Plenary Speakers

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS 

Marcel Pikhart, PhD

Department of Applied Linguistics

Faculty of Informatics and Management

University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

Marcel Pikhart is an associate professor and senior researcher in the Department of Applied Linguistics at the Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. He has authored 64 documents on the Web of Science, with 301 citations (excluding self-citations) and an H-index of 12. On Scopus, he has published 72 documents, garnering 324 citations (excluding self-citations) and an H-index of 17. Recognized in the Stanford University Global List of the World Ranking Top 2% Scientists in 2022, his research encompasses psycholinguistics, cognitive linguistics, L2 acquisition, ESL, and foreign language learning. He also explores cognitive and technological communication aspects, including human-computer interaction (HCI) and its educational applications. Marcel is a prolific academic, with numerous impact journal papers, books, and conference contributions, and holds editorial positions in more than ten journals. He has been a visiting lecturer at over 50 universities all over the world and frequently serves as Chair or Keynote speaker at international conferences.

Michael Thomas, PhD  

School of Education

Faculty of Arts Professional and Social Studies

Liverpool John Moores University  

Michael Thomas is Professor of Education and Social Justice and Director of the Liverpool Institute for Research in Education at Liverpool John Moores University in England. He holds PhDs from Newcastle University and Lancaster University, and has worked at universities in the UK, Germany and Japan over a thirty-year period. He is author or editor of over thirty books on subjects such as digital natives, project-based pedagogy, online education and pedagogical theory. He is founding editor of four book series, including Digital Education and Learning, Advances in Digital Language Learning and Teaching, and Global Policy and Critical Futures in Education. He is currently PI on two British Council funded projects, one exploring gender inequalities in teacher training in Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa, and one on China on the design of MOOCs in urban and rural areas, in line with UN SDGs 4 (quality education) and 5 (gender equality).