JOIN THE CONVERSATION AT ICIS WITH TABLE TALKS!

Looking to connect with like-minded peers, dive into meaningful discussions, and explore fresh perspectives? Table Talks is your chance to do just that! This initiative invites ICIS attendees to an informal, open dialogue on issues that matter. Topics may spotlight an underutilized research method like Indigenous methodologies, address challenges and opportunities for underrepresented groups, advance ideas for a special issue, or explore diversity and inclusion themes driven by and for specific communities—Table Talks is a space for you.

This initiative goes beyond typical networking, to create a forum for conversations on topics that may not always make it to the main stage

TWO SESSIONS AVAILABLE – ADD TO YOUR EXISTING REGISTRATION

Monday, December 15  – 12:45 – 13:45

#1 – Advancing Scholarship on IT, Social Justice, and Marginalized Context in the AI Era

Convenor(s):

K.D. Joshi (University of North Carolina Wilmington)
Nancy Deng (California State University, Dominguez Hills)

This table talk is to advance our conversation regarding scholarship on IT, Social Justice, and Marginalized contexts in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era. We must broaden the pipeline and participation, i.e., develop, attract, promote, and grow research on marginalized contexts systematically and deliberately. Let’s discuss – How should IS scholars challenge the hegemonic conduct of IS research and advance scholarship in this space?  How do we prioritize intellectual conversations that mitigate the risks of constructing a future where technological spaces, digital applications, and AI reflect a narrow and privileged vision of society, with its biases and stereotypes? Swing by for some good conversation, fresh ideas, and a bit of fun! We would love to hear your thoughts!

#2 – Building Visibility for Emerging IS Scholars: Creating a Culture of Recognition

Convenor(s):

Chinonso Anyaehie (University of Arkansas)

Early-stage Information Systems scholars often produce innovative work but struggle to gain recognition beyond their institutions. This Table Talk explores how we can build a more inclusive and supportive culture of visibility within the IS community. We will discuss mechanisms such as open scholar-visibility platforms (e.g., ISResearcher.com), collaborative writing circles, mentorship networks, and digital branding strategies that amplify PhD and early-career research. The goal is to co-create practical pathways that help emerging scholars gain recognition, foster cross-institutional collaborations, and strengthen the collective identity of the next generation of IS researchers.

#3 – Measuring What Matters: How Organizations Know They Are AI-Ready?

Convenor(s):

Gaurav Shekhar (The University of Texas at Dallas)

As organizations accelerate AI adoption, a key question emerges: what does it mean to be AI-ready?

This Table Talk invites discussion on how organizations assess readiness, what frameworks they use, and where gaps persist. How can AI readiness be measured meaningfully, and how can researchers and practitioners collaborate to strengthen these assessments? Join us to exchange ideas on redefining organizational AI readiness in practice.

#4 – From Field to Policy: Making IS Studies Matter

Convenor(s):

Carmen Leong (University of New South Wales)
Daniel Schlagwein (University of Sydney)

Qualitative field studies, case-based research and action design projects offer deep, contextual insights into complex real-world challenges – but how can these insights be translated into meaningful policy and lasting change? This Table Talk invites discussion on the opportunities and tensions in conducting fieldwork that aims for both analytical richness and practical impact. Drawing on experiences from projects that engage directly with governments and communities, including work with UN agencies and on remote work, we will explore strategies for working with stakeholders, translating findings into policy, and sustaining momentum beyond the research site. Join us to share lessons, challenges, and ideas for bridging the gap between field-based insights and actionable policy outcomes.

#5 – When the Researcher Is Also the Patient: AI and Chronic Self-Management

Convenor(s):

Korinzia Toniolo (Stockholm School of Economics)

As both researchers and individuals, many of us live with chronic or invisible conditions that require ongoing self-management. Increasingly, AI and generative AI tools are becoming part of how we track symptoms, interpret data, and communicate with doctors. This table talk invites discussion on how we, as Information Systems scholars, might study (and personally navigate) the role of digital technologies in chronic illness care. How can we conceptualize these tools as information infrastructures of care, self-knowledge, and identity? And how might lived experience shape our research perspectives and methodological choices?

#6 – Reimagining Faculty Wellbeing in an Always-On Academy

Convenor(s):

Marie-Claude Boudreau (University of Georgia)
Hope Koch (Baylor University)

IS faculty are juggling heavy teaching loads, constant emails, growing administrative demands, and intensifying publication pressure—all in a culture that quietly rewards overwork. This Table Talk opens space to discuss the human side of our careers: how are we really doing, and what would a sustainable, healthy academic life look like in our departments and schools? We’ll explore concrete practices for protecting time and energy (e.g., email norms, service load transparency, boundary-setting, and realistic expectations), how wellbeing challenges differ across career stages and for underrepresented scholars, and how leaders can redesign structures—not just offer wellness “tips.” Participants are invited to share experiences (successful or not!) and leave with at least one realistic change they can make at a personal, team, or institutional level to better support faculty wellbeing.

#7 – IS Research with and for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Convenor:

Dominik Fetzer (University of Hohenheim, Germany)

Digital transformation touches nearly every facet of life, yet individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often face barriers to full participation in digital spaces, leaving them at a heightened risk of exclusion. As IS researchers, we have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to design technologies and systems that are inclusive and empower individuals with IDD.

This Table Talk invites discussion on how researchers can engage meaningfully with IDD communities. Participants are encouraged to share insights on suitable research and data collection methods, challenges and how these may be addressed, success stories or lessons learned and on opportunities for future IS research.

