Combined ECHA and igMCG conference, 16 – 18 June 2025.
Welcome to Gifted education: Inclusion and sustainability. 4th thematic European Council for High Ability (ECHA) conference on inclusion and sustainability
The 14th International group for Mathematical Creativity and Giftedness conference
A inclusive conference
At this conference, we bring together participants with an interest in inclusive education of highly able children and students. When registering and when submitting a proposal, you state where your main interest lies, with ECHA or igMCG. When you are at the conference, you can freely choose among the the lectures, workshops etc. that interest you the most, regardless of whether they belong to the ECHA or igMCG track.
Important dates
Start of Submission: May 2024
Submission deadline: November 1, 2024
Notification of Acceptance: February 1, 2025
Early Bird registration closes: March 1, 2025
Late bird registration closes: May 15, 2025
Submission
When you submit a contribution to the conference you mark to which of the conferences the submission is best suited.
Naturally you can submit contributions to both conferences if they are different.
Both conferences follows the two main themes. The first theme is on how to apply gifted education within inclusive settings and systems. The second theme is on how to create sustainable solutions and futures for gifted education: sustainable for children and students; for teachers and school systems; and for research on gifted education. Each conference have different guidelines, options and sub-themes to follow.
Welcome to submit your contribution
Guidelines for ECHA contributions
Areas of focus: Research focus, Implementation focus, Partnership focus, Trajectories, Miscellenceous.
Type of contribution: Poster presentation, Oral presentation,Symposia, Workshop, Open format.
An abstract of maximum 300 words are submitted. References excluded.
Abstracts will be peer-reviewed.
Download Guidelines for Authors for more details
Guidelines for igMCG contributions
Themes: Research, Theory in practice
Type of contribution: Paper, Short communication, Poster, and Workshop.
A text is submitted for each proposal. Notice that the text must follow the igMCG14-template.
Text limitations: Papers, maximum 6 pages. Workshops and Posters, maximum 2 pages. Short communication, an abstract of maximum 500 words.
Contributions are peer-reviewed. You will be asked if you can participate in the review process.
Accepted contributions may be included in the conference proceedings.
Download the igMCG14-template
Download Guidelines for Authors for more details
Registration and Preliminary fees
ECHA –members
Early bird (deadline March 1, 2025): 2500 SEK (approx 220 Euro)
Late bird (deadline May 15, 2025): 3500 SEK (approx 310 Euro)
igMCG –members
Early bird (deadline March 1, 2025): 3200 SEK (approx 280 Euro)
Late bird (deadline 15th of May 2025): 4200 SEK (approx 370 Euro)
Non-members
Early bird (deadline March 1, 2025): 3500 SEK (approx 310 Euro)
Late bird (deadline 15th of May 2025): 4500 SEK (approx 390 Euro)
Conference dinner is included in the conference fee.
Note: All meals are vegetarian, including the conference dinner, this is a stance the conference has taken based on our sustainability theme, which also relates to an environmental mindset. The conference dinner will be alcohol-free since we are in a school environment.
Note: The approximate cost in Euro can go both up and down, the fee is based on the Swedish crown (SEK).
Programme
Sunday 15th: afternoon, some social activities
Monday 16th of June: 9:00 – 17:00 + approx 18:00 Welcome reception under the egg at Karlstad university
Tuesday 17th of June: 9:00 – 17:00 + Conference dinner
Wednesday 18th of June: 9:00 – 17:00 + evening, some social activities
Destination Karlstad
Read about the city of Karlstad
Organisers
Karlstad University
City of Karlstad
Local organising committee: Valerie Margrain (chair ECHA), Elisabet Mellroth (chair igMCG), Felicia Augustsson, Charlotta Lindvall, Caroline Sims, Attila Szabo, Mirela Vinerean Bernhoff
International committee: Professor Tracy Riley, Massey University, New Zealand (keynote), Professor Kirsi Tirri, University of Helsinki, Finland (GiftED advisory group, NNGE Finland coordinator, keynote), Psychologist Jan Kwietniewski, Head of the Counseling Center for Special Talents (BbB) at the State Institute for Teacher Training and School Development in Hamburg (proposed keynote), Emeritus Professor Ann Charlotte Smedler, Sweden (GiftED advisory group), Professor John Munro, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne Australia (GiftED advisory group), Professor Margaret Sutherland, Glasgow University, Scotland (GiftED advisory group)
Accomodation
There are several hotels in the city of Karlstad, the conference have an agreement with some. Book your accomodation directly with the hotel and use the code that is specific for each hotel. To make sure you get a room book at latest the 2nd of May, for Hotel Fratelli at latest the 15th of April. Read more about specific booking codes, prices etcetera in the document of the Recommended hotels .
