Special Session 3: Technology-Enhanced Learning in STEM Education: Opportunities and Challenges

 Description 

The rapid advancement of digital technologies is transforming STEM education, particularly engineering education, by creating new opportunities for innovative teaching, learning, and assessment approaches. This special session aims to provide a platform for researchers, educators, and practitioners to explore the role of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) in developing effective, inclusive, and future-ready STEM education.
The session will focus on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), learning analytics, virtual and remote laboratories, digital twins, immersive technologies, and online/blended learning environments. It will highlight successful implementations, pedagogical frameworks, and evidence-based practices that enhance student engagement, collaboration, creativity, problem-solving skills, and disciplinary understanding across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
In addition, the session will address key challenges associated with technology adoption, including digital accessibility, assessment strategies, academic integrity, staff readiness, ethical considerations, and institutional transformation. Contributions are invited from interdisciplinary perspectives covering STEM education, educational technology, artificial intelligence in learning, and innovative pedagogical practices.
The session aims to foster knowledge exchange and collaboration among academics, researchers, educators, and industry professionals to identify future directions for technology-enhanced STEM education and support the development of effective digital learning ecosystems.

 Session Topics 

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
 - Artificial intelligence and generative AI applications in STEM education
- Learning analytics and data-driven approaches for improving STEM learning outcomes
- Virtual, remote, and augmented reality laboratories for STEM learning
- Digital twins and simulation-based learning environments
- Blended, online, and active learning approaches in STEM education
- Technology-enhanced assessment, feedback, and student engagement strategies
- Challenges, ethics, accessibility, and sustainability of digital transformation in STEM education

 Submission Method 

Submit your Full Paper or your paper abstract-without publication (200-400 words) via Online Submission System, then choose Special Session 3 (Technology-Enhanced Learning in STEM Education: Opportunities and Challenges)

 Session Organizer 

Dr. Zia ur Rehman,
University of Derby, UK
 
Dr. Zia ur Rehman is a Professional Engineer, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), and an accomplished researcher with over a decade of experience in higher education teaching and high-impact research across the UK, China, and Pakistan. Recognized among the world’s top 2% of scientists in Stanford University’s global database and acknowledged as a global talent in civil and geotechnical engineering by the Royal Academy of Engineering, his expertise spans civil engineering, geotechnical engineering, artificial intelligence, and interdisciplinary STEM innovation.
Dr. Rehman’s research integrates advanced computational approaches, AI, mathematical modelling, environmental science, and sustainability to address complex challenges in civil and geotechnical engineering and other STEM domains. His doctoral research at world leading Tsinghua University received the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, contributing novel advances in the constitutive modelling of soil-structure interactions. He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed research publications in leading international journals.
Dr. Rehman has extensive experience in engineering education, curriculum development, teaching innovation, and technology-enhanced learning. He has designed and delivered undergraduate and postgraduate courses and supervised numerous research dissertations. He currently serves on editorial boards of international journals, including Infrastructure and AI in Sustainable Built Environment, and contributes as a reviewer, editor, conference committee member, and organiser of international workshops and special sessions. His work promotes the integration of emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation to advance research, education, and innovation within civil and geotechnical engineering and the broader STEM community.