Programme

Speakers at The Southeast Asian Conference on Education (SEACE) will provide a variety of perspectives from different academic and professional backgrounds. 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

Wed, February 4, 2026Thu, Feb 5Fri, Feb 6Sat, February 7Sun, Feb 8Mon, Feb 9

17:30-21:00: Pre-Conference Networking Event
Singapore Education Lounge: February 2026

As part of the conference, IAFOR is pleased to co-host a special edition of the Singapore Education Lounge, Singapore Education Network (SEN)’s signature networking event for local education professionals. This exclusive gathering joins together IAFOR and SEN’s networks of educators, researchers, EdTech innovators, and policymakers for an evening of discussion and networking.

Participation is free, but registration is required.
Further Details can be found here

Venue: Singapore Expo

12:00-13:00: Conference Check-in | Peridot Foyer (Level 2)

13:00-13:25: Cultural Presentation | Peridot 201 (Level 2) & Online

13:25-13:50: Welcome Address & Recognition of IAFOR Scholarship Winners | Peridot 201 (Level 2) & Online
Joseph Haldane, IAFOR, Japan

13:55-14:20: Keynote Presentation | Peridot 201 (Level 2) & Online
14:20-14:35: Q&A

14:35-14:45: Conference Photograph

14:45-15:15: Networking Coffee Break

15:15-15:40: Keynote Presentation | Peridot 201 (Level 2) & Online
Achieving Competency-Based Learning with LLMs
Ben Leong, National University of Singapore, Singapore
15:40-15:55: Q&A

16:00-17:00: Featured Panel Presentation | Peridot 201 (Level 2) & Online
Heritage for Cultural Dialogue: Digital Futures and Shared Memory
Lisa Lim, VinUniversity, Vietnam
David Ocón, Singapore Management University, Singapore
Tim Winter, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Umberto Ansaldo, VinUniversity, Vietnam (Moderator)

19:00-21:00: Conference Dinner | Singapore Cricket Club
Join us after the plenaries for the conference dinner at a local restaurant, where you reconvene with fellow delegates and our keynote presenters to continue conversations from the conference over a meal. This is a ticketed event.
This is a ticketed event

Venue: Singapore Expo

09:00-09:45: Conference Check-in

09:45-10:15: Conference Information Session
This session provides an overview of what to expect at the conference, including guidance on preparing your presentation, publishing opportunities, and ways to engage with IAFOR. You will receive practical tips on setting up your presentation, understanding your role at the conference, including how to attract a larger audience to your session. We will also outline the publishing opportunities available, including how to submit your work to be included in the Conference Proceedings or IAFOR Journals. This session also offers a chance to explore the opportunities for deeper engagement, whether through networking with fellow delegates or getting involved more with IAFOR. Join us, and get ready to present, publish, and participate.

10:15-11:15: Featured Workshop

11:15-12:30: The Forum

12:30-14:00: Extended Break

14:00-14:45: Panel Presentation
14:45-15:00: Q&A

15:00-15:30: Featured Presentation
15:30-15:45: Q&A

15:45-16:45: Coffee Break

16:00-17:00: Conference Poster Session

Venue: Singapore Expo

09:30-10:00: Conference Check-in

10:00-11:40: Onsite Parallel Session 1

11:40-13:10: Extended Break

13:10-14:50: Onsite Parallel Session 2

14:50-15:05: Coffee Break

15:05-16:20: Onsite Parallel Session 3

Venue: Singapore Expo

09:30-10:00: Conference Check-in

10:00-11:40: Onsite Parallel Session 1

11:40-13:10: Extended Break

13:10-14:50: Onsite Parallel Session 2

14:50-15:05: Coffee Break

15:05-16:20: Onsite Parallel Session 3

16:25-16:45: Onsite Closing Session

Venue: Online via Zoom
All streamed presentation times are UTC+8.
Use the time converter tool to show times in your timezone.

10:55-11:00: Message from IAFOR

11:00-12:15: Online Parallel Session 1

12:15-12:25: Break

12:25-13:40: Online Parallel Session 2

13:40-13:50: Break

13:50-15:05: Online Parallel Session 3

15:05-15:10: Closing Message from IAFOR

The above schedule may be subject to change.

Featured Speakers

  • Umberto Ansaldo
    Umberto Ansaldo
    VinUniversity, Vietnam
  • Philip Kwa
    Philip Kwa
    Asian Institute of Management, Philippines
  • Ben Leong
    Ben Leong
    National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • Lisa Lim
    Lisa Lim
    VinUniversity, Vietnam
  • Lisa Lim
    Lisa Lim
    VinUniversity, Vietnam
  • David Ocón
    David Ocón
    Singapore Management University, Singapore
  • Tim Winter
    Tim Winter
    National University of Singapore, Singapore

Featured Presentations

To be announced

  • Achieving Competency-Based Learning with LLMs
    Achieving Competency-Based Learning with LLMs
    Keynote Presentation: Ben Leong

Accepted Presentations

One of the greatest strengths of IAFOR’s international conferences is their international and intercultural diversity. As of December 3, 2025, the conference has received over 520 submissions from 54 countries and territories - including: the United States, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, Philippines, and Taiwan.

View Accepted Presentations

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Conference Programme

The draft version of the Conference Programme will be available online on December 18, 2025. All registered delegates will be notified of this publication by email. The Conference Programme contains access information, session information and a detailed day-to-day presentation schedule.

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.

