ICTMA23 · Programme

Six days in Skukuza

A full academic programme of keynotes, plenaries, parallel sessions, posters and working groups, with an evening in the bush to end almost every day.

Programme outline

The week at a glance

The provisional programme follows on 1 July 2027 and the final programme on 1 August 2027.

Download the outline (PDF)
  1. Sunday

    22 August 2027

    Morning Arrival
    Afternoon Early Career Researchers' Meeting, ICTMA Executive Committee meeting and registration
    Late afternoon and evening Welcome Function under the Baobab Tree
  2. Monday

    23 August 2027

    Morning Conference opening, keynote address and Parallel Session 1
    Afternoon Plenary 1, poster presentations and Parallel Session 2
    Late afternoon and evening Dinner at Kruger Station
  3. Tuesday

    24 August 2027

    Morning Plenary 2 (parts 1 and 2) and Parallel Session 3
    Afternoon Working Group 1 or 2 and Parallel Session 4
    Late afternoon and evening Game drive and bush braai
  4. Wednesday

    25 August 2027

    Morning Plenary 3 (combined presentation) and Parallel Session 5
    Afternoon ICTMA Business Meeting (including the ICTMA24 presentation and conference outputs) and Parallel Session 6
    Late afternoon and evening Free evening
  5. Thursday

    26 August 2027

    Morning Plenary 4 with commentary, and Parallel Session 7
    Afternoon Working Group 1 or 2 and the panel discussion
    Late afternoon and evening Gala dinner under the stars, awards and closing
  6. Friday

    27 August 2027

    Morning Departure
    Afternoon  
    Late afternoon and evening  

Long and short oral presentations

Long (30 + 15 minutes) and short (20 + 10 minutes) presentations run in seven parallel sessions. Contributions may be empirical, theoretical, philosophical or methodological, and may report on ongoing or completed research.

Poster presentations

The programme has dedicated time for poster presentations.

Working groups

Two working groups meet twice each. One focuses on contextualising mathematical modelling in relation to the conference theme, the other on teacher education and professional development in mathematical modelling.

Early Career Researchers' Meeting

Held on Sunday 22 August before the conference opens, with Prof Gloria Stillman, Prof Werner Blum and Prof Tony Essien.

Speakers

Keynote and plenary speakers

One keynote of 75 minutes, four plenaries and a commentary. Open a profile to read more.

  • Portrait of Prof Hans-Stefan Siller

    Keynote, 75 minutes

    Prof Hans-Stefan Siller

    Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany

    Profile

    Professor of Mathematics Education and holder of the Chair of Mathematics V (Didactics of Mathematics) at Würzburg. His work covers mathematical modelling, real-world applications, digital tools, assessment, STEM and task design. Two current strands stand out: Education for Sustainable Development in mathematics, and the role of generative AI, digital tools and learning analytics in teaching and learning. He completed his doctorate at the University of Salzburg in 2006 and his habilitation at the University of Vienna in 2012, and held a professorship at Koblenz-Landau before joining Würzburg in 2017.

  • Portrait of Prof Zehavit Kohen

    Plenary 1, 60 minutes

    Prof Zehavit Kohen

    Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Israel

    Profile

    Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education in Science and Technology at the Technion and head of the MtED (Mathematics Teacher Education and Development) Lab. Her research looks at mathematical modelling in authentic technological contexts drawn from STEM fields, and at the design and large-scale implementation of modelling tasks with teachers and students. She is PI of i-MAT (Integrated Mathematics and Technology), now used nationwide in Israel and embedded in the middle-school curriculum. She was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford in 2015-2016.

  • Portrait of Prof Renuka Vithal

    Plenary 2, part 1

    Prof Renuka Vithal

    University of Fort Hare, South Africa

    Profile

    Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Fort Hare, recently retired as Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning. A former high school mathematics teacher, she became full professor and Dean of Education at UKZN. She holds an MPhil from Cambridge and a dr.scient. from Aalborg University, which later awarded her an honorary doctorate. With more than 90 publications, she is known internationally for work on the social, cultural and political dimensions of mathematics education. She holds an NRF B-rating and is a member of ASSAf.

  • Portrait of Prof Akio Matsuzaki

    Plenary 2, part 2

    Prof Akio Matsuzaki

    Saitama University, Japan

    Profile

    Professor in the Faculty of Education at Saitama University. His PhD from the Tokyo University of Science focused on evaluating mathematical modelling competencies, and his thesis was published by Kyoritsu Shuppan in 2018. He was secretary general of ICTMA21 in Japan in 2023 and chairs the editorial board of the International Journal of Research on Mathematics and Science Education. He served as an International Quality Control Monitor for TIMSS 2011 and as a JICA education specialist.

