Conference at a Glance

Dates: October 10-12, 2026
Venue and hosted by Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Nepal
Mode:  Hybrid
Target audience: Researchers, teacher educators, school/HE leaders, policymakers, doctoral, MPhil, and master’s students, practitioners, and activists.

Our TERSD-2026 conference showcases years of collaborative work between Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED) and partner institutions across communities, both locally and globally. This work has shown us that building educational institutions of genuine repute requires more than academic excellence measured by conventional metrics. It demands a fundamental shift in how we understand knowledge, power, responsibility, and solidarity. When we speak of “universities and schools,” we mean something different from, for example, many of the universities with top global rankings that remain largely disconnected from the communities they serve. We envision educational institutions that have earned respect through their commitment to justice, their willingness to confront difficult truths, and their capacity to generate knowledge that serves human liberation. Our notion of universities and schools, therefore, represents those who are engaged with communities. But it is not engagement over or on communities, rather it is for and with communities. With this in mind, our engagement in this conference focuses on three key themes of transformative research and practice: Praxis, Emancipatory Interest, and Dharma Ideals.