Preliminary Conference Programme 2027

Date: 5 March 2027

Venue: Biotech Center, Geneva

Number of participants: ~150

8:30-9:00 – Registration and Welcoming

9:00-9:15 – Opening Remarks

9:15-10:00 – Opening Ceremony (Plenary Session)

10:00-10:30 – Coffee Break and Posters (Coffee Break Space) 

10:30-11:30 – Panel 1: AI and Education

Artificial intelligence is transforming education through personalised learning, tutoring, accessibility, and administrative support. Yet improved performance does not necessarily mean deeper learning. This panel explores the balance between AI-assisted performance and autonomous capability, examining AI literacy, critical thinking, professional judgement, and the risks of cognitive over-delegation and dependency. How can assessment evolve to value reasoning, creativity, and independent competence? The discussion will consider how AI can promote inclusion and support diverse learners while preserving human agency, reducing inequalities, and strengthening the knowledge, judgement, and capacity to act that education seeks to develop.

11:30-12:30 – Panel 2: Digital Sovereignty

Artificial intelligence raises fundamental questions about who controls the technologies, data, infrastructure, and expertise on which societies depend. This panel explores digital sovereignty through technological autonomy, data governance, cybersecurity, and institutional resilience. Beyond strategic dependencies, it examines practical choices available to organisations and public institutions, including local providers, open-source AI, shared infrastructure, and collaborative approaches. Discussions will address contractual options, interoperability, and the trade-offs between local solutions and global platforms, while considering energy, linguistic, and cultural sovereignty. How can institutions build the capabilities and partnerships needed to exercise meaningful digital autonomy? 

12:30-13:30 – Lunch  

13:30-14:30 – Panel 3: Trustworthiness

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life, ensuring that AI remains trustworthy, safe, and under meaningful human control is a critical priority. This panel will examine how AI systems can be designed and governed to support human agency, transparency, accountability, and societal well-being. Particular attention will be given to responsible AI practices, the development of appropriately bounded and controllable AI systems, and the protection of young people through age-appropriate safeguards and governance frameworks. The discussion will bring together perspectives from research, policy, education, and industry to explore how trustworthy AI can foster innovation while respecting human values and the public interest. 

14:30-16:00 – Three Parallel Thematic Workshops (AI and Education, Digital Sovereignty, Trustworthiness)

16:00-16:30  – Coffee Break and Posters (Coffee Break Space) 

16:30-17:15 – Final Panel - Governing the Future: Sustainable and Durable Structures for AI and Digital Technologies  

This panel will explore how to build durable structures at the interface of science, policy, and innovation to guide the development and governance of digital technologies and artificial systems. Bringing together researchers, policymakers, international organizations, and industry leaders, it will examine institutional models, collaborative frameworks, and governance approaches that can transform knowledge into informed decisions, responsible innovation, and long-term societal value. 

18:00–18:15 – Closing Remarks

18:15-20:00 – Networking Cocktail