World Symposium on Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development (WSAISD 2026)

While AI offers solutions in climate modeling, healthcare, and poverty reduction, unchecked deployment can exacerbate inequality, energy consumption, and data privacy risks. There is an urgent need for a global platform where policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders can collaboratively shape AI’s role in sustainability. WSAISD 2026 addresses this by presenting green AI technologies, tools to streamline production processes and policies that ensure AI advancements contribute to long-term planetary and societal well-being.

• a) Showcase AI innovations that directly support the SDGs, such as precision agriculture, renewable energy optimisation, and disaster prediction.
• b) Discuss guidelines for responsible AI use in a sustainability context, emphasising fairness, transparency, and accountability.
• c) Facilitate partnerships between governments, academia, and the private sector to scale AI solutions for sustainability.
• d) Promote inclusive growth and contribute towards ensuring that AI benefits reach marginalised communities, avoiding a digital divide. By uniting the many stakeholders, WSAISD 2026 strives to harness AI as a force for global sustainability, ensuring technology serves humanity and the planet.

Papers may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• Integrating AI and sustainability across disciplines 
• Strategies for embedding AI into sustainability across diverse academic fields. 
• AI applications for sustainable production and management
• Using AI to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
• Using AI to advance circular economy, business models and ecosystems
• Integrating AI and life cycle assessment
• Innovative use of AI for sustainability education and learning, experiential education, and transdisciplinary approaches. 
• Leveraging AI and digital for smart learning on sustainability
• Empowering staff and students for using AI for sustainability
• Using AI in Green Campus and Carbon-Neutrality initiatives
• Best practices AI use in energy efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainable infrastructure
• Industry-Academia collaboration on AI for sustainability
• Partnerships with businesses and NGOs to enhance real-world impact of AI for sustainable development
• Using AI to foster sustainability competencies and future skills
• Policy and governance on AI for sustainable higher education
• Social equity and inclusivity in using AI
• Fostering AI accessibility and diversity in sustainability initiatives
• Measuring and reporting on AI use in sustainability
• Tools for assessing the effectiveness of AI in sustainability programmes

These themes encourage holistic discussions on advancing AI for sustainability. Further themes may be considered, please consult the organisers to discuss your specific inputs. 

Delegates come from a cross-sectoral range of areas. They are:

• members of university administrations
• teaching staff
• research staff
•  project officers and consultants
• other people interested in the field

The Symposium is organised by University of São Paulo and the Research and Transfer Centre Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), in cooperation with European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR),Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) and GERMAN-BRAZILIAN Science and Technology Network (GERBRAS). The event is also part of the research programme "Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development and Climate Change".

- Prof. Tiago Sigahi, University of São Paulo, Brazil
- Prof. Walter Leal, HAW Hamburg, Germany

-    Dr. Joao Eustachio, HAW Hamburg, Germany
-    Dr. Amanda Lange Salvia, HAW Hamburg, Germany
-    Dr. Laís Trevisan, HAW Hamburg, Germany
-    Prof. Dr. Marly Monteiro de Carvalho, University of São Paulo, Brazil
-    Prof. Dr. Roberta de Castro Souza Pião, University of São Paulo, Brazil
-    Prof. Dr. Ana Paula Franco Paes Leme Barbosa, University of São Paulo, Brazil
-    Prof. Dr. Thayla Tavares de Sousa Zomer, University of São Paulo, Brazil
-    Prof. Dr. Eduardo de Senzi Zancul, University of São Paulo, Brazil
-    Prof. Dr. Aline Veronese da Silva
-    Prof. Dr. Davi Noboru Nakano
-    Prof. Dr. Gabriel Santos
-    Prof. Dr. João Marcelo Leal Gomes Leite
-    Prof. Dr. Leandro Alves da Silva
-    Prof. Dr. Luiz Fernando Cardoso dos Santos Durão
-    Prof. Dr. Renan Favarão da Silva

As an output of the event, the papers presented will be invited to be published in the book by Springer Nature entitled "Fostering Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development" as part of the "World Sustainability Series". This is, with over 50 books to date, the world’s leading peer-reviewed book series on matters related to sustainable development. Over 3.500 scientists and former doctoral students have published their work in the series.

The peer-reviewed nature of the series means that publications produced as part of it have been officially accepted for promotion and tenure purposes over the years, and as validated outputs as part of PhD Programmes. Please note that the full papers are subject to standard peer-review procedures.

Chapter submission is not mandatory, only suggested.

There are two possibilities for attending the symposium:

1. By only attending the symposium (without a paper presentation): please register on the following form:  https://forms.office.com/e/q6RSr47k6z 
 
2. By delivering an oral presentation: Researchers may submit any complete, original, and unpublished research papers, either conceptual or empirical. To participate, participants need to submit an abstract of 200 to 300 words, along with the authors' names and full contact details, before 15th February 2026. Abstracts should be submitted by using the following form: https://forms.office.com/e/Gc5cGCB6KG  

For those who submitted an abstract, the authors will receive an email with the registration and payment details. In case you already want to proceed with it, please register here: https://forms.office.com/e/q6RSr47k6z 
 

• Abstract Submission: 15 February 2026
• Registration: 20 March 2026
• Full paper submission for the Book (after the symposium): 30 May 2026

To offset some of the costs of the organisation of the event, a registration fee of € 275 (plus taxes) will be charged to international delegates, and R$550 for delegates from Brazil (R$275 for students). The fee includes the coffee breaks and lunches on the two days, and a PDF of the book to those who contributed to it.

Enquiries regarding submissions of abstracts should be sent to the Organising Team at: FTZ-NK-Events@haw-hamburg.de