Nordic ISCAR 2025
Welcome to Nordic ISCAR at University West 17-19 June 2025!
We are happy to announce that the Nordic Baltic ISCAR Conference will be hosted by University West, Trollhättan, Sweden, 17-19 June 2025 on the theme
"Working and learning with CHAT-driven research"
SUBMISSION SYSTEM FOR ABSTRACTS OPEN NOW >>
The event aims at interrogating and re-envisioning the shared roots of working and learning, to make them relevant in the face of current global challenges and for transforming human activities to sustain lives and the planet. Work is here understood in a broad sense, including the work of learners, teachers, patients and caregivers as well as unpaid and voluntary forms of work. The conference sub-themes include, but are not restricted to, the following:
- Foundational issues and challenges in cultural-historical theory
- Learning and working in educational settings
- Cultural-historical studies of work-integrated learning
- Technological mediation and change in organizational and educational settings
- Digitalization and technology for societal and industrial change
- School development and educational change
- Fourth generation cultural-historical activity theory and enacted utopias
- Studies in transformative agency
- Formative interventions and expansive learning
Cultural-historical activity theory has often been applied in studies of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL), reflecting the overall profile as well as the area of strength of University West.
The conference welcomes researchers, students, practitioners and working life and industrial partners internationally to present results of their work, attending workshops, exchanging know-how, as well as building new relationships and strengthening existing networks. In this spirit, the conference will also offer a forum for further development and productive discussion on principles and applications of the fourth generation of CHAT. This is at the core of the agenda of the Center for Activity Theory at University West.
Warmly welcome!
For questions, contact the NISCAR organizing committee: monika.hattinger@hv.se
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Links to the most recent biannual Nordic-Baltic ISCAR Conferences:
Keynote Speakers expand_more
We are happy to announce our two keynote speakers for the conference:
Professor Susanne Bødker
“The future of hybrid work and collaboration – what is new and what is not?”
Based on the Rework project and previous research on hybrid, remote and collocated work, this talk will draw lines to the past, and discuss the post-covid setting where work is happening in many hybrid settings, either because people work more frequently from home, because employers want to save space, or because people work remotely over distance. Many technologies support these forms of hybrid activity, yet the technologies also introduce fundamental asymmetries between participants. The talk will discuss these asymmetries and how technology can possibly help mend them.
Bio
Susanne Bødker is professor of Human-Computer Interaction at the Department of Computer Science, Aarhus University. She is known for her theoretical and empirical work on second-wave Human-Computer Interaction, computer mediated activity, and participatory design. She was co-PI of Aarhus University’s interdisciplinary center for Participatory IT research, and PI for CIO, which was supported by ERC.
Associate Professor Marco Antonio Pereira Querol
“Innovations for Sustainable Expansive Learning: Lessons from Formative Interventions in Work Settings in Brazil”
Formative interventions are increasingly important given the urgent need to address socio-environmental challenges. Drawing on experiences of such interventions in Brazil, based on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), co-created innovations are presented along with lessons on how their impact and sustainability can be enhanced. The innovations include the development of a new software, designed to enhance the visualization of occurrences of workplace accidents and to facilitate rapid, synchronized action. Another innovation was the expansion of the community of actors, including companies, to actively participate in developments aimed at improving workplace safety and security. Five lessons have been learned from these studies. First, training intervention teams and participants in key CHAT concepts can strengthen the use of the intervention tools and promote continuity of learning. Second, the inclusion of activity-specific concepts and models can complement CHAT concepts and enrich interventions. Third, the involvement of key stakeholders in planning can better align interventions with existing development initiatives. Fourth, along with temporary learning spaces, more permanent learning platforms may promote continuity and the building of coalitions for change. Finally, communication approaches such as traditional mass communication, social media, theatre and the arts can help to support expansive learning beyond local settings.
Bio
Marco Antonio Pereira Querol is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agronomic Engineering at the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), teaching Rural Sociology, Rural Extension, and Social Movements. His research focuses on Innovation, Sustainability, Organizational Learning, Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, and Interventionist Methodologies, particularly the Change Laboratory.
Hotel booking expand_more
In Trollhättan there are a few hotels to choose from. We have arranged a discount for our conference participants at Scandic Swania. Rooms have been prebooked and with our booking code you will get a discount on your stay. Please note that the last day for booking with the code is now May 16. More detailed information in the text below.
Other hotels to choose from without a discount are Clarion Collection Hotel Kung Oscar, Hotell Bele and Best Western Hotel Trollhättan.
Booking information for Scandic Swania
The guests book their rooms on the Scandic website or by calling Scandic Central Reservations at +46 (0)8 517 517 00, dial tone 1. The booking code must be provided at this step. Guests use code: BHOG160625.
Guests needs to provide credit card information at the time of booking to guarantee their room. Payment is made by the guest to the hotel in connection with the stay. The guest can change and/or cancel their room until 6PM on the day of arrival.