  • Portrait of Prof Irene Ferrando

    Plenary 3, combined presentation

    Prof Irene Ferrando

    Universitat de València, Spain

    Profile

    Associate Professor in Mathematics Education at the University of Valencia and a former secondary school teacher. Her research covers modelling processes of students and prospective teachers, problem solving, estimation and representations, with a sustained focus on Fermi problems. She co-leads CERME TWG06 (Modelling and Applications), is an editor of the Journal of Mathematical Behavior, and coordinates IMMC-Spain. She has taken part in ICTMA since Nottingham in 2015.

  • Portrait of Prof Berta Barquero

    Plenary 3, combined presentation

    Prof Berta Barquero

    Universitat de Barcelona, Spain

    Profile

    Associate Professor in Mathematics Education at the Universitat de Barcelona. Her research is grounded in the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic and focuses on modelling, inquiry-based teaching and teacher education, in particular Study and Research Paths. She has led several Spanish research projects, co-chaired INDRUM 4, led the CERME working group on Applications and Modelling, and serves on the boards of SEIEM and ERME.

  • Portrait of Prof Bavesh Kana

    Plenary 4

    Prof Bavesh Kana

    University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

    Profile

    Head of the School of Pathology at Wits. During the TB and COVID-19 crises his team developed the first biologically safe "biomimetic" diagnostic controls, which led to the Wits spin-out SmartSpot Quality, now supporting diagnostics in more than 80 countries. His research in tuberculosis biology led to a novel vaccine candidate. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and has received the NRF Societal Impact Award and the SAMRC Scientific Merit Awards.

  • Portrait of Prof Gabriele Kaiser

    Commentary to Plenary 4

    Prof Gabriele Kaiser

    University of Hamburg, Germany

    Profile

    Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Hamburg since 1998 and senior professor since 2021. Her research covers teacher education and professionalism, the teaching and learning of modelling, international comparative studies, and gender and cultural aspects of mathematics education. She has been Editor-in-chief of ZDM Mathematics Education since 2005 and was Convenor of ICME-13 in Hamburg in 2016.

Panel discussion

“Context and Diversity, Reimagining Meaning in Mathematical Modelling Education”

Chaired by Prof Duncan Mhakure, with five panel members from four continents.

  • Portrait of Prof Duncan Mhakure

    Panel chair

    Prof Duncan Mhakure

    University of Cape Town, South Africa

    Profile

    Associate Professor in the Centre for Higher Education Development at UCT. His interests include mathematical knowledge for teaching, teacher development, modelling education, quantitative literacy and classroom discourse. He works with partners in Brazil, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique and Norway, and is South Africa's representative in the International Mathematical Modelling Challenge (IMMC).

  • Portrait of Dr Brantina Chirinda

    Panel member

    Dr Brantina Chirinda

    University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

    Profile

    Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education at Wits, with postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Johannesburg and UC Berkeley. She uses design-based research to study problem solving, equity and context in under-resourced settings, including how AI can support more equitable mathematics education. She has 22 years of teaching experience across Zimbabwe, South Africa and the United States, and leads SAMENET.

  • Portrait of Prof Mustafa Çevikbaş

    Panel member

    Prof Mustafa Çevikbaş

    Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

    Profile

    Tenure-track professor of mathematics education at VUB. He was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in Hamburg, an Einstein Fellow at Humboldt University Berlin and a guest professor in Münster. His recent work looks at how generative AI can support, challenge or change mathematical modelling and teacher education, including human-AI co-modelling and responsible AI use.

  • Portrait of Prof Carolina Guerrero Ortiz

    Panel member

    Prof Carolina Guerrero Ortiz

    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile

    Profile

    Professor at the Institute of Mathematics at PUCV, trained at UAM and Cinvestav in Mexico. She has led two ANID-funded projects on knowledge for teaching modelling in digital environments and on the move from initial teacher education into practice. She chairs the Teacher Education Programme in Mathematics.

  • Portrait of Dr Ben Galluzzo

    Panel member

    Dr Ben Galluzzo

    Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP), USA

    Profile

    Executive Director of COMAP, whose competitions reach more than 100 000 students a year. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematical and Computational Sciences from Iowa, received the MAA Henry L. Alder Award, co-authored the GAIMME report, and chaired the IM²C Expert Panel before joining COMAP as director in 2024.

