News

IAOE community member Javier García Zubía of the University of Deusto has received Spain’s prestigious Ramón Llull National Computer Science Award for his outstanding contributions to educational innovation and remote experimentation. The award recognizes his pioneering work with WebLab-Deusto and his longstanding efforts to make authentic experimentation more accessible to learners around the world.

IAOE strengthened its longstanding partnership with the American Society for Engineering Education at ASEE 2026 in Charlotte. Highlights included the signing of a renewed Memorandum of Understanding, continued IAOE sponsorship of the ELOS Best Paper Awards, and engagement with ASEE's international partner community.

The International Association of Online Engineering (IAOE) is pleased to congratulate its Founding President and CEO, Dr. Michael E. Auer, on being selected as a recipient of the inaugural IETI Global Leadership Award. The award was announced by the International Engineering and Technology Institute (IETI) on June 3, 2026, and recognizes outstanding leadership, influence, and contributions in academia, education, science, technology, industry, and international cooperation.

The International Association of Online Engineering (IAOE) and the EduNet World Association (EWA) are pleased to announce the Call for Papers for the International Conference on Smart Technologies & Education (STE 2027), which will take place from 24–26 February 2027 at The Sukosol Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Global Online Laboratory Consortium (GOLC) Awards 2026, presented during STE 2026 in Brașov, recognized outstanding contributions to remote, virtual, and immersive laboratory learning in engineering education.

IAOE member Professor Gabriel Xiao-Guang Yue was invited to participate in the 3rd Hong Kong World Youth Science Conference and Xiangjiang Nobel Forum, held in Hong Kong from 11–15 April 2026. During the event, he joined leading international scholars and Nobel laureates in a roundtable discussion on the future of science, technology, and the development of young researchers.

From March 11–13, 2026, the Smart Technologies & Education Conference (STE 2026) brought together the international engineering education community in Brașov, Romania. With nearly 150 participants from around 30 countries, the conference not only showcased cutting-edge research but also marked the 20th anniversary of the International Association of Online Engineering (IAOE).

The Smart Technologies & Education Conference (STE 2026) begins this week in Brașov, Romania, bringing together researchers, educators, and industry partners from around the world. This year’s edition is particularly special as the community gathers to celebrate 20 years of the International Association of Online Engineering (IAOE).

In just one month, the international engineering education community will gather in Brașov, Romania, for the Smart Technologies & Education Conference (STE 2026). With nearly 150 participants from 30 countries, over 120 paper presentations, distinguished keynotes, special sessions, and the celebration of 20 years of IAOE, this year’s conference promises to be both academically outstanding and community-driven.

On 2–3 December, more than 65 educators and researchers gathered in Dortmund, Germany, to exchange ideas and experiences on online laboratories in higher education. The event CrossLab meets Friends brought together the German digital lab community and international experts to strengthen collaboration and shared learning.

The 29th International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL) and the 55th IGIP International Conference on Engineering Pedagogy will take place in Cologne, Germany, in 2026. Hosted in cooperation with TH Köln University of Applied Sciences and supported by the University of Wuppertal, the conference invites the global engineering education community to mark their calendars for this major gathering.

The 16th International Conference on Intelligent Multimodal Communication and Learning Technologies (IMCL) took place 19–21 November 2025 in Bengaluru, India, marking the first Asian edition of the conference. The event highlighted global innovations in AI-driven multimodal learning and technology-supported pedagogy.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the International Association of Online Engineering (IAOE), STE 2026 invites participants and IAOE members to take part in a special Photo Contest celebrating the creativity, diversity, and technological vision of our global community.

Dr. Tinashe Chamunorwa of the University of Zimbabwe is advancing remote and online experimentation across multiple levels of education. Building on his doctoral work, he is laying the groundwork for a sustainable remote laboratory ecosystem that aligns with IAOE’s global mission.

The 28th International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL) and the 54th IGIP International Conference on Engineering Pedagogy brought together leading experts in engineering education from around the world. Held from 1–3 October 2025 in Budapest, Hungary, the event showcased global innovations in technology-enhanced learning and lifelong education, with strong participation from IAOE members and partners.

The VISIR Federation continues to strengthen its international impact through hands-on teacher training and higher education initiatives in Brazil. In July 2025, VISIR and Hive supported a workshop on digital resources for teaching physics, followed by their integration into two large-scale education courses that reach hundreds of learners nationwide.

In a joint PhD project between Spain and Brazil, Isabela Nardi da Silva has advanced the concept of “eXtended Remote Laboratories,” combining remote experimentation with immersive XR technologies. Her research bridges engineering education, user experience, and emerging digital learning environments—fields at the core of IAOE’s mission.

The latest issues of iJOE, iJIM, iJET, and iJEP — all published on the open-access platform online-journals.org — highlight recent advances in higher education, mobile technologies, AI, and digital pedagogy. As a proud supporter of journals published by IFEES, IAOE invites its community to explore and engage with these timely contributions.

IAOE, together with EWA and EduNet, announces its Call for Papers for STE 2026, happening March 11–13, 2026 in Brașov, Romania, featuring a compelling focus on smart technologies, AI, and engineering education innovation. The conference welcomes Special Session proposals, alongside full and short papers, workshops, and interactive presentations—and the EWA Young Talent Award continues to spotlight tomorrow’s educational leaders.

Springer has released the 2024 Yearbook of Emerging Technologies in Learning, edited by IAOE leaders Michael E. Auer and Dominik May. The volume highlights global perspectives on generative AI, hybrid teaching, and pedagogical innovations shaping the future of education, underlining IAOE’s leadership in this field.

The GOLC invites you to submit your successful Online Laboratory course, site, and product or success story, from a university or other institution or school. Awards will be given for outstanding laboratories in three categories.

Developed entirely by students at THM, the MICRO remote lab enables hands-on programming of real microcontrollers—completely online. The project wins the 2025 GOLC Award for Remotely Controlled Experiments.

IAOE was prominently represented at the ASEE 2025 International Reception in Montreal, fostering international collaboration in engineering education. As a proud sponsor of the ELOS Division Best Paper Awards, IAOE recognized outstanding contributions to experimental, inclusive, and student-centered learning.

A Costa Rica–Spain–USA collaboration receives top honors in the 2025 GOLC Online Laboratory Award for Simulated and Digitally Visualized Experiments. The award-winning Ultra-concurrent Microscopy Laboratory enables scalable, interactive biology education through a richly visual platform that supports students from primary school to university—making hands-on science more accessible worldwide.

The PEARL project from the University of Paderborn (Germany) earns top honors in the 2025 GOLC Online Laboratory Award for Virtual and Augmented Reality Experiments—advancing access to hands-on engineering education through immersive AR technology.

Taking advantage of their travel to South America for STE2025, IAOE members Andrea Schwandt and María Arcelina Marques each visited fellow member María Isabel Pozzo in Rosario, Argentina. Through talks, lab visits, and academic exchange, the visits exemplified IAOE’s commitment to fostering international collaboration and lasting professional relationships.

Professor Magesh Chandramouli of Purdue University Northwest receives GOLC’s 2025 award runner-up recognition for his VR-based SPEXTRA training system—making high-quality industrial education more immersive, accessible, and scalable.

At the STE2025 conference in Santiago, Chile, the Global Online Laboratory Consortium (GOLC) awarded top honors to projects from Germany, Costa Rica, Spain, and the USA in the fields of remote, simulated, and immersive labs—highlighting outstanding achievements in the area of online experimentation in education.

IAOE's Honorary President Prof. Dr. Phys. Doru Ursutiu is an internationally renowned physicist and educator, recognized for his outstanding contributions to physics, electronics, and engineering education. He just was elected as Full Member of the Academy of Romanian Scientists (AOSR) as a central figure in the development of remote engineering and virtual instrumentation in Europe.

The 22nd International Conference on Smart Technologies & Education (STE2025), held in Santiago, Chile, honored six outstanding research contributions with Best Paper Awards across full papers, short papers, student work, and works-in-progress. The awards, presented by the IAOE and Duoc UC, celebrated innovative approaches to AI-enhanced learning, interdisciplinary STEM education, and immersive technologies in engineering training.

The 22nd International Conference on Smart Technologies & Education (STE2025) successfully took place in Santiago, marking the first time the event was held in Latin America. The conference brought together experts from over 30 countries to discuss innovation, sustainability, and the future of engineering education.

It is finally STE 2025 week! Starting on Wednesday April 9th, 2025, global leaders, researchers, and professionals from all over the world meet in Santiago de Chile for the 22nd International Conference on Smart Technologies & Education "Smart Technologies for an All-Electric Society".

New Book Volume on Online Laboratories published! This comprehensive book, divided into seven sections, showcases groundbreaking research findings that blend new experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic with long-term research on online laboratories and virtual experimentation. Providing an adequate learning experience in the laboratory has long been a major challenge in science, engineering, and technology education.
Editors are Dominik May, Michael E. Auer, and Alexander Kist