Tishk International University organizes an annual Conference on Educational Sciences to advance equitable access to knowledge and information. The VESAL Conference convenes researchers, practitioners, educators, and scholars across all levels and domains of teaching from around the world. We warmly invite international and local participants— including in-service teachers and teacher candidates— to join us in Erbil, Iraq. VESAL 2026 seeks to strengthen the region’s educational ecosystem by facilitating exchange with leading international experts and researchers and by fostering sustained collaboration among stakeholders.
The 2026 VESAL Conference welcomes scholarship in educational studies, language teaching, and language education in the broadest sense. In addition, the conference embraces research and critical inquiry in English literature and literature in English, recognizing the role of literary studies in shaping cultural awareness, identity, and global understanding.
Submissions may address the contemporary interplay between tradition and innovation, local and global influences, progressive and conservative perspectives, stability and disruption, and national and global identities as they shape educational theory, policy, practice, and literary discourse. We anticipate strong participation from leading academics, education professionals, literary scholars, and policymakers working across these domains.
Alongside this broad scope, VESAL 2026 places special emphasis on the theme of culture, equity, and new literacies—with particular attention to developing transformative literacies for an AI-shaped future.