Plenaries

September 9 

Are games the key to the future of learning? Understanding what the evidence in literature and practice mean for how we teach and learn the post-AI generations

The first plenary speaker is Professor Sara de Freitas, visiting Professor of the Institute of Education Open University, UK and Company Director of WeypointUK. With her doctoral research in Data Science, Professor de Freitas' work has always been interdisciplinary, initially focusing on understanding how institutions function in relation to digital processes and systems. This sparked an interest in understanding computer-human interfaces and game-based reward and feedback systems, which she explored in her work at the London Knowledge Lab (University of London, now UCL) and the Serious Games Institute (University of Coventry). There, de Freitas was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the European Commission and a number of regional and national funders, addressing research questions on effectiveness, natural interfaces and accelerated learning. In addition to completing 81 research projects, Professor de Freitas has developed software and platforms and has been the scientific coordinator of a large network of excellence funded by the European Community. Through early studies in the field of serious games and with a deep commitment to digital education, de Freitas' models, articles, books and applications have had a significant impact on an international level.

Thorkild Hanghøj

Thorkild Hanghøj is Professor at Aalborg University in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has more than one hundred publications in national and international journals, many of which focus on the topic of game-based education. His research focuses mainly on two areas: the relationships between play and literacy and the use of social play for inclusion. His works have had a strong impact, as demonstrated by the hundreds of citations and his constant participation in important international events, for example the European Conference on Games Based Learning.

Erik Ottar Jensen

Erik Ottar Jensen is a researcher at the Department of Communication and Psychology at Aalborg University (Copenhagen). In 2023 he finished his PhD project where he investigates the use of games in mathematics education with a focus on how students experience and learn through games in mathematics classes. His research focus on various aspects of the use of games in mathematics education: mathematical reasoning using board games; student design of both digital and analogue games; incorporation of commercial digital games in mathematics classes. 

Karel Millenaar

Karel Millenaar is a Dutch game designer and visual designer with more than nine years of design experience. With his company FourceLabs he has designed games and playful interactions for large commercial companies such as Philips and Corio, but also for cultural institutes such as the university museum of Utrecht. His design experience ranges from playful installations to board games, video games, etc. He lectures university courses about design. He has also developed research activities at an international level on game design and has numerous publications to his credit.

Stephanie Schuler

Stephanie Schuler is Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, in Germany. Her research concerns the use of games and playful approaches in the context of the first years of learning mathematics, topics on which she has spoken at international conferences, such as that of the European Society for Research in Educational Mathematics (ERME) .

Alessandro Soriani

Alessandro Soriani is a researcher in Didactics and Special Pedagogy at the Department of Educational Sciences of the University of Bologna, Italy. His research interests concern pedagogical reflections on the videogame medium especially in international cooperation contexts. He is a trainer, facilitator and consultant for various national and international non-governmental associations. He holds the role of pedagogical consultant and expert on digital citizenship education issues for the Council of Europe, Digital Republic and META (Facebook).