Vinton Cerf, vice president and chief internet evangelist at Google, is the keynote speaker at Times Higher Education (THE) and Inside Higher Ed’s Digital Universities US (DUUS), which is taking place May 1-3 and is co-hosted by the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Higher education, industry, and policy leaders working at the forefront of academic innovation and technology will come together to hear Cerf share his thoughts on how technology is changing teaching and learning as well as the role universities can play in advancing technological equity, fostering new ideas, and teaching responsible internet use.

There are more than 100 speakers at the event who will share their expertise in digital transformation across the university sector, including Raj Echambadi, president of Illinois Institute of Technology; Paul Huckett, assistant dean of learning design and innovation at Johns Hopkins University; and Melody Buckner, associate vice provost for digital learning initiatives and online education at The University of Arizona.

Senior individuals from tech companies speaking, include Rohit Prasad, vice president and head scientist for Amazon Alexa, Amazon; Darcy Hardy, associate vice president for academic affairs and director of Anthology's Education and Research Center; and Kelly Sundberg, cloud director for the U.S. Education team at Microsoft. 

Illinois Institute of Technology is the host partner for the event, which has more than 40 sessions and will take place at the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship and Hermann Hall in Chicago. This year’s theme is “Innovating higher education in the digital age,” and the challenges and opportunities of building agile, digital-first higher education will be presented.

More than 300 delegates have signed up to attend the three-day event so far, which also includes interactive panels, live demonstrations, workshops, and networking opportunities.

“Digital Universities US will, once again, convene leaders from institutions alongside industry innovators to discuss digital transformation in higher education,” said Jamie Ramacciotti, head of content for THE events. “Hosted at Illinois Institute of Technology, the program will drive forward important conversations about the future of a digital-first higher education experience and the challenges and opportunities facing colleges and universities across the U.S.”

“It is our privilege to welcome fellow innovators and thought leaders from around the world who are helping to chart a path to the possibilities we can build together,” said Raj Echambadi, president, Illinois Institute of Technology. “We look forward to engaging and enlightening discussions and to the opportunity to learn and imagine ways of building the mission-driven digital university of the future. We are excited to partner with Times Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed in widening and enriching the scope of this dialogue, and I look forward to seeing you in Chicago this May.”

More information about the event is available here and tickets are available here.