The International Association of Online Engineering (IAOE) was represented at the 2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, held from 21–24 June 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina, by IAOE President Dominik May and IAOE CEO and Founding President Michael E. Auer. The conference provided another important opportunity to strengthen the longstanding relationship between IAOE and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and to connect with engineering education colleagues and partner organizations from around the world.
IAOE was formally recognized during the conference's first keynote session as one of ASEE's international partner organizations. This recognition reflects the shared commitment of both associations to advancing engineering education internationally and fostering exchange and collaboration across national and organizational boundaries.
Renewing the Partnership between IAOE and ASEE
A particular highlight of this year's conference was the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding between ASEE and IAOE by ASEE President Agnieszka Miguel and IAOE President Dominik May.
The agreement reaffirms the commitment of both organizations to enhancing the quality of engineering and engineering technology education, promoting innovation in engineering pedagogy, encouraging the international exchange of knowledge, and strengthening collaboration within the global engineering education community.
The MOU also establishes concrete avenues for continued cooperation. These include regular exchange between the leadership of both associations, mutual promotion of conferences and activities, reciprocal representation at annual conferences, and opportunities to jointly support international engineering education events. The organizations also share a commitment to strengthening the pedagogical and didactic qualifications of engineering educators.
For IAOE, the renewed agreement represents an important continuation of its relationship with one of the world's major engineering education associations and provides a foundation for further collaboration between the respective communities.
IAOE Continues Its Support of the ELOS Best Paper Awards
IAOE also continued its support of excellence in experimentation and laboratory-based engineering education by sponsoring the Best Paper Awards of ASEE's Experimentation and Laboratory-Oriented Studies (ELOS) Division.
Four contributions were recognized in 2026:
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Best ELOS Overall Paper: Exploring Emotional and Cognitive Responses in Engineering Education: An Exploratory Study in Laboratory Learning Environments — Mariam Ayub, Sindia M. Rivera-Jiménez, and Fernando Merida, University of Florida.
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Best ELOS Diversity Paper: Navigating the Unseen: Readiness of Hands-on Labs for Visually Impaired Students— Yi-hsiang Isaac Chang and Ching Lun Chen, Illinois State University.
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Best ELOS Student Paper: A Miniaturized Hydroelectric Dam Benchtop Kit for Remote Hands-On Learning in Undergraduate Fluid Mechanics — Eve M. Maramba, Genevieve Ipasu, Chloe Leander, and Matthew J. Traum, University of Florida.
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Best ELOS Bring Your Own Experiment (BYOE) Paper: BYOE: Design Rationale behind a Circuit Troubleshooting Laboratory Experiment Through the Lenses of Problem Complexity, Ill-Structuredness, Knowledge Types, and Troubleshooting Process — Christopher Lowell Romeo and Andrew Olewnik, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.
We warmly congratulate all award recipients on their outstanding contributions to experimentation and laboratory-oriented engineering education.
Connecting the International Engineering Education Community
Beyond the formal activities, ASEE 2026 provided numerous opportunities to strengthen connections across the international engineering education community. IAOE representatives joined colleagues from ASEE's international partner organizations at the International Delegate Reception, continuing conversations about shared challenges, future collaborations, and opportunities to connect engineering educators across countries and regions.
The conference in Charlotte demonstrated once again the value of sustained partnerships between professional associations. Through the renewed MOU, continued support of the ELOS community, and participation in ASEE's international network, IAOE looks forward to further strengthening its collaboration with ASEE and contributing to a globally connected engineering education community.
Link to ASEE 2026 conference highlights: https://www.asee.org/events/Conferences-and-Meetings/2026-Annual-Conference-Exposition
Link to ELOS homepage: https://sites.asee.org/elos/
Photo impression from the 2026 International Delegate Reception:
