--- title: eAA October Newsletter --- Latest Industry News from the eAA ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­    ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­   | View in browser Dear Sir/ Madam,   I’m delighted to be writing the guest editorial for the October newsletter and feel immense pride in introducing Sainaptic as the headline sponsor for this year’s brand new ‘AI in Assessment: From Theory to Practice’ conference in Manchester.   There was a particular kind of excitement from the first time I heard Pat share his ideas for the conference programme, built not as a showcase, but as a genuine hands-on journey through the sector’s real experiences.   So, when the conversation turned to who should stand behind this conference, headline sponsorship felt less like a decision and more like a natural next step. AI-assisted marking, feedback, moderation, quality assurance, all the unglamorous machinery that determines whether an assessment is fair, timely, and trustworthy, is not only our bread and butter, but our passion for the sector. It simply felt right. I have immense pleasure in personