Call for Sessions for the 2026 Heartland AI Symposium

Event Dates: Nov. 10 – 12, 2026

General Call

We invite proposals for panels, roundtables/lightning talks, discussions, presentations, theory to practice sessions, and hands-on workshops for this year’s Heartland AI Symposium. The Heartland AI Symposium, formerly the K-State AI Symposium, is hosted by Kansas State University and is now in its fourth year. This AI Symposium is a one-of-a-kind event, bringing together voices from all sectors and areas of the community. Join us for a fruitful, multidisciplinary discussion on AI in the Heartland. We welcome discussions on AI and its place and future in our society, responses to AI in an expanding digital era, and practical applications of AI in all disciplines. We believe that each voice has a valuable perspective that can be shared and that will contribute to a greater understanding of AI and its place in society.

Submitting a proposal offers an opportunity to share your work with a regional audience, connect with collaborators across institutions in the Heartland, and contribute to discussions on AI’s impact and place in our society.

Important Dates

Symposium Dates: November 10th, 11th, and 12th, 2026

Call for sessions closes: July 1st, 2026

Location: Kansas State University, Manhattan Public Library, and Virtual Streaming

Submission Link

Please submit proposals to the Microsoft Form: 2026 Heartland AI Symposium - Session Proposal Submission Form

Themes and Tracks

The overall theme of this year’s conference is “Our Society in the Age of AI.” We welcome a wide variety of sessions, categorized into tracks, to bring the community together to discuss and debate AI’s place in our community, our classrooms, our careers, and our society.

The following is a list of possible tracks and areas for which we are seeking proposals. Of particular interest are also sessions that span several tracks. However, we are open to other areas and disciplines and welcome proposals from a wide range of topics.

• AI for the Community

• AI Literacy

• AI Ethics

• AI for Applications in Society

• AI in Agriculture

• The Environment and AI

• Education’s Responses to AI

• Students’ Responses to AI

• Rights, Protections, and Ownership in the Age of AI

• Maintaining the Arts in the Age of AI

• AI-Art

• AI and Writing

• Literary Representations of AI

• AI and Ancient and Premodern Studies

• AI for Autonomous Systems

• AI for Safety and Security Applications

• AI Methods Research

• Hands-on Workshops

General guidelines for all proposals

All proposed sessions should be prepared for a general, non-expert audience to better facilitate discussion and collaboration between participants. Additionally, all sessions should be prepared in English, and all digital media should meet accessibility standards.

Modality must be disclosed in the proposal. Fully in-person sessions (in which all presenters are present in person) are preferred. Fully virtual sessions (where all presenters present virtually) are also encouraged. Due to technical limitations of our conference site, only a limited number of hybrid sessions (in which some presenters are in person and others are online) are available.

Applicants may propose up to two sessions of different types (i.e. someone could propose to lead an AI Research Methods meeting and a panel).

All presenters can present in a maximum of two sessions of different types (i.e., someone could present in a panel and lead a workshop)

Presenters may not present the same abstract or presentation twice.

Hands-on workshops must be designated as beginner, intermediate, or advanced, and the primary audience must be clearly defined. All workshops must disclose which devices (if any) participants need to bring with them, as well as the AI tool(s) or technolog(ies) being used in the workshop.

Demonstration sessions (in which new AI tools are showcased, but participants do not receive hands-on guided practice) will be accepted on a case-by-case basis.

Required proposal elements

• Presenter’s name, affiliation and contact information

• Co-presenters' names, affiliations and contact information, if applicable

• Presenter Bio (maximum 75 words)

• Co-presenter bios, if applicable (maximum 75 words each)

• Session information:

• Session Title

• Theme(s) or Track(s) with which the session aligns

• Session Type

• Modality: In-person, virtual, or hybrid

• Target Audience

• Plan for participant interaction

• Program description (maximum 150 words, including a statement of the significance of the proposed session. Note: The description will be used as-is on the program.)

• Background and supporting evidence (maximum 300 words)

• Expected learning objectives/key takeaways

• Three to five keywords

• Workshop proposals must provide the following additional information:

• Level of the workshop: beginner, intermediate or advanced

• Required technology for participants: i.e. their own laptops, certain software/hardware, access to a particular tool, etc.

• Platform, tool or focus of the workshop:

• i.e. platforms/tools: Claude, Boodlebox, Research Rabbit, Semantic Scholar, Consensus, etc. OR

• i.e. focus: text, image, or sound generation, research with AI, AI tutors, etc.

• Note on Modality: All workshops must be fully in-person or fully online; no hybrid options are available.

Definitions of Session Types

Panels

Panels typically consist of 3 – 5 presenters who will present on a common theme. Ample time for discussion must be included for Q&A from the audience. In traditional panels, panelists offer complementary perspectives and facilitate a conversation that highlights diverse viewpoints.

Roundtables/Lightning Rounds

Roundtables/Lightning Rounds typically consist of 5-10 presenters who give brief, informal presentations at the beginning of the session and then open the floor to conversation and debate with the audience.

Presentations (to be organized into themed sessions)

Individuals who are not a part of a panel or roundtable/lightning round already, may submit an individual presentation proposal. Individual presentation proposals will be organized into panels, themed sessions or roundtables/lightning rounds.

Discussions

Discussions are an opportunity to explore current work, recent or emerging findings, and/or new perspectives on AI. Facilitators begin with a brief presentation and then guide interactive discussion that invites participants to exchange insights and strategies. Discussion sessions are meant as a meeting place for technical AI methods researchers to meet, discuss shared interests, and inform each other about different AI technical research activities in the Heartland. Sessions could also involve industry partners that have AI technical research interests or are interested in forging ties with university AI researchers for adopting or supporting early AI methods research results and/or engaging on corresponding joint funding actions.

Theory to Practice Sessions

Theory to Practice sessions are an opportunity to connect theory and practice by examining programs, models, or approaches to analog curriculum adoption or responsible AI integration. Facilitators present the scholarship, theoretical frames, and evidence informing their work, and then engage participants in critical reflection, discussion, or design‑based activities. Proposals should clearly articulate the theoretical grounding, practical application, and intended focus of participant engagement.

Demonstrations

Demonstrations showcase AI-enabled innovations that advance research, teaching, and/or learning. Presenters should present an overview, then demonstrate specific case-uses, and provide insight for implementation.

Workshops

All workshops must be hands-on experiences for participants. Those wishing to demo a tool should submit a proposal under the “demonstrations” category (outlined above).

Workshops must be designed for the target audience and the level described in the proposal. For example, a beginner workshop for students should be designed for participants who have little to no experience using AI tools and include basic step-by-step guidance throughout the workshop whereas an advanced workshop should indicate the required skills needed to successfully participate in the workshop.

If a specific tool is needed for the workshop, transparency regarding the cost of using the tool is required. For example, if proposing a workshop on research with AI and the use of Elicit, it must be disclosed that the basic plan is free with 2 limited reports per month and that to fully benefit from the platform a plan is needed and costs $49.00/month, billed annually. The description for the workshop should include this information and highlight if the basic, free account is all that is needed for the workshop or if the participants will need to purchase the tool prior to the workshop.

Definitions of Themes/Tracks

Please find a list of the themes/tracks and a brief explanation of each below:

• AI for the Community (General sessions for community members, parents, etc. These can be beginner sessions to help the community understand how different AI systems work (LLMs, etc.), how parents can talk to kids about AI or things to keep in mind in the Age of AI, etc.)

• AI Literacy (Informative sessions addressing useful ways to conceptualize the landscape of AI models and tools; potential risks and benefits of AI use, as well as principles, skills, and mindsets that can help us think critically about whether to use it, and how to do so effectively and responsibly if we do choose to use it.)

• AI Ethics (Ethical considerations surrounding AI)

• AI for Applications in Society (AI adoption and applications that contribute to and have positive social impacts.)

• AI in Agriculture (AI adoption, applications, and discoveries in the agriculture sector.)

• The Environment and AI (AI applications in climate change research, the impact of AI on the environment, natural resources, and local communities, and other AI-Environmental relations.)

• Education’s Responses to AI (PreK to Higher Ed education and approaches to teaching in the Age of AI, from intentional revival of analog methods, the redesign of assessments and content materials, to integrating AI into the curriculum. Additionally, we seek proposals that critically discuss the impact of AI in Education and its implications on learner outcomes.)

• Students’ Responses to AI (Undergraduate and Graduate Students’ perspectives on Education’s Responses to AI, AI in the classroom, AI for the workplace, and AI in society. Undergraduate and Graduate Students are highly encouraged to present their perspectives and experiences. Research on Student Perspectives is also of particular interest.)

• Rights, Protections, and Ownership in the Age of AI (Copyright, current legal proceedings, and on the topic of ownership in the Age of AI)

• Maintaining the Arts in the Age of AI (Benefits of traditional art in an increasingly digital landscape and the need for human creation, expression and creativity in the Age of AI.)

• AI-Art (Sessions on art and technology collaborations)

• AI and Writing (Writing across the curriculum and in the disciplines. Proposals might address writing research (including disclosure and publishing); writing process; teaching practices; cross-disciplinary norms and conventions; effective collaboration with AI; writing concerns such as authorship, voice, style, intellectual property, and identity.)

• Literary Representations of AI (Representations and conceptualizations of AI in literature, including changing or evolving perceptions of AI around the world to better understand how authors have conceptualized AI in literary texts and how authors have envisioned AI-futures.)

• AI and Ancient and Premodern Studies (Explore topics including AI themes in literature and culture; the impact (broadly imagined) of AI upon the teaching of ancient and premodern languages, cultures, history, archaeology, and/or material culture; and the benefits and challenges of AI within contemporary academic research.)

• AI for Autonomous Systems (Assured autonomy, safety and security issues with AI-in-the-loop systems, including cyber-physical systems.)

• AI for Safety and Security Applications (AI used to improve the safety and/or security of existing systems and workflows.)

• AI Methods Research (Sessions of this type are meant as a meeting place for technical AI methods researchers, usually out of Computer Science or adjacent disciplines, to meet, discuss shared interests, and inform each other about different AI technical research activities in the Heartland. Sessions could also involve industry partners that have AI technical research interests or are interested in forging ties with university AI researchers for adopting or supporting early AI methods research results and/or engaging on corresponding joint funding actions.)

• Hands-on Workshops (For example, but not exclusively, AI applications for beginners, creating custom chat-bots for intermediate, and customizing AI for advanced users.)