SCIENTIFIC ProgramME
As well as internationally renowned keynote speakers, the ICOTS programme has an overall theme and main topics ranging widely over school, tertiary and workplace contexts within and across disciplines, technologies, training and research at all educational levels. ICOTS 12 has 10 named Main Topics and a Contributed and Other topic. The first call for abstracts is for paper proposals to be featured under Main Topics 1-10. All abstracts will be considered by Topic Chairs and Teams who will organise and name Sessions under the Main Topics 1-10. A proposal not accepted for a Main Topic will be considered by the IPC for inclusion in Topic 11 Contributed and Other topics, and there will be two further calls for paper proposals for Topic 11, as well as a call for posters in 2026.
Main Topics
Key issues in the What, Who, When, How of statistical education
Jennifer Noll (Chair, US), Darren Macey (UK), Susanne Schnell (Germany)
Questioning is acknowledged and established as being core to statistical and data scientific thinking, and thus integral within the learning and teaching of their thinking and skills across educational levels, all disciplines and for citizenship. We must also apply such questioning to statistics and data science education – to curricula, pedagogies, strategies, resources, training, research, and institutional, national and international structures. Such questioning will permeate all the topics of ICOTS 12. Papers for Topic 1 should aim to provide leading or seminal discussion on the conference theme, identifying and addressing key issues and questions for statistics and data science education in today’s world.
Statistics and data education at the school level
Michel Dvir (Chair, Israel), Katie Makar (Australia)
Papers in Topic 2 will explore the latest developments and approaches to teaching and learning of statistics, probability and data science for students from the elementary through secondary level (approximately ages 4-18), whether in school contexts or out-of-school learning opportunities. Papers may report on students’ engagement with data in a variety of contexts, including mathematics/statistics/data science courses, but also in subject matter courses (e.g. STEAM or social science) that integrate data and/or probability.
Statistics and data education at the post-secondary level
Mitchum Bock (Chair, UK), Leandro Souza (Brazil), Shunya Koga (Japan)
In a world where data skills are in demand by employers it is now desirable that all tertiary students are provided with suitable statistical training as part of their studies, regardless of their main discipline. With such diversity in skills and attitude toward statistics in tertiary education, what should we teach and how do we engage and empower our learners? Topic 3 explores the strategies and challenges in preparing tertiary students for a data-driven world.
New technologies and paradigms in assessment
Brenna Curley (Chair, US), Ana Luisa Blancarte (Mexico), Bruce Dunham (Canada)
Assessment plays a vital role in the teaching and learning process in statistics and data science education, and its methods have considerable influence on both learners and teachers. Such assessment needs to mirror changing instructional goals which involve understanding of context- and data-based arguments, statistical reasoning, and communication skills, while requiring our increasingly-diverse students to integrate abstract ideas and link conceptual networks with procedural and technical skills.
Improving teaching and teaching capacity in statistics
David Stern (Chair, UK), Yap Von Bing (Singapore), Maria Tackett (US)
The growing importance of statistics and data science education in today’s data-driven world highlights the need to continuously improve teaching practices and build educator capacity. Topic 5 focuses on addressing the challenges faced by statistics teachers at all levels, and ensuring that educators, whether school or university, are well-prepared to teach a diverse range of students and integrate innovative pedagogical methods in an era of rapidly evolving curricula, technology, and data demands.
Statistics education across and into disciplines
Matt Beckman (Chair, US), Charlotte Jones-Todd (NZ), Linda Chaba (Kenya)
Topic 6 aims to bring together statistics and data science educators within and across disciplines to facilitate discussions, collaboration and developments to explore ways in which effective statistical education and training can help improve statistical practice in any given subject area.
Teaching probability and stochastic thinking within statistics
Karin Binder (Chair, Germany), Per Nilsson (Sweden), Saleha Habibullah (Pakistan)
The pervasiveness of chance, randomness and data in our everyday world means that the ability to reason probabilistically is essential. Given the constant barrage of data-derived information we face daily, statistical, probabilistic and risk reasoning are key educational outcomes for every 21st century citizen in order to navigate the complexities of the modern world.
Training in statistics, data science and emerging technologies for and in workplaces
Ian Gordon (Chair, Australia), Aimee Schwab-McCoy (US)
Today’s workplaces are undergoing rapid transformation with an ever-increasing use of big data and a range of technologies, including AI. Statistical and data literacy competencies are acknowledged as essential skills for all workplaces in a world where decision-making and policy development are data-driven enterprises. An agile, statistically literate and statistically aware workforce is now crucial. The implications for teaching have both challenges and opportunities at all levels of education, across disciplines and for preparing statistical and data science graduates and postgraduates.
