ENOHE Announces 2026 Conference Speakers

The European Network of Ombuds in Higher Education has announced speakers and session details for its 21st annual conference at AGH University of Kraków on June 10-12, 2026. This year's theme is "New Developments in a Maturing Profession: Ombuds Skills and AI" will connect emerging issues in artificial intelligence with Ombuds work in higher education.

Wednesday 10 June 2026

Welcome to Kraków, Jean Grier (President, ENOHE); AGH Authorities

10th Anniversary of AGH Student Ombudsperson

The Polish HE ombuds Network, ASBiR

Plenary

• Academic ombudspersons at Polish universities – the pinacle of evolution or an impulse for revolution?, dr Anna Cybulko (the 1st Polish Academic Ombuds)

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 1: Newcomers’ session, Jean Grier, Ursula Meiser & Board members
• Session 2: The use of AI in Ombud´s Offices in the Universities of Comunidad de Madrid (Spain), María Elena Gómez Sánchez, Ángel Rodríguez Sevillano

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 3: Practising Intercultural Competence and Ethical Judgement as an Ombuds with De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats in an AI-Infused World, Veronika Lovrits, Brent Epperson
• Session 4: Challenges and Opportunities of Artificial Intelligence for University Ombudsman Offices: The Experience of Andalusian Universities Ombuds Network (REDUAN, Spain), María de las Mercedes Lomas Campos, Juan Luis Aguado Casas, Pedro Farias Batlle

Lunch and networking

Plenary

• Knowing ENOHE: developments and opportunities, meet the committees, get published with ENOHE, meet the Board candidates!

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 5: What Students Tell Us About AI: Trust, Guardrails, and Ombuds Skills in Higher Education, Tracey Brant
• Session 6: Ethical problems brought by the digital transition in students Interactions in academy, Carlos Costa

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 7: Navigating Harassment, Discrimination, and Gender-Based Violence: Collaborative Good Practices for Student Ombuds through Case Work and Role-Play, Betül Bedel, Markus Seethaler, Anna-Katharina Rothwangl
• Session 8: How Universities Can Align Ombuds Functions with AI Governance under the EU AI Act, Nata Sturua, Stefanie Lietze, Diedrick Graham

Plenary

• Poster session

Social event

Thursday 11 June 2026

Plenary

• “Technology is an answer, but what was the question?”, dr hab. inż. Joanna Jaworek-Korjakowska (Professor at AGH, Director of the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Deputy Head of the Department of Automation and Robotics at AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow)

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 9: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Touch. How can AI augment the Ombud’s services, Franco Parrella
• Session 10: When Assistance Is Not Neutral: AI Hidden Bias and Implications for Ombuds Practice, Dominika Gapska, Marzena Halama

Plenary

• ENOHE and the Certificate Programme (CP) “Managing Conflict and Effective Dispute Resolution in Higher Education”, Dr Elke Welp-Park (Krems University) and Dr Anna-Katharina Rothwangl (Head of Ombudsstelle für Studierende, Austria)

ENOHE elections and General Assembly

Lunch and networking

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 11: GenZ, AI and the Work of Ombuds – Dealing with New Scenarios and New Technologies, Ursula Meiser
• Session 12: Meaningful, Memorable, Messy: Sharing our Ombuds Insights, Wolf Hertlein

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 13: Putting AI in a position to succeed: creating frameworks for insight generation, James Hare
• Session 14: The University of Alberta Task Force on the Use of AI in Teaching, Research and Learning: An Ombuds’ Perspective, Natalie Sharpe

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 15: Our Ombuds Top Open Problems: Persistent Challenges in a Maturing Profession, Wolf Hertlein
• Session 16: When Complaints Sound Like AI: Recognizing and Handling AI-Influenced Submissions, Anna-Katharina Rothwangl, Betül Bedel

Gathering for Gala Dinner

Friday 12 June 2026

Plenary

• “Machines of Equality – Doing GenAI for Equality at the University”, dr Katarzyna Cieślak, Faculty of Humanities at AGH, Equality Commision at AGH, mgr Jan Waligórski, Faculty of Humanities at AGH, Equality Commision at AGH

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 17: Blow your own trumpet: developments amongst members, Jean Grier
• Session 18: Students with special needs: how to address their growth in number and diversity?, Clara Viegas, Rosa Vasconcelos, Isilda Rodrigues, Ana Dorotea Tobar 

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 19: Intervision in Action: A Collegial Space to Pause, Reflect, and Unburden, Wolf Hertlein
• Session 20: How far can (or should) the ombuds go in addressing cases of sexual harassemnt, discrimination, and gender-based violence?, Francisca Molina Medina, Markus Seethaler 

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 21: Let’s play EQUNI – Defeat the Monster of Discrimination, Justyna Kopańska, Małgorzata Jarczyńska
• Session 22: University Wellbeing: Mental Health Promotion, Conflict Management, and AI in Ombuds Practice, Laura Armstrong, Brent Epperson

Lunch and networking

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 23: Integrating AI into Ombuds Practice: Opportunities, Risks, and Skills for the Future, Rosa Maria Vasconcelos, Berta Batista
• Session 24: Building Trust, Visibility and Accountability: Cross-Border Collaboration of Academic Ombudspersons in Central Europe, Jaroslav Šotola, Petr Šimon, Anna Cybulko, Ildikó Matušíková 

Concurrent Sessions

• Session 25: Ombuds Work in the Mid-2020s: A Tour d’Horizon from National Networks on Structures, Practices, and Emerging Trends, Josef Leidenfrost, Michaela Antonin-Malanikova, Anna-Katharina Rothwangl, Brent Epperson
• Session 26: AI as Complexity Scaffold: Beyond Binary Thinking in Ombuds Practice, Diedrick Graham

Plenary

• Farewell

.) Related posts: ENOHE Report Documents Two Decades of Progress; ENOHE Opens Registration for 2024 Conference in Portugal; Czech and Polish University Ombuds Gather for First Meeting; ENOHE Announces Agenda for 20th Annual Conference; Call for Session Proposals: ENOHE 2026 Conference; ENOHE Offers Conference Grants for New Ombuds from the Global South; ENOHE Opens Registration for Annual Conference in Krakow.