IAFOR > The IAFOR International Conference on Education in Hawaii (IICE) > IICE > Programme

Programme

The IAFOR International Conference on Education – Hawaii (IICEHawaii) is a multidisciplinary conference held concurrently with The IAFOR International Conference on Arts & Humanities in Hawaii (IICAH). Keynote, Featured and Spotlight Speakers will provide a variety of perspectives from different academic and professional backgrounds. Registration for either of these conferences permits attendance in both.

This page provides details of featured presentations, the conference schedule and other programming. For more information about presenters, please visit the Speakers page.

Conference Outline

Saturday, January 3, 2026Sunday, January 4, 2026Monday, January 5, 2026Tuesday, January 6, 2026Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Location: Hawaii Convention Center (3F)

12:00-13:00: Conference Check-in & Coffee | Room 306

13:00-13:10: Announcements | 310 Theatre & Online

13:10-13:35: Cultural Presentation | 310 Theatre & Online

13:35-14:00: Welcome Address & Recognition of IAFOR Scholarship Winners | 310 Theatre & Online

14:00-14:30: Keynote Presentation | 310 Theatre & Online
14:30-14:40: Q&A

14:45-15:15: Keynote Presentation | 310 Theatre & Online
15:15-15:25: Q&A

15:25-15:40: Conference Photograph | 310 Theatre

15:40-16:00: Coffee Break

16:00-17:00: Featured Panel Presentation | 310 Theatre & Online

17:00-18:00: Welcome Reception | Room 306 & Pa Kaloka Charlot Courtyard
This is a free event open to all registered delegates

19:00-21:00: Conference Dinner | Roy’s Waikiki
This is an optional ticketed event

Location: Hawaii Convention Center (3F)

08:30-09:30: Conference Check-in

09:00-09:30: IAFOR Information Session | Room 306

09:30-11:10: Onsite Parallel Session 1

11:10-11:25: Coffee Break

11:25-12:25: The Forum | Room 306

12:25-13:55: Extended Break

13:55-15:35: Onsite Parallel Session 2

15:35-15:50: Coffee Break

15:50-17:30: Onsite Parallel Session 3

17:30-18:20: Cultural Event | Room 306
E Hele Mai a Hula: A Hawaiian Music and Dance Workshop
Join us in exploring Hawaiian music and dance led by renowned Hula instructor Auntie Carolee Nishi, a Living Treasure of Hawaii.
This is a free event open to all registered delegates

Location: Ala Moana Hotel (2F)

09:00-09:30: Check-in | Garden Lanai

09:30-11:10: Onsite Parallel Session 1

11:10-11:25: Coffee Break | Garden Lanai

11:25-12:25: Poster Session 1 | Garden Lanai

12:25-12:55: Extended Break

12:55-14:35: Onsite Parallel Session 3

14:35-14:50: Coffee Break | Garden Lanai

14:50-16:30: Onsite Parallel Session 4

Location: Ala Moana Hotel (2F)

09:00-09:30: Check-in | Garden Lanai

09:30-11:10: Onsite Parallel Session 1

11:10-11:25: Coffee Break | Garden Lanai

11:25-12:25: Poster Session 2 | Garden Lanai

12:25-12:55: Extended Break

12:55-14:35: Onsite Parallel Session 3

14:35-14:50: Coffee Break | Garden Lanai

14:50-16:30: Onsite Parallel Session 4

16:35-16:50: Onsite Closing Session | Garden Lanai

Location: Online via Zoom

14:55-15:00: Message from IAFOR

15:00-16:40: Online Parallel Session 1

16:40-16:50: Break

16:50:18:30: Online Parallel Session 2

18:30-18:40: Break

18:40-19:55: Online Parallel Session 3

19:55-20:00: Message from IAFOR

*Please be aware that the above schedule may be subject to change.

Featured Speakers

To be announced

  • Lance Askildson
    Lance Askildson
    Chaminade University, United States
  • Grant Black
    Grant Black
    Chuo University, Japan
  • Michael Menchaca
    Michael Menchaca
    University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, United States
  • Melina Neophytou
    Melina Neophytou
    IAFOR, Japan

Featured Presentations

To be announced

Accepted Presentations

One of the greatest strengths of IAFOR’s international conferences is their international and intercultural diversity. As of September 9, 2025, IICE2026 has received over 300 submissions from 57 countries and territories - including: the United States, Canada, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, Philippines, and Taiwan.

Accepted Presentations

Important Information Emails

All registered attendees will receive an Important Information email and updates in the run-up to the conference. Please check your email inbox for something from "iafor.org". If you can not find these emails in your normal inbox, it is worth checking in your spam or junk mail folders as many programs filter out emails this way. If these did end up in one of these folders, please add the address to your acceptable senders' folder by whatever method your email program can do this.