New directions and developments in statistics education research
Lonneke Boels (Chair, Netherlands), Tim Erickson (US), Anna Fergusson (NZ)
As the role of data in society continues to grow, new challenges and opportunities are emerging in the statistics and data science research field. Current and future statistics and data science education research needs to consider the rise of big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, and how these technologies are reshaping the landscape for teachers and students in an increasingly diverse and ethically complex world.
Growing society-wide statistical, data science and data technological literacy
Joachim Engel (Chair, Germany), Francisca Ubilla (Chile), Patrizia Collesi (Italy)
Literacy, especially quantitative literacy, has taken on enormous importance these days, with the need to understand numbers, decipher them and use them in everyday contexts and for citizenship. It is essential to integrate statistical, data and technological literacy into education systems at all levels—from early schooling to higher education—and extending into professional development. But beyond formal education, raising public awareness and ensuring continuous professional growth are vital.
Submissions
Contributions to ICOTS 12 are oral presentations (with optional written paper), poster presentations, pre-conference workshops and special interest meetings.
Submissions for the different types of contributions will occur in stages, with the submission form on this page updated for each stage. The due dates given below indicate the stages.
The first stage is submission of proposals for a paper for Main Topics 1-10. ICOTS 12 has 10 named Main Topics and a Contributed and Other Topic. All abstracts will be considered by Topic Chairs and Teams who will organise proposals in named Sessions under each Main Topic. The Topic Chairs liaise with each other to facilitate the most appropriate groupings of papers under the Main Topics 1-10.
A proposal not accepted for a Main Topic will be considered by the IPC for inclusion in Topic 11 Contributed and Other topics, and there will be two further calls in mid-2025 and early 2026 for paper proposals for Topic 11, as well as a call for posters in 2026. Note that authors are limited to one presentation (oral or poster) at ICOTS, although they can be co-authors on up to three papers in total. Papers in Topic 11 will also be organised into Sessions.
Optional refereeing is available for all paper proposals accepted by the due date. All accepted abstracts for papers or posters will appear in the Program and in the online Conference Proceedings. For all abstracts accepted for oral presentation, it is recommended but not compulsory to write a paper (refereed or non-refereed) for the online Proceedings.
It is planned to organise up to four (4) sessions presented in languages other than English. Abstracts, slides and papers must be in English. These sessions could be in Topics 1-10 or in Topic 11 (Contributed and Other Topics). Authors wishing to present a paper in one of these sessions, should include this and the desired presentation language in their abstract.
Submit an Abstract
Abstract submissions must be made through the Oxford Abstracts (OA) Submission Portal. If you are new to OA then you will need to start by creating an account.
Written papers can be uploaded through the Submission Portal starting in mid-October 2025. Papers for refereeing must be uploaded by 30 November 2025.
Important Dates
Main Topic (Topic 1-10)
Oral presentation abstracts
Due 31 July 2025
Outcome by 30 September 2025
Contributed and Other (Topic 11)
Oral presentation abstracts
Due 31 August 2025
Outcome by 30 September 2025
Contributed and Other (Topic 11)
Oral presentation abstracts (no refereeing)
Due 31 January 2026
Outcome by 28 February 2026
Refereed Papers
Due 30 November 2025
Referee reports by 31 January 2026
Final Papers
Refereed and non-refereed
Due 30 April 2026
Poster Proposals
Due 31 March 2026
Outcome by 21 April 2026
SIG/Organisation Meeting Requests
Due 28 February 2026
Outcome by 31 March 2026
Pre-Conference Workshop Proposals
Due 31 October 2025
Outcome by 30 November 2025
Guidelines for Authors
Papers must be no more than six pages (including all body text, tables, graphs, and appendices; a maximum of two pages of references are not counted in the six-page limit). Please use the ICOTS Paper Template.
Workshops and SIG/Organisation Meetings
For workshop proposals and requests for SIG/organisation meetings, please contact Olawale Awe.
Draft Schedule
The full schedule will be available through Oxford Abstracts in 2026.
The schedule below gives an overview of the structure of the conference.
Time | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8:00 | Registration Welcome | Posters | Posters | Posters | Posters | |
9:00 | Keynote 1 | Keynote 2 | Keynote 3 | Keynote 4 | Keynote 5 | |
10:00 | Morning Tea | Morning Tea | Morning Tea | Morning Tea | Morning Tea | |
10:30 | Sessions 1 | Sessions 4 | Sessions 7 | Sessions 8 | Sessions 11 | |
12:00 | Lunch | Lunch | Excursions | Lunch | Lunch | |
14:00 | Registration | Sessions 2 | Sessions 5 | Excursions | Sessions 9 | Debates Closing |
15:30 | Registration | Afternoon Tea | Afternoon Tea | Excursions | Afternoon Tea | |
16:00 | Registration Welcome | Sessions 3 | Sessions 6 | Excursions | Sessions 10 | |
17:30 | Panel Performance | Excursions | ||||
19:00 | Reception | Excursions | Dinner |
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