{"id":330,"date":"2026-07-25T04:49:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T04:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/?page_id=330"},"modified":"2026-07-25T04:51:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T04:51:49","slug":"culcom2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/past-conferences\/culcom2026\/","title":{"rendered":"CULCOM2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\"><strong>CULCOM Hosts 4<sup>th<\/sup> Annual Conference: Intercultural Competence in the Age of AI<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">On Wednesday, July 22, the School of Social Sciences\u2019 Linguistics and English Language Discipline hosted the fourth annual conference of the cross-faculty Culture and Communication Network (<a href=\"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/\">CULCOM<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">Under the theme \u2018Defining, Developing, and Assessing Intercultural Competence in the Age of AI,\u2019 the conference tackled the impact of Generative AI on intercultural communication, particularly concerning the field\u2019s core objective: intercultural competence. Intercultural competence &#8211; traditionally defined as the ability to communicate and behave effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations, based on one\u2019s knowledge, skills, and attitudes &#8211; needs to be updated for the AI era, as all talks highlighted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">The event featured two keynote talks and four research presentations, attracting 27 delegates spanning in-person and online participation modes, disciplines, career trajectories, and time zones. Despite the diversity of topics, three core themes united the discussions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">Reflection: In the age of AI, it is more vital than ever to develop critical reflection and evaluation skills in students, educators, every one of us.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">Industry: Connecting with industry is key, for example, to feedback research findings on how AI is impacting intercultural communication and competence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">Relationships: In any industry and especially in a post-digital age, human relationships remain paramount. If used properly to support relationships, AI can help us achieve IA (Intercultural Alignment).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-307\" src=\"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/In-person-participants-2-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/In-person-participants-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/In-person-participants-2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/In-person-participants-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/In-person-participants-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/In-person-participants-2-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">In the first keynote of the day, Associate Professor Lies Sercu (KU Leuven, Belgium) summarised and systematically evaluated the relevance of existing definitions of intercultural competence and the methods used to develop it in the age of AI. She proposed an updated definition of intercultural competence tailored for the AI era, emphasising that educators should place an even greater focus on developing students\u2019 skills in reflecting on and evaluating AI-generated content as a priority within intercultural competence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">\u2018Interculturally competent communicators will not be those who avoid AI,\u2019 Associate Professor Sercu noted, \u2018but those who can reflect on it critically.\u2019 This distinction, she emphasised, is what separates developing intercultural competence from simply outsourcing it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-308\" src=\"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Definition-of-IC-in-the-age-of-AI_Lies-Sercu-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Definition-of-IC-in-the-age-of-AI_Lies-Sercu-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Definition-of-IC-in-the-age-of-AI_Lies-Sercu-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Definition-of-IC-in-the-age-of-AI_Lies-Sercu-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Definition-of-IC-in-the-age-of-AI_Lies-Sercu-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Definition-of-IC-in-the-age-of-AI_Lies-Sercu-2048x1537.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">The second keynote of the day, delivered by Professor Zhu Hua (University College London, UK), examined how AI is shifting the priorities of intercultural communication research. Professor Zhu opened her talk with a striking image of people scanning a wall of QR codes for job listings, illustrating a \u2018post-digital\u2019 world where technology is no longer a separate part of our lives but woven seamlessly into daily life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">Professor Zhu explored the promises of Generative AI for more competent and equitable intercultural communication in the context of recruitment interviews. The theme of reflection resurfaced once again when audience members were challenged to guess from a transcript whether the recruiter was a human or an AI persona and when they were asked to analyse an AI-led recruitment interview.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-309\" src=\"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/AI-led-recruitment-interview_Zhu-Hua-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/AI-led-recruitment-interview_Zhu-Hua-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/AI-led-recruitment-interview_Zhu-Hua-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/AI-led-recruitment-interview_Zhu-Hua-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/AI-led-recruitment-interview_Zhu-Hua-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/AI-led-recruitment-interview_Zhu-Hua-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">With its focus on recruitment, the second keynote of the day also emphasised the importance of forging connections with industry, collaborating with industry, and feeding research findings back to industry partners.