Submission Deadline: 20th September 2026 Research Colloquium: 11th December 2026 Location: Leuven, Belgium If you are working at the interface between law and emerging technologies, you now have the opportunity to present ongoing research as part of the KU Leuven Research Colloquium on Law and Emerging Technologies 2026. The colloquium is organized by the Center for IT & IP Law (CiTiP), KU Leuven and is planned for Leuven on the 11th of December 2026. As the colloquium will form part of a larger CiTiP conference running on 10th-11th December 2026, researchers attending this event may apply to the colloquium either as presenters or as ordinary attendees contributing to and learning from scholarly debates on a wide range of topics related to the future direction of IT & IP law.
The Research Colloquium specifically targets doctoral and early researchers developing research in the broad field of law and emerging technologies.
Researchers whose application is successful will have an opportunity to present their research work to a distinguished panel of experts and receive critical feedback on their project. An opportunity for early legal researchers The intention is not for those selected to simply present papers to a passive audience, but rather to create a dynamic academic environment that encourages debate and interaction between researchers and expert discussants alike. Those who are selected will make short presentations outlining ongoing doctoral or similar research projects, before joining those present in an informal discussion about the work. It will be useful not just to get feedback and critical responses on your present work, but also suggestions to better frame or structure research questions in future work.
The colloquium should ideally be beneficial to researchers wishing to clarify their research questions and deepen their analysis before completing their thesis or subsequent stages of their research and to connect with others working in similar questions.
It is organized by the Center for IT & IP Law of KU Leuven and forms an event held on one of two days within their broader conference. This latter event will take place inLeuvenon the 10th and 11th December 2026. Both are expected to draw an attendance composed of many of the top academics, practitioners in this new field, members of leading international organizations as well as those involved in government on all levels from the EU to local communities.
The conference itself promises to be a place to engage in cutting-edge thinking on information technology, intellectual property, emerging technologies and all of the legal and policy issues they are creating, and those we might anticipate will emerge, and I would definitely advocate reading into its full program before writing my respective application! Research Areas The topical reach is quite broad, and covers at least as many of the main topics that people write about concerning new legal technology as I can currently think of, and possibly even more topics as we discover them. Artificial Intelligence regulation and law is certainly one aspect to be considered, for example, considering the new EUAI Actand/or theDigital Omnibus, as is a description of research concerning risk and trust frameworks associated with Al,and/or discussion of algorithmic decision making or of its implementation within finance or the creative sector.
Data protection is a major research area on many topics from theGDRot all aspects related to data transactions and all aspects of the legal dimensions to children’s rights and emerging technologies-including the legal rights of child citizens in digital space, age verification requirements, online children’s profiling/dark patterns, or, worse still, a discourse concerning child exploitation through the digital medium.
I could of course continue by noting topics that I would have thought belong, like consumer rights in digital markets, protection of citizens’ financial resources when using new technologies for such activities, children’s consumer rights in relation to technology or new markets, children’s rights on the internet, even cyber protection of state security, or cyber-related policy approaches in Europe and globally. There are of course, more research areas including data, digital law and regulation of both public and private domains thereof, online platform regulation and content mediation, the various impacts of AI on law and legal systems throughout various forms and domains and more topics than could ever fit within an event’s reach. If research is underway concerning the Digital Omnibus, DS and online services or interoperability of information systems or new contractual relations andnew technologies or the place and function of digital intermediaries or the legalities surrounding data usage within modern health services or even concerning medical AI in decision making context; such research should definitely fall within this broad domain.
Who Can Apply?
PhD and junior level researchers interested in discussing their works in progress are specifically addressed.
The selected participants will make concise presentations that are meant to serve as prompts for extended academic debate that will also encompass peers and scholars more broadly involved in new technological frontiers. This is for students interested in a high-impact, interactive debate as their first, nascent introduction to communicating an unfolding area of scholarly exploration-it’s likely for anyone currently developing these areas that are now the main topics of legal scholarship to the same degree if not greater than other classical areas of law. This discussion and debate must involve a description of your existing research on these topics of mutual interest and you might ask advice from senior scholars and peers on such topics in this context.
The speakers at the forum are distinguished practitioners and leading academics with expertise in: Prof. Mateja Durovic (King’s College London; Judge of the European Court of Human Rights); Prof. Andreas Kotsios (Uppsala University); and Prof.
Niovi Vavoula (University of Luxembourg).
How to Submit Apply through an email at Maya Nisevic at: Maya.nisevic@kuleuven.be Subject line must clearly be: KUL CiTiP Research Colloquium in Law and Emerging Technologies Submission And you may send an updated C.V.; relevant speaker/teaching history; list of any and all relevant publications; and importantly one-page research overview which contains your abstract (500 words max), the central question you wish to address, the research question you’d specifically like to discuss with fellow researchers and scholars and motivation as to why you want to attend. These application elements should be compressed and attached as ONE singular PDF file, naming it YOURNAME_Colloquium2026.pdf (no spaces, or any other odd character besides the underscore). Attendance: Registration at both days will be self-funded at the time of its announcement. Useful Dates for researchers interested in applying Submission Deadline: 20 September 2026 Confirmation email will be sent to selected applicants no later than October 15th, 2026 Research Colloquium: December 11, 2026 Location: Leuven, Belgium (The specific location will be announced when details are clearer.)
Why Attend?
What a spectacular, cutting edge conference for so many law researchers seeking guidance! A discussion of research concerning AI, new technologies, cyber policy, new fields and all types of digital research conducted for scholarly endeavors seems truly essential at this given moment in history. To be included among those chosen to engage in a debate about your ongoing research in this domain offers one the unparalleled ability to test assumptions with experts, to sharpen questions and to begin formulating coherent strategies around one’s thesis that will serve as invaluable resources when pursuing this work further in the many different areas relevant.
If such topics touch upon your research, then this is the event you won’t want to miss. Presenters: Center for IT & IP Law (CiTiP), KU Leuven Colloquium Date: December 11, 2026 Venue: Leuven, Belgium Submission Deadline:
