Call for Papers & Presentations

We invite submissions to this conference in two formats: papers and presentations.
Both formats address the same thematic tracks outlined below.

Track 1:  IT professionalism: informatics, data and e-competences

The IT workforce is a key enabler of digital transformation in organisations, research, and society. As technologies, data practices, and software environments evolve rapidly - especially in light of (generative) Artificial Intelligence (AI), the requirements for IT professionals are also changing. Beyond addressing talent shortages, there is a growing need to better understand how professional roles, competence profiles, and qualification pathways develop in increasingly data-intensive, software-driven, and interdisciplinary work contexts.

This calls for more agile and evidence-based approaches to the classification, assessment, and development of informatics/computer science competences and e-competences, as well as professional IT skills. Competence frameworks, qualification schemes, and empirical research can support not only recruitment and career development, but also the design of education and training pathways that reflect the realities of contemporary professional practice. This includes emerging roles and responsibilities related to software development, AI-based systems, data work, (research) data management, digital infrastructures, reproducibility, and the management of complex digital workflows.

Academia and research play an important role in this field. Industry, public institutions, and society need robust and methodologically sound insights into how IT professionalism is changing, how competences can be described and assessed meaningfully, and how education and training can respond to these developments. Contributions are especially welcome where they connect competence frameworks and qualification models with real professional environments and evolving forms of digital, data-related, and software-intensive practice.

Track topics include (but are not limited to):

• Skills and competence frameworks and classifications in practice (e.g., EN16234, ESCO, etc.).
• Experiences in linking qualification, certification, and assessment to competence frameworks.
• Vocational education and training (VET) and Higher Education linked to IT professional career development and employability.
• Development of informatics, data, AI and e-competences in professional practice, based on empirical evidence and assessment data.
• Link of competences to occupations, professional roles, and evolving work profiles in IT and related digital fields.
• Analysis of changing competence needs in data-intensive, software-intensive, and interdisciplinary professional environments.
• Integration of IT professionalism competences and frameworks in education and training.
• Application of frameworks and classifications in organisational contexts (e.g., EN16234, ESCO, etc.): career development, talent management, recruitment, etc.
• Professional roles and competence needs related to research data, research software, and digital infrastructures.
• Reproducibility, FAIR-oriented practices, and other emerging competence areas in professional digital work.
• Diversity, inclusion, and gender perspectives in IT professional development.
• Empirical studies on demand, supply, and transformation of IT professionalism in the labour market.

Special focus on digital sustainability aspects (eligibility for extended contributions for the Special Issue on Comprehensive Digital Sustainability of the Sustainability journal):

• Environmental impact in IT professional activities: energy and resources consumption, demand of resources by AI, blockchain and data centres, green software engineering, etc.
• Economic feasibility of IT professional activities: technical debt, analysis of investment and total cost of ownership in IT, maintainability and scalability, data and technology sovereignty, etc.
• Social impact of IT: digital accessibility, social inclusion, labour condition in IT supply chain, safeness and cybersecurity,  etc.

Track 2: Digital competences and skills

Digital transformation continues to shape work, education, and everyday life worldwide. Its benefits, however, depend not only on access to technologies but also on people's ability to use them effectively, critically, and responsibly. This requires a broad and evolving understanding of digital competences that goes beyond operational skills and includes the capacities needed to navigate increasingly data-driven, AI-mediated, and digitally connected environments.

Digital skills enable people to access and manage data and information, create and share content, communicate and collaborate, and solve problems in work, learning, and social life. Today, digital competences also include the ability to understand and engage with data, algorithmic systems, and AI-based applications in context-sensitive ways. This is becoming increasingly relevant for everybody: citizens, communities, public-interest organisations, employees, students, and other non-specialists who are expected to make informed and responsible use of digital technologies.

While digital competences have been widely discussed in relation to productivity, employability and inclusion, there is still a need for more robust academic and empirical approaches to how such competences are defined, developed and assessed in different social contexts. This track welcomes contributions that examine digital competences as a broad societal capacity, including data literacy, AI literacy, participation, inclusion and the responsible use of digital technologies across diverse groups and sectors.