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">The theme of building connections with industry was also prominent in the first research presentation of the day, delivered by Dr Zhang Yong from Sichuan International Studies University, China, who is also a former Visiting Scholar at Lancaster University. This talk shared initial findings from a teaching reform project that analysed the focus and content of intercultural communication courses available in China. Notably, these initial findings pointed to both a greater need for reflection and evaluation, and a stronger connection with industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">In the second talk of the day, Associate Professor Lu Li (Xidian University, China) &#8211; also a former Visiting Scholar at Lancaster University &#8211; presented findings from a survey of undergraduate English majors at Xidian University. The study examined the correlation between AI use and intercultural competence, utilising the Chinese Intercultural Competence Scale (CICS), specifically developed to account for potential cultural variations in how intercultural competence is defined. The findings revealed a positive correlation between intercultural competence and AI use, but notably, this only occurred when the AI use was \u2018deeper\u2019 &#8211; meaning the students were actively reflective and evaluative of the AI-generated content.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">In the third talk of the day, Rui Tojo &#8211; a Doctoral Researcher at Lancaster University, UK, and Associate Lecturer at the University of Exeter, UK &#8211; presented findings from research co-conducted with Dr Tomoko Kitano from Kansai University, Japan. The study surveyed Pre-Service Japanese as a Foreign Language (PSJFL) teachers to understand both their current use of AI and how they hope their future students will use it. The findings revealed a discrepancy: while the PSJFL teachers mainly used AI for technical tasks like language editing, they expected their students to use AI to gain different perspectives &#8211; a key component of intercultural competence. This misalignment further highlights the crucial need to place AI literacy at the heart of intercultural competence development of both students and educators.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-310\" src=\"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-3-Rui-Tojo-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-3-Rui-Tojo-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-3-Rui-Tojo-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-3-Rui-Tojo-768x572.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-3-Rui-Tojo-1536x1144.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-3-Rui-Tojo-2048x1526.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">Closing the loop on the theme of building industry connections, the day concluded with a talk by Emmanuel Echeverria. With over 20 years of experience in the IT engineering industry, Echeverria is currently a master\u2019s student at Lancaster University, UK, researching how intercultural competence creates value in global IT. While we often view the IT sector as purely technical and detached from human affairs, his talk highlighted the human relationships factor as a \u2018key layer of interoperability\u2019 alongside technology and processes. Drawing on interviews with employees and strategic suppliers from a multinational IT company, the talk emphasised that relationships, not technology, were perceived as the primary challenge to project success in global IT.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">Ultimately, the talk invited participants to view intercultural competence as intercultural \u2018alignment\u2019 or IA. It underscored the vital importance of human connections even in a tech-driven sector, proposing that when leveraged for relationship-building, AI can actively help achieve IA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-311\" src=\"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-4-Emmanuel-Echeverria-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-4-Emmanuel-Echeverria-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-4-Emmanuel-Echeverria-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-4-Emmanuel-Echeverria-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-4-Emmanuel-Echeverria-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/files\/2026\/07\/Talk-4-Emmanuel-Echeverria-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif\">Since 2023, CULCOM has been connecting Lancaster University staff, postgraduate students (master\u2019s students and doctoral researchers) and visiting scholars interested in any aspect of culture and communication. In 2026, the CULCOM conference was financially supported by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lancaster.ac.uk\/confucius-institute\/\">Lancaster University Confucius Institute<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CULCOM Hosts 4th Annual Conference: Intercultural Competence in the Age of AI On Wednesday, July 22, the School of Social Sciences\u2019 Linguistics and English Language Discipline hosted the fourth annual conference of the cross-faculty Culture and Communication Network (CULCOM). Under &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/past-conferences\/culcom2026\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1699,"featured_media":0,"parent":313,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-330","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1699"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":335,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/330\/revisions\/335"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/culcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}