eduhub days 2026: Shaping the Future Together

We are pleased to invite you to eduhub days 2026, the annual conference dedicated to the dynamic world of e-learning, teaching, technology, and didactics of Swiss Higher Education Institutions, taking place this year in Neuchâtel.

This year's theme, From Tool Literacy to Learning Experience, invites us to shift the focus from the tools educators use to what students actually experience when they learn — moving deliberately beyond simple adoption toward practices that truly reshape and enrich the learning experience, making it more meaningful, inclusive, and evidence-informed.

From Tool Literacy to Learning Experience

eduhub days 2026 shifts the focus from what educators use to what students actually experience when they learn. Digital technologies, learning analytics, and AI have made an extraordinary range of tools available, yet adoption alone changes little if it stays at the level of substituting one medium for another. The real opportunity lies in crossing the augmentation threshold: moving, deliberately and systematically, from incremental enhancement toward practices that reshape and enrich the learning experience itself, making it more meaningful, inclusive, and evidence-informed. Designed especially for the instructional designers, Moodle managers, learning technologists, educational developers, and institutional leaders who turn pedagogical intent into concrete course design, eduhub days 2026 offers keynotes, interactive workshops, community exchanges, and practical showcases. Together we will build the competencies, share the experiences, and create the conditions that let Swiss Higher Education recognise, support, and sustain genuine innovation in teaching — in the service of the learners it exists for.

Get more information about the eduhub community

Marketplace

The Marketplace at eduhub days 2026 is your chance to showcase ideas, projects, or experiences in higher education and digital learning. Open to all, it's a vibrant, informal space where creativity meets collaboration. Share an innovative project, a successful initiative, or an insightful experience , whatever you're passionate about that could inspire and benefit the community. You can submit your proposal here, until 9 October.

Why participate?

Gain Visibility: Highlight your work to an engaged audience of digital learning professionals.
Foster Collaboration: Engage in meaningful conversations and exchange ideas with like-minded peers.
Inspire the Community: Your story or project could spark new ideas and initiatives within the eduhub network.

The Marketplace is more than an exhibition space; it’s a hub for connection and mutual learning. Whether you’re a seasoned innovator or simply have a story to tell, this is your opportunity to contribute to the vibrant tapestry of experiences shaping the future of higher education and digital learning.

Schedule

10:00

Wake Up and Connect Over Coffee with the Community

10:30

Welcome by HE-Arc & Switch

Thomas Sutter

10:40

Introduction of the Eduhub Days 2026

Thomas Steiner

Jean-François Van de Poël

10:55

From Tool Literacy to Learning Experience: What Could we Learn from Informal Learning?

While universities are mostly committed to providing formal, certified learning, they have recently started to play an important role also in the informal learning domain. The presentation will outline such dimension and provide a range of experiences in the fields of Tourism and Fashion, where digital media affordances have been translated into wider learning opportunities.

Lorenzo Cantoni

11:45

Think of the learner

How do EdTech and Universities work collaboratively to better serve the learning tech needs of all students.

Ian Dunn

12:35

Lunch break

Lunch break is covered by the event.

13:30

Workshops

This format offers a space for interactive exchange and collaborative work. You may use the session to showcase a project, spark discussion, and gather feedback from peers, or guide participants through a hands-on activity to explore a topic together and co-create practical outcomes.

Bianca Baerlocher

Lisa Messenzehl

13:30

Students co-design innovation in higher education (Workshop)

As higher education moves beyond digital tool adoption toward the development of meaningful teaching and learning experiences, students can play a crucial role in shaping this transition. This workshop creates a space for them to share their team's vision of innovating learning environments and generate tangible outcomes such as prototypes, scenarios, practical tools, narratives, etc. The participants will also present their results during the concluding plenary session.

Giorgia Jaccard-Mora

Hervé Platteaux

15:20

Marketplace over Coffee and Cakes

The Marketplace at eduhub Days 2026 is your chance to showcase your ideas, projects, or experiences in higher education and digital learning. Open to all participants, the Marketplace is a vibrant space where creativity meets collaboration, offering an informal yet engaging platform for sharing and discovery.

Kevin Bieber

Patrick Roth

17:15

Closing Words

Giorgia Jaccard-Mora

Lisa Messenzehl

Patrick Roth

17:30

Aperitif at HE-Arc

Keynotes

Lorenzo Cantoni

Director of the Institute of Digital Technologies for Communication, USI

Lorenzo Cantoni graduated in Philosophy and holds a PhD in Education and Linguistics. He is full professor at USI – Università della Svizzera italiana, Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society, where he is director of the Institute of Digital Technologies for Communication. His research interests are where communication, education and new media overlap. L. Cantoni is scientific director of USI’s eLab – eLearning Lab, chair-holder of a UNESCO chair, and has been USI’s pro-rector for Education and learning experience.

Ian Dunn

Provost, chief academic officer, at Coventry University Group

Ian is Provost, chief academic officer, at Coventry University Group. Coventry has a reputation for innovation both in technology and in educational delivery models. As a very early adopter of an institution wide VLE, a partner with FutureLearn on MOOC’s and more recently the owner and operator of its own social learning platform, Coventry is not afraid of risk in EdTech. Ian is an engineer with 34 years' service at Coventry. He has been part of the senior leadership since 2010 and proud to have led the formation of multiple start-up educational entities.

Manuela Milani

Higher Education Consultant and Academic Developer

Manuela Milani is currently advising on the establishment of the Teaching and Learning Centre at the University of Brescia (Italy) and supporting initiatives aimed at enhancing teaching practices and educational innovation at Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic). She previously worked as an Academic Developer at the University of Milan.

With over 20 years of experience in higher education faculty development, she has contributed to several European projects focused on advancing academic development through the exchange of knowledge, practices, and expertise. In recent years, she has designed and facilitated a wide range of professional development programmes for university teachers, with a particular focus on reflective practice and the enhancement of teaching quality.

Her scholarly work explores cultural differences in teaching and learning, teaching observation as a reflective practice supporting professional growth, and the design of faculty development approaches.

Speakers & Organising Committee

Bianca Baerlocher

Director of Educational Spaces & Media, UNIBAS

Bianca Baerlocher studied Sociology, Media Studies, and MGU at the University of Basel, where she later earned her PhD in Sustainability Research. She has since conducted research, taught, and held leadership and administrative roles at various Swiss universities. Since September 2025, she has returned to the University of Basel, contributing her expertise in digital transformation, stakeholder management, tool development, and organizational development to the Educational Technologies department. Her interdisciplinary focus lies on learning and thinking processes and their evolution within digital transformation, with a commitment to fostering innovation and thinking beyond conventional boundaries.

Kevin Bieber

Programme Head Bachelor in Business Information Technology, OST

After working as a project manager for digitalization initiatives in several industries, Kevin committed to educating young people in the area of business information technology. His passion lies in providing learning environments, where technology can be leveraged to learn efficiently and effectively. The goal is not to use as much technology as possible, but rather about using suitable tools while keeping the needs of learners and educators in mind.

Giorgia Jaccard-Mora

Instructional designer eLab, USI

Giorgia is currently working as Instructional designer at eLab (USI – Università della Svizzera italiana) where she is involved in several eLearning projects. Since March 2021 she is a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator.

Lisa Messenzehl

Head of Teaching Technologies and Didactics Section, ZHAW

Lisa studied Educational Leadership and Management, among other fields. She has been an active member of the eduhub community for many years, contributing to its ongoing development and impact while fostering exchange and collaboration across Swiss higher education institutions. Her expertise includes e-assessment and questions of exam integrity in the age of AI.

Hervé Platteaux

Senior lecturer and pedagogical adviser, UNIFR

After a MA in physics (Univ. of Geneva - 1991), Dr. Hervé Platteaux worked for scientific culture events in Europe and for research about educational hypermedia (Ph.D. Educ. Sci. - Univ. of Geneva - 1999). In 2001, he moved to NTE Centre of Fribourg University (Responsible for pedagogy) and, in 2023, to the “Didactics and Digital Skills Service” (Pedagogical adviser). For 25 years, he has been: developing educational technology solutions; training students and teachers in educational technology usages; developing networks (Swiss Eduhub, AIPU Association, AcrossEU Alliance); and developing an applied research activity about educational technologies.

Patrick Roth

Head of the eLearning unit, Lecturer, UNIGE

Patrick Roth is Head of the eLearning Unit at the University of Geneva, where he leads the development of digital learning environments and educational technology initiatives. He holds a degree in Computer Science and a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) from the University of Geneva and was awarded the LATSIS Prize in 2004. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at Humboldt University in Berlin, he joined the University of Geneva’s IT Division, where he has been driving innovation in teaching and learning technologies for over two decades. He also teaches Human-Computer Interaction and supervises Computer Science students. His areas of expertise include learning management systems, ePortfolios, mobile learning, user experience (UX), and multimodal interaction, and he is actively involved in international networks and communities such as Moodle, Mahara, LERU DIGE and 4EU+.

Thomas Steiner

Head of Cyberlearn: e-learning center, HES-SO

Prof. Dr. Thomas Steiner is the head of Cyberlearn, the HES-SO e-learning center. The former CEO of the FRIBOURG REGION and director of the Swiss School of Tourism is specialised in AI, tourism, digitalisation and transition management. As a consultant with immotour ltd, Thomas is leading restructuring, transformation and interim processes for several destinations, official bodies and family businesses. He is the president of Vercorin Tourisme SA and member of several boards among which Switzerland Tourism and Emch+Berger Bern.

Thomas Sutter

Managing Director, Switch

Thomas Sutter is deeply passionate about driving forward the digital future of Swiss higher education and research. Together with the Switch team and the close collaboration across the university community, he is committed to strengthening Switzerland’s digital sovereignty by building trusted digital infrastructures. Long before joining the Switch foundation in May 2026, Thomas helped shape the foundation's strategic direction as a member of its Foundation Council and Foundation Committee. At that time, he served for many years as the CIO of the University of Zurich, leading the digital transformation of Switzerland’s largest university.

Stefano Tardini

Head of USI eLab, Lecturer, USI

After graduating in Classical Philology, in 2002 he obtained his Ph.D. in Language sciences at the Catholic University in Milan, with a thesis on the linguistic and semiotic features of virtual communities. Since 2004 he has been head of USI eLab - eLearning Lab; he is lecturer at USI at the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society. His research interests include ICT mediated communication and eLearning, virtual communities and online social networks. He has been a certified facilitator for the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology since 2013. In 2021 he was awarded, on behalf of the entire eLab, USI's Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching.

Jean-François Van de Poël

Deputy Director for digital affairs, UNIL

Jean-François Van de Poël is Deputy Director for digital affairs of the Centre de Soutien à l'Enseignement at the University of Lausanne. He has been active in the field of educational technologies in higher education for 20 years. During this period, he has held various positions, including educational designer, virtual campus manager and MOOC project manager in several institutions. He holds masters degrees in educational sciences, educational technologies and higher education pedagogy, and is particularly interested in the fields of teacher professional development, educational multimedia and the hybridization of educational practices.