Venue
The venue, Sundsta-Älvkullegymnasiet, an upper secondary school located at walking distance from the city center. It is the third largest school in Sweden and has around 2000 students. It is a new and modern school equipped with the latest technology.
Read more about Sundsta-Älvkullegymnasiet.
Keynotes
Professor Kirsi Tirri
University of Helsinki, Finland and a Visiting Professor at St. John’s University, New York, USA.
Prof Tirri has an extensive publication record with around 300 research publications and over 30 doctoral students. Tirri has been the President of ECHA (European Council for High Ability) for the years 2008-2012, the President of the SIG International Studies at AERA (American Educational Research Association) for the years 2010-2013 and the President of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters for the years 2016-2017. She was a Research Director at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies for the years 2017-2019. She will present on the topic of gifted students in inclusive education.
Professor Tracy Riley
Massey University, New Zealand
Prof Tracy Riley is a leading scholar in gifted education, an award winning teacher and advocate for gifted learners. She is currently the Vice President of the World Council for Gifted & Talented Children, and an inaugural Board member of giftEDnz. She is Dean of Research at Massey University and a member of the New Zealand Deans and Directors of Graduate Schools and Australian Council of Graduate Research. Her research explores how teachers respond to giftedness, and she is leading a Teaching Learning Research Initiative applying gifted principles of differentiation in mainstream classrooms. She will present on sustainable gifted education research and praxis with lessons learned from New Zealand.
Associate professor Jorryt van Bommel
Karlstad University, Dalarna University, and Inland Norway University of Applied Science
Associate professor Jorryt van Bommelworks at Karlstad University and as a guest professor at Dalarna University and Inland Norway University of Applied Science. Over the past 20 years she has researched mathematics teaching at different levels and has focused on problem solving in the early years, differentiation in mathematics and professional development of teachers. In her keynote, Jorryt will focus on a longitudinal project on problem solving and connect this to the research on the needs of gifted students in mathematics. By investigating activities and the corresponding student solutions, the opportunities offered through problem solving will be explored.
Psychologist Jan Kwietniewski
Head of the Counseling Center for Special Talents (BbB) at the State Institute for Teacher Training and School Development in Hamburg.
Jan Kwietniewski is a graduate psychologist with a focus on diagnostic issues, having studies in Gdańsk (Poland) and Hamburg (Germany). He manages the specialist office for the promotion of the gifted in Hamburg and pursues a focus on school development and gifted education. His leadership in the area of individual support and towards systematic gifted education for all schools in the Hamburg region addresses the conference themes of inclusion and sustainable practice.
More about activities related to ECHA and igMCG at Karlstad University
GiftED doctoral programme
The GiftED doctoral programme (Forskarskolan GiftED) has funding from the Swedish Research Council 2021-26. It is a partnership between Karlstad, Stockholm and Mälardalen Universities, with 10 current doctoral students. The image GiftED have embraced is of Swedish summer daisies (prästkragar). This image is a twist on the international flower associated with gifted education, the poppy. We shift orientation from the problems of tall poppies to the joy of summer, appreciation for growth, and an icon of Sweden. The capital letters ED at the end of GiftED are an important highlight to show the emphasis on education. GiftED supports the conference with some of their funding as a doctoral programme activity.
Read more about GiftED doctoral programme
The Nordic Network for GiftED Education, NNGE
NNGE has funding from the Swedish Research Council 2022-24 and represents all five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The focus of the network is on gifted education research. The icicle image is chosen as an iconic representation of Nordic country winters. The particular winter image provides a point of differentiation to the GiftED doctoral programme summer image, but is connected through the imagery of plants. Thus the frosted plant is also a re-conceptualisation of the international gifted poppy symbol. The image and any publications may be frozen moments, but our gifted education research and networking continue dynamically. NNGE supports the conference with some of their funding as a Nordic network activity.
Read more about The Nordic Network for GiftED Education, NNGE