Conference Programme & Abstract Book

The Conference Programme contains access information, session information and a detailed day-to-day presentation schedule.
The draft version of the Conference Programme will be available online on November 25, 2025. All registered delegates will be notified of this publication by email.
*Please be aware that the above schedule may be subject to change.

Previous Programming

View details of programming for past IICEHawaii conferences via the links below.

IICEHawaii2025
IICEHawaii2024 IICEHawaii2023 IICEHawaii2022
IICEHawaii2021 IICEHawaii2020 IICEHawaii2019
IICEHawaii2018 IICEHawaii2017 IICEHawaii2016
Lance Askildson
Chaminade University, United States

Biography

Dr Lance Askildson is Provost and Senior Vice-President and a tenured Professor of Linguistics at Chaminade University of Honolulu, United States. Previously, Professor Askildson was Associate Professor, founding Director of the Center for the Study of Languages & Cultures, and Assistant Provost for Internationalization at the University of Notre Dame, United States, as well as Vice-Provost & Chief International Officer at Kennesaw State University, United States. Professor Askildson is a scholar of language acquisition, language learning technology, and artificial linguistic processing. He is also the former Secretary of the International Association for Language Learning Technology and Managing Editor of their peer reviewed IALLT Journal for Language Learning Technologies. Professor Askildson is a United Nations Fellow and currently serves as Chair of the United Nations Institute for Training & Research (UNITAR) International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders in Hawaii (CIFAL Honolulu), a regional training center for sustainability in the Pacific.

Keynote Presentation (2026) | TBA
Grant Black
Chuo University, Japan

Biography

Professor Grant Black is a professor in the Faculty of Commerce at Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan, where he has taught Global Skills and Global Issues since 2013. Grant is engaged in diverse roles as a global manager, systems builder, executive leader and university professor. His research and teaching areas include global management skills, intercultural intelligence (CQ) and organisational management. He also has taught Japanese Management Theory at J. F. Oberlin University (Japan), and a continuing education course in the Foundations of Japanese Zen Buddhism at Temple University Japan. Previously, he was Chair of the English Section at the Center for Education of Global Communication at the University of Tsukuba where he served in a six-year post in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. He holds a BA Highest Honors in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara; an MA in Japanese Buddhist Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles; and a Doctor of Social Science (DSocSci) from the Department of Management in the School of Business at the University of Leicester. Dr Black is a Chartered Manager (CMgr), the highest status that can be achieved in the management profession in the UK. In 2018, he was elected a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). Grant is President of Black Inc. Consulting (Japan), a Tokyo-based firm specialising in international and intercultural project management, communication projects, and executive leadership and training. He is the director of the Nippon Academic Management Institute (NAMI) and the author of Education Reform Policy at a Japanese Super Global University: Policy Translation, Migration and Mutation (Routledge, 2022). He serves as a Vice-President for the International Academic Forum (IAFOR).

Previous Presentations

Orientation Session (2025) | IAFOR Information Session
Michael Menchaca
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, United States

Biography

Michael Menchaca is Chair of the Department of Learning Design and Technology at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He specialises in distance education, and has designed, implemented, and coordinated online and hybrid programs for over 20 years. He serves as editor for the IAFOR Journal of Education: Technology in Education Edition. He was an IT specialist for many years in the public and private sector. He teaches and conducts research in the areas of online learning, technology integration, and social justice with technology.

Previous Presentations

Featured Panel Presentation (2025) | Global Citizenship and the Environment: Engagement and Action
Featured Panel Presentation (2024) | Practical Approaches to AI in Academia
Panel Presentation (2022) | Reimagining General Education Across Hawaii’s 10-Campus System: Process, Product, and Lessons Learned
Panel Presentation (2021) | Post-pandemic Online Education: Moving from Crisis Intervention to Optimal Experience
Melina Neophytou
IAFOR, Japan

Biography

Dr Melina Neophytou is the Academic Operations Manager at IAFOR, where she works closely with academics, keynote speakers, and IAFOR partners to shape academic discussions within The Forum, bring conference programmes together, refine scholarship programmes, and build an interdisciplinary and international community. She is leading various projects within IAFOR, notably The Forum discussions and the authoring of Conference Reports and Intelligence Briefings, and she oversees the Global Fellows Programme.

Born in Germany and raised in Cyprus, Dr Neophytou received her PhD in International Development from Nagoya University, Japan, in 2023, specialising in political sociology, the welfare state, and contentious politics. She received an MA in International Development from Nagoya University, with a focus on Governance & Law, and a BA in European Studies from the University of Cyprus, Cyprus.

Her research interests currently focus on the Japanese welfare state, family values within Japanese society, and their relationship to family policies. She is particularly interested in state-society relations by uncovering how informal social ideas influence formal social policy.

Forum Discussion (2026) | TBA

Previous Presentations

Forum Discussion (2025) | Global Citizenship and the Environment: Engagement and Action