ICIC 2026: Seventy Years Forward: Liberal Learning for a Changing World

June 25, 2026, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan

As Tunghai University approaches its seventieth anniversary, the International College invites scholars who teach and conduct research in English to share work that reflects the breadth and diversity of academic inquiry within English-medium higher education. We place particular emphasis on scholars teaching in non-English-dominant contexts, such as international colleges, where English functions as a shared academic language across linguistic, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries.

International colleges occupy a distinctive position within higher education: multilingual in practice, globally oriented in outlook, and committed to both academic breadth and professional preparation. These environments raise important questions about how liberal learning is pursued, communicated in such contexts. ICIC 2026 provides a forum for exploring these questions indirectly, through the presentation of diverse research and teaching-related work across disciplines.

In this spirit, ICIC 2026 welcomes submissions from all academic fields. Submissions need not address the conference theme directly; rather, the conference highlights how the full range of scholarly work conducted in English-medium, internationally oriented settings contributes to liberal learning in an increasingly interconnected world.


Submissions
Submissions can be made using this form, also accessible via the ICIC website: www.icic.thu.edu.tw.

Presenters should submit a title and 300-word abstract.

The deadline for submissions is May 5. Acceptance decisions will be communicated by late May.


Conference Support
Funding permitting, we anticipate being able to provide two nights of accommodation, high speed rail tickets from Taoyuan International Airport to Taichung, and a modest per diem, for a limited number of participants.


Participants
Keynote Speaker
Chi-Hung Juan, Chair Professor and Executive Vice President, National Central University

Invited Speakers
Marc Lanteigne, Professor of Political Science at the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

Makito Yurita, Professor at the National Institute for School Teachers and Staff Development, Japan

Cham Tat Huei, Professor of Marketing at Swinburne University of Technology, Malaysian Campus, Malaysia

Michael Mikulewicz, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, State University of New York ESF, USA


This is a fully in-person conference.


Please direct any questions to Chifumi Takagi (ctakagi@thu.edu.tw).