The International Scientific Conference, ADLES Powered by UNINOVIS 2025: Art, Design, Languages, Education and Social Work: Innovations in Theory and Practice, was held at Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution, the Faculty of Arts and Education, on December 11–12, 2025. The event brought together more than 70 participants, including the guests from 12 countries, also partners and the speaker from the UNINOVIS alliance. Over 50 presentations were featured addressing current issues in education, design, creative practices, language learning, and social work. The conference was accompanied by a virtual exhibition showcasing works by 20 international artists.

During the plenary session, four international experts delivered keynote presentations addressing diverse yet highly relevant themes for contemporary higher education and culture. Eveke de Louw (The Hague University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands), in her presentation ‘Internationalisation at Home: Transforming Education’, emphasised the strengthening of internationalisation within the study environment. She discussed how global competencies can be integrated into everyday teaching and learning processes and what institutional changes are required to make learning environments more inclusive and culturally responsive.

Dr María Bobadilla-Pérez (University of A Coruña, Spain) presented ‘From Screen to Skill: Factors Driving Language Learning in AVT Contexts’, focusing on language learning in the context of audiovisual translation. She highlighted that subtitling, dubbing, and other AVT methods can effectively enhance linguistic skills, while technological solutions and cultural content directly influence learning motivation and effectiveness.

In the presentation ‘Futures Designed: Integrating Micro-Credentials into Art and Design Education – Innovations in Theory and Practice’, Dr Anna Merry Economou (Frederick University, Cyprus) analysed the integration of micro-credentials into art and design studies. She emphasised that these flexible, competence-based learning modules enable students to purposefully shape their professional pathways, respond more rapidly to sectoral changes, and create personalised learning experiences aligned with contemporary needs.

Dr Jakub Dąbrowski (Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland)  in his presentation ‘Restoring Liberal Values? Polish Culture after Eight Years of Right-Wing Rule’, examined the impact of political developments over the past decade on the Polish cultural field. He discussed sector-specific challenges, shifting institutional policy priorities, and opportunities emerging in the new political context.

Following the plenary session, participants continued their work in five thematic sections focusing on challenges of creativity and inclusion in the digital age, the relationship between language learning and artificial intelligence, transformations of discourse and translation in the AI era, digital risks and opportunities in language studies, digitalisation processes in social work, as well as the intersections of art, heritage, and technology.

‘Contours of the Future’ Exhibition: Intersections of Art, Technology and Responsibility

Continuing an established tradition, the conference was once again accompanied by the virtual visual art and design exhibition ‘Contours of the Future’. Bringing together academics, business representatives, and artists from various countries, International scientific conference ADLES Powered by UNINOVIS 2025 invited participants to reflect on innovative practices, cross-sectoral challenges, and the development of digital solutions. Artists from Lithuania, Latvia, and Turkey explored visions of the future through painting, graphic art, computer graphics, textiles, sculptural objects, and fashion design. Their works address themes of human responsibility, choice, and creative freedom, encouraging viewers to step back from everyday routines and reflect on themselves and their environment from a broader perspective. The exhibition emphasises that the future is not predetermined – it is shaped by individual and collective decisions, while creative reflection helps to seek inner balance and direction.

UNINOVIS Excellence Hubs and the Development of International Cooperation

On the 12^th of December, the programme of the International scientific conference ADLES Powered by UNINOVIS 2025 was extended with a networking event and a round table discussion entitled ‘Bridging Practice and Research: Scientifically Exploring Alliance-Driven Innovations in Higher Education Institutions’. The event brought together researchers and practitioners from various partner institutions of Kauno kolegija, including colleagues from across the UNINOVIS Alliance, to discuss how institutional practice and academic research can be more effectively connected. The discussion featured rich and insightful exchanges on alliance-driven innovations and explored opportunities to strengthen collaboration through applied research, joint initiatives, and knowledge exchange.

Following the round table discussion, participants joined the official virtual presentation of the eight UNINOVIS Excellence Hubs established across all institutions of the Alliance. At Kauno Kolegija, the Logistics and Cybersecurity Excellence Hub was officially launched. There are eight Excellence Hubs, each focusing on a specific topic:

• • Smart and Sustainable Environments (University Sorbonne Paris North, France)
  • Health and Wellbeing Systems (University of Málaga, Spain)
  • Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt, Germany)
  • Wellness Technologies and Systems (Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Finland)
  • Responsible AI for Society (The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands)
  • Logistics and Data Science applied to Statistics (University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Italy)
  • ICT Technologies and Languages (University of Tirana, Albania)
  • Logistics and Cyber Security (Kauno Kolegija HEI, Lithuania)

The UNINOVIS Excellence Hubs will serve as key structures for fostering closer cooperation both within and between the hubs. Operating through working groups, they will support increased student and staff mobility, joint research projects, and the development of double degree and joint study programmes. The conference was further enriched by the active involvement of the associated UNINOVIS European University Alliance partner Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria, who contributed to the dissemination of the event, delivered scientific presentations, and participated in networking activities thereby strengthening the conference’s academic content, international dimension, and overall visibility.