and moderator for a group discussion on an important topic or issue in the education community. Audience participation is key, with attendees encouraged to share their own ideas, experiences, and challenges. The session should utilize a shared digital worksheet or similar collaborative document to provide concrete takeaways from the discussion. 

Hands-on Tutorial
Tutorial sessions provide a hands-on workshop led by an education practitioner where attendees can engage in brainstorming, problem-solving exercises, small group exercises, and other activities that directly relate to their institution’s technology needs.

Campus/Expert Perspective
In Campus/Expert Perspective sessions, an individual or team presents first-hand experience with a technology project or expertise on a particular topic.

Presenters should be higher education and K-12 IT leaders and practitioners, independent consultants, association or nonprofit organization leaders, and others in the field of technology in education. Industry experts will be considered for non-promotional presentations only. Submissions will be evaluated for relevance to the education field, clarity of title and abstract, usefulness to attendees, and coverage of current issues and trends. Speakers chosen to present at the May 2025 Tech Tactics in Education conference will receive free event registration.

Visit the full call for speakers and submit your proposal here. For more information, visit techtacticsineducation.com.