Previous Programming

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

SEACE2025 SEACE2024
SEACE2023 SEACE2021 SEACE2020
Umberto Ansaldo
VinUniversity, Vietnam

Biography

Dr Umberto Ansaldo is Professor of Linguistics and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at VinUniversity, Vietnam. As a linguist, he specialises in research on languages of Asia from a comparative and historical perspective. His publications advance an evolutionary framework of language contact that highlights the role of multilingualism and variation in language change. He previously worked in language documentation and researched endangered contact languages of the Indian Ocean.

As an educator, Professor Ansaldo has long promoted a student-centred, innovative, and interdisciplinary pedagogical philosophy. In his current role as Dean, he represents a governance style that emphasises meritocracy and transparency and fosters a culture of empathy and belonging. Away from work, Professor Ansaldo enjoys wining and dining and the practice of martial arts. He has lived and worked in many different countries prior to Vietnam, including Amsterdam, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia.

Professor Ansaldo serves on IAFOR’s International Academic Board.

Panel Presentation (2026) | TBA
Philip Kwa
Asian Institute of Management, Philippines

Biography

Philip Kwa has more than 20 years of broad global working experience across multiple corporate and entrepreneurial environments. He has held key roles as CEO, CFO, Sales and Marketing Head, as well as Strategic Consulting Director, demonstrating a versatile skill set and adaptability to a diverse range of sectors.

He is currently the incoming Academic Program Director for the Master of Cybersecurity programme at the esteemed Asian Institute of Management, Philippines.

Professor Kwa’s main areas of focus include cyber security training and exercises, cyber risk and governance assessment, business process transformation, factory automation, and entrepreneurship.

In addition to his hands-on experience, he holds an MBA from the University of Hull, United Kingdom, an SMU-SID Diploma in Directorship, a NUS-ISS Post Graduate Diploma in Knowledge Engineering, and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia. Professor Kwa’s additional professional certifications include CISSP, CISM, PMP, Practitioner Certificate in Data Processing, and Certified Accountant status.

The Forum (2026) | TBA

Ben Leong
National University of Singapore, Singapore

Biography

Dr Ben Leong is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the School of Computing, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore. Dr Leong received his SB, MEng, and PhD degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States. He has been recognised for his excellent teaching with a number of teaching awards, including the NUS Outstanding Educator Award in 2015. Dr Leong also served as the Chair of the university’s Computer Science Department Standing Teaching Committee from 2017 to 2020. His research interests are in the areas of Computer Networking and Distributed Systems. More recently, he has been working on applying AI for education.

From July 2014 to June 2019, Dr Leong served as the Director of the Experimental Systems and Technology Laboratory at the Ministry of Education (MOE). In this role, he set up and managed an in-house software development team that successfully delivered a number of applications for MOE. In addition, Dr Leong served as a consultant to the Student Learning Space (SLS) team that built a new learning management system for MOE schools.

From January 2021 to December 2023, Dr Leong set up and served as Director of the Centre for Computing for Social Good & Philanthropy (CCSGP) at School of Computing (SoC). Since 2020, Dr Leong has served as Chief Data Officer of AI.SG, the national AI Programme, and concurrently as Director of the AI Centre for Educational Technologies (AICET), where his team applies AI to build software platforms for education.

Keynote Presentation (2026) | TBA

Lisa Lim
VinUniversity, Vietnam

Biography

TBC

Panel Presentation (2026) | TBA

Lisa Lim
VinUniversity, Vietnam

Biography

TBA

Panel Presentation (2026) | Heritage for Cultural Dialogue: Digital Futures and Shared Memory
David Ocón
Singapore Management University, Singapore

Biography

TBA

Panel Presentation (2026) | Heritage for Cultural Dialogue: Digital Futures and Shared Memory
Tim Winter
National University of Singapore, Singapore

Biography

Professor Tim Winter is Research Leader of the Inter-Asia Engagements Research Cluster at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. He is the Lead Investigator of the international research project Heritage Diplomacy; connecting histories and futures, (2026-2030; 3.9 Million SGD). Professor Winter has led the development of heritage diplomacy as a cross-disciplinary concept and introduced geocultural power to the analysis of international affairs. His recent articles on these topics appear in Geopolitics, International Affairs, International Journal of Cultural Policy, and Environment and Planning D. His most recent books are Geocultural Power: China’s Quest to Revive the Silk Roads for the Twenty First Century (University of Chicago Press, 2019) and The Silk Road: Connecting Histories and Futures (Oxford University Press, 2022). His current work addresses the re-emergence of civilisational discourses across Eurasia, and how this speaks to current debates about a shifting world order. Professor Winter currently holds an h-index of 33.

Panel Presentation (2026) | Heritage for Cultural Dialogue: Digital Futures and Shared Memory
Achieving Competency-Based Learning with LLMs
Keynote Presentation: Ben Leong

The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 created much excitement in diverse fields. This development also challenges our long-held assumptions about assessment, academic integrity, and the very purpose of schooling. Some folks claim that a revolution is happening, and perhaps teachers might no longer be relevant, yet more recent reports claim that ChatGPT might be causing harm to our students.

We believe that as AI becomes more powerful, human skills will become more important and that AI can assist in competency-based learning of said skills. In this talk, we will describe how at the National University of Singapore, we have developed and deployed LLM-powered role playing chatbots in diverse disciplines such as social work, law, and nursing to train human skills. We will also share some learning points from our experiences and our views about the longer term impact of AI on higher education in Singapore.

Read presenter's biography