  • Portrait of Prof Stanislaw Schukajlow

    Panel member

    Prof Stanislaw Schukajlow

    University of Münster, Germany

    Profile

    Professor of Mathematics Education at Münster since 2013. His research covers strategies, motivation, emotions and teaching methods in modelling, through projects such as MultiMa, ViMo, OModA and TaiGer. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of ZDM Mathematics Education and holds six DFG research grants.

Sunday 22 August

Early Career Researchers' Meeting

Held before the conference opens, and organised by a member of the Local Organising Committee.

  • Portrait of Prof Gloria Stillman

    Presenter

    Prof Gloria Stillman

    Retired, Australian Catholic University, Australia

    Profile

    Former Associate Professor at ACU Ballarat and former President of ICTMA. She received ICTMA's Henry Pollak Award at ICTMA21 in 2023 and, with Prof Gabriele Kaiser, edits the Springer series International Perspectives on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematical Modelling.

  • Portrait of Prof Werner Blum

    Presenter

    Prof Werner Blum

    University of Kassel, Germany

    Profile

    Professor of Mathematics Education at Kassel from 1975 until 2013. He edited the ICTMA Proceedings from 1993 to 2017, led ICMI Study 14 on applications and modelling, and was a member of the PISA Mathematics Expert Group. He received the Henry Pollak Award in 2021.

  • Portrait of Prof Anthony (Tony) Essien

    Presenter

    Prof Anthony (Tony) Essien

    University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

    Profile

    Associate Professor at the Wits School of Education and South African Numeracy Chair from 2022 to 2025. His research is on language in the teaching and learning of mathematics. He is an associate editor of Educational Studies in Mathematics.

Call for abstracts

Submit by 1 February 2027

Abstract submission is open. Send 300 to 400 words, including key references through the Oxford Abstracts platform. If you have not used it before, you will need to create an account first.

All presenters, including keynote, plenary, oral, working group and poster presenters, submit their abstract through the platform.

Contributions can address any of the eight strands, at any level of education. Authors hear the outcome by 15 February 2027.

Key dates

ICTMA23 key dates
Abstract submissions open (passed) 1 August 2026
Conference registration opens 1 December 2026
Abstract submissions close 1 February 2027
Abstract outcome sent to authors 15 February 2027
SANParks bungalow bookings close 22 February 2027
Early-bird registration closes 1 April 2027
Skukuza Safari Lodge bookings close 15 May 2027
Regular registration closes 1 June 2027
Provisional programme 1 July 2027
Final programme 1 August 2027
Conference 22-27 August 2027

Social programme

Evenings in the bush

The evening functions on conference days are included in registration.

  • Sunday 22 August

    Welcome Function under the Baobab Tree

    The welcome function takes place under the magnificent baobab tree at Skukuza Safari Lodge. The tree was planted by James Stevenson-Hamilton, the first warden of the Kruger National Park.

  • Monday 23 August

    Dinner at Kruger Station

    Kruger Station sits on the historic Selati railway line in Skukuza Rest Camp and mixes the heritage of the park with modern hospitality. Dinner on the first conference day is held here.

  • Tuesday 24 August

    Game drive and bush braai

    An afternoon game drive, an African sunset, and a traditional South African braai under the night sky. A relaxed chance to meet colleagues while seeing the wildlife of the park.

  • Thursday 26 August

    Gala dinner under the stars

    The conference dinner and awards are held in the open air at the Skukuza Golf Club, overlooking the course and the bushveld. In keeping with the theme, the evening celebrates the international and cultural diversity of everyone attending.

More to do in Skukuza

Delegates and accompanying persons can book these on arrival at the camp.

Wildlife experiences

Guided morning, sunset and night game drives, guided bush walks, and birdwatching at the Lake Panic Bird Hide. Wildlife films are screened in the camp's outdoor amphitheatre.

Leisure and culture

The Skukuza Golf Course, AM Spa Kruger, the Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial Library, the Campbell 1929 Hut Museum and the Skukuza Indigenous Nursery.

Recreation

Walks along the Sabie River, swimming pools for overnight guests, and shops in the camp. Activities can be booked on arrival.

ICTMA, the International Community of Teachers of Mathematical Modelling and Applications

Hosted by

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and the Wits School of Education