Monday, December 15  – 15:30 – 16:30

#1 – Digital Resilience for the Climate Crisis

Convenor(s):

Nigel Melville (University of Michigan)
Ping Wang (University of Maryland, College Park)

We invite colleagues to join us to discuss the role of digital technology in tackling climate change. Considering the complex problem space, encompassing a wide variety of phenomena such as floods and landslides, disruption to global supply chains, heat waves, biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and food insecurity, we value diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives on how the IS field can contribute effective approaches to achieving digital resilience for the climate crisis (DRCC). The organizers will describe the multiple views from a forthcoming MISQ research commentary and will welcome ICIS attendees to offer their own opinions, in order to build a vibrant community of DRCC researchers within and beyond the IS field.

#2 – Human-Machine configurations for learning with AI

Convenor(s):

Dov Te’eni (Tel Aviv University)
David Schwartz (Bar Ilan University)

Join us for an engaging discussion on Human–Machine Configurations of Learning with AI. As AI transforms how individuals and organizations learn, it is critical to keep the human in the learning loop. This session explores emerging configurations of human–AI learning, including Reciprocal Human–Machine Learning —a model in which humans and machines continually exchange feedback to improve one another’s understanding. We invite participants to share experiences, frameworks, and challenges in designing systems where humans and AI learn with and from each other to foster agility, oversight, and innovation.

#3 – Bridging the IS Divide: Centering the Global South

Convenor(s):

Mathilda Oladimeji (Louisiana State University)

Information Systems (IS) research from low and medium human development index (HDI) countries often struggles for visibility, not due to lack of relevance, but because of barriers in how knowledge is often judged, framed, and published in higher HDI countries who are perceived to be the main drivers of IS research. Scholars from less-resourced countries often face pressure to follow these research norms. This Table Talk opens space to ask: How can we move research from these regions into the center of IS conversations, not just the sidelines? What happens when local ways of doing research don’t fit traditional expectations? And how do we make inclusion feel real, not just symbolic? We’ll share lived experiences, barriers, and explore ideas like cross-region research networks and a potential AIS online community dedicated to IS in these countries.

#4 – Teaching Tech Differently: From Tool Users to Capability Architects

Convenor(s):

Vishal Sachdev (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign)

Business schools teach students to use technology—Excel formulas, Python scripts, BI dashboards. But AI systems like Claude Skills reveal what employers actually need: graduates who can architect capabilities—designing reusable, composable knowledge systems that encode business logic. This table talk explores a paradigm shift in IS education using Claude Skills as our case study. When AI can be “taught” domain expertise through structured skill packages, what should we teach students? Join me to reimagine IS curricula for a world where competitive advantage comes from designing capability systems, not mastering individual tools. Bring your curriculum challenges—let’s redesign together.

#5 – IS Policy research

Convenor(s):

Roman Beck (Bentley University)
Fred Niederman (St. Louis University)

How can IS research meaningfully influence public and organizational policy? Join this Table Talk to explore how IS scholars can translate rigorous research into actionable policy insights that shape digital governance, data regulation, and innovation strategies. In this conversation we will discuss strategies for engaging policymakers, co-producing knowledge with institutions, and developing evidence-based principles for societal and organizational impact. Participants are encouraged to share experiences, challenges, and opportunities in connecting IS research with decision-making and policy outcomes.

#6 – Integrating Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Technology Design, Development and Use

Convenor:

Jacqueline Corbett (Université Laval, Canada)

Information systems continue to reflect dominant Western ways of knowing, often reinforcing bias and limiting the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives. At the same time, movements toward Indigenous digital sovereignty highlight the need for technologies that support Indigenous control over data, cultural revitalization, and self-determination.

How can Indigenous ways of knowing shape the technologies we design and use? Participants of all backgrounds and levels of experience are invited to explore opportunities for to learn from and embed Indigenous knowledges into IS practices, supporting digital sovereignty, and fostering more culturally grounded systems. Participants will share experiences, challenges, and ideas for working across these knowledge systems in inclusive and respectful ways.

#7 – From Scholarship to Stewardship: Elevating Board Service as Meaningful Academic Impact

Convenor(s):

Dr. Hope Koch, Professor (Baylor University)
Board Positions:  First National Bank-Texas, Audit Committee Chair
Elected Position:  Trustee, Temple College)

This Table Talk invites faculty to explore the often-overlooked ways that serving on outside Boards, Commissions, Advisory Councils, or in elected positions can become powerful pathways for meaningful, real-world impact.

We will discuss how Board engagement allows academics to translate research into practice, shape organizational strategy, inform technology policy, and strengthen public institutions—often far more directly than the “practical implications,” that we write in our research.  Yet despite this high-value contribution, Board service is frequently invisible in workload models, underrecognized in annual reviews, and inconsistently valued in tenure and promotion frameworks.

Together, participants will:

• Share experiences of bringing scholarly expertise into Boardrooms and policy arenas
• Identify the kinds of impact that Board involvement uniquely enables
• Map emerging tensions between traditional academic metrics and societal relevance
• Brainstorm actionable ways to expand academic performance appraisal structures so Board service is recognized, documented, and rewarded

This Table Talk is ideal for faculty already serving on Boards or considering such roles. The discussion will also serve as the foundation for a collaborative paper on how governance engagement can—and should—count as legitimate academic impact in the IS field.

Together, participants will:

• Share experiences of bringing scholarly expertise into Boardrooms and policy arenas
• Identify the kinds of impact that Board involvement uniquely enables
• Map emerging tensions between traditional academic metrics and societal relevance
• Brainstorm actionable ways to expand academic performance appraisal structures so Board service is recognized, documented, and rewarded

This Table Talk is ideal for faculty already serving on Boards or considering such roles. The discussion will also serve as the foundation for a collaborative paper on how governance engagement can—and should—count as legitimate academic impact in the IS field

For further details, contact Annette Mills – annette.mills@canterbury.ac.nz