From 21 to 23 May 2026, the international scientific conference MakeLearn, TIIM & PIConf 2026 took place at City Hotel Ljubljana. The conference was organized by the International School for Social and Business Studies as the main organizer, in cooperation with Maria Curie-Skłodowska University from Poland, Kasetsart University from Thailand and MED.E.A. from Malta.
This year’s conference was held under the title Leadership, Learning, and Business Beyond Boundaries: Managing Change in a Complex World. Over three conference days, it brought together more than 150 participants, including researchers, higher education teachers, doctoral students, professionals and representatives of practice from various fields.
The conference was officially opened by representatives of the organizing institutions: Prof. Kristijan Breznik, PhD, Dean of the International School for Social and Business Studies; Prof. Zbigniew Pastuszak, Vice-Rector for Development and Business Cooperation at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University; Prof. Luigia Melillo, Rector of MED.E.A. University; Prof. Bordin Rassameethes from Kasetsart University; and Prof. Valerij Dermol, PhD, Programme Chair of the conference.
The central part of the programme was marked by two distinguished keynote speakers. Dr Jay Liebowitz, Special Advisor to the President at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, delivered a keynote lecture titled Leveraging AI for Business Innovation, in which he presented the role of artificial intelligence in business innovation, decision-making and future development trends. Prof. Živilė Stankevičiūtė, PhD, from Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania, delivered a keynote lecture titled Future of Work: Sustaining People and Performance in a Complex World, addressing the future of work, sustainable human resource management, employee well-being and organizational resilience.
The conference programme included numerous parallel sessions, forums, presentations of scientific papers and professional discussions. Participants addressed current topics in the fields of management, leadership, business, economics, education, technology, innovation, sustainable development, open science, research integrity and artificial intelligence.
Special attention was also devoted to issues related to contemporary academic publishing. As part of the programme, the workshop Publishing in Transition: AI, Openness, and Research Integrity addressed changes in scholarly communication, the impact of artificial intelligence, open access and the importance of research integrity. The conference also included the Open Science Forum, dedicated to discussions on open science, global access to knowledge and institutional strategies for greater research inclusion.
MakeLearn, TIIM & PIConf has for many years represented an important international environment for the exchange of scientific and professional knowledge and for connecting academia, research institutions and practice. This year’s edition in Ljubljana once again confirmed the importance of international cooperation, interdisciplinary research and discussion on the challenges faced by organizations, educational institutions and wider society.
We extend our sincere thanks to all participants, keynote speakers, representatives of partner institutions, members of the programme and organizing committees, and everyone who contributed to the successful implementation of the conference.
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