Track topics include (but are not limited to):

• Skills and competence frameworks in practice (e.g., DigComp 3.0, etc.).
• Certifications like ICDL or others: benefits, application in practice, etc.
• Practical learning or development experiences of digital competence based on empirical data and assessment.
• Linking digital competence to occupations, professional roles, non-IT work profiles, and hybrid jobs.
• Integration of digital, data, and AI-related competences in education and training.
• Assessment of digital competence across diverse groups, sectors, and contexts.
• Assessment of digital competences at a large scale (countries, regions, sectors, etc.).
• Data literacy and AI literacy as dimensions of digital competence.
• Digital competence in civic, public-interest, and community contexts.
• Responsible, critical, and context-sensitive use of data-driven and AI-based technologies by non-specialists.
• Self-perception, self-assessment, and reality of digital competence: comparative studies.
• The role of myths, narratives, and media in shaping perceptions of digital competence.
• Digital competence in relation to social, cultural, civic, and economic contexts.
• Impact of digital competence on inclusion, participation, education, and well-being.
• Adaptation of education and training to developments such as generative AI, misinformation, and evolving digital environments.
• Prediction of future competence needs in rapidly changing digital and AI-shaped contexts.

Special focus on digital sustainability aspects (eligibility for extended contributions for the Special Issue on Comprehensive Digital Sustainability of the Sustainability journal):

• Environmental impact of digital activity of citizens: consumption of resources, literacy in environmental impact of digital activity, etc.
• Economic feasibility in digital activity: total cost of ownership, programmed obsolescence, support to circular economy, etc.
• Social impact of digital activity: digital accessibility and inclusion, digital divide, misinformation and digital critical thinking, etc.

Track 3: Informatics and Digital Education

Without a strong educational foundation in informatics education, neither individuals, institutions, nor societies can truly understand, meaningfully shape, or thoughtfully question digital transformation. Beyond preparing future IT professionals, it contributes to the development of foundational competencies. This includes not only technical understanding, but also the ability to work with data, computational approaches, digital tools, and emerging AI systems in responsible, reflective, and context-sensitive ways.

As digital technologies become deeply embedded in education, work, and public life, the need grows for inclusive, research-based, and practice-oriented approaches to informatics education. Formal, non-formal, and lifelong learning settings alike are challenged to provide meaningful learning opportunities that go beyond tool use and address broader questions of participation, transparency, ethics, agency, and the common good. At the same time, informatics education research can offer valuable insights into how to design teaching and learning formats, curricula, open resources, and competence models to meet the needs of diverse learners and rapidly changing socio-technical environments.

This track welcomes contributions that connect informatics education with broader societal challenges and opportunities, including data literacy, AI literacy, computational thinking, teacher training, curriculum development, open education, and interdisciplinary capacity building. It also addresses computational aspects of the use of digital media and technologies in education. Design-oriented research, therefore, forms the core of the work presented and discussed in this track. It is complemented by experimental, observational, and theory-building forms of research. There are close links to various social sciences and humanities, such as education, psychology, and various fields of didactics.

Track topics include (but are not limited to):

• Informatics education in formal, non-formal, and lifelong learning contexts.
• Data literacy, AI literacy, and computational thinking as part of general education.
• Integration of informatics and digital education into schools, higher education, and adult learning curricula.
• Teaching and learning approaches for responsible, critical, and reflective engagement with digital technologies.
• Open educational resources, reusable teaching materials, and scalable learning formats in informatics education.
• Research on micro-credentials and other certificates within the context of informatics education
• Qualification and professional development of teachers, trainers, and multipliers in digital and informatics education.
• Inclusion, participation, and diversity in informatics education.
• Interdisciplinary approaches linking informatics with other competences e.g. green skills, entrepreneurial skills, etc. 
• Assessment and evaluation of informatics-related competences and learning outcomes.
• Evidence-based design of learning environments for data, AI and digital competence development.
• The role of informatics education in strengthening societal resilience, participation and democratic capacity in digital contexts.
• Educational responses to current technological developments such as generative AI, platformization, automation, or misinformation.
• European policies in fostering informatics education in schools and beyond.

Special focus on digital sustainability aspects (eligibility for extended contributions for the Special Issue on Comprehensive Digital Sustainability of the Sustainability journal):

• Education for digital environmental sustainability: educating in digital environmental responsibility, connecting SDGs with digital education, etc. .
• Economic feasibility in digital education: edtech and sustainability, open free options, maintainability of digital learning resources, etc.
• Social impact in digital education: digital accessibility and inclusion, digital divide, digital critical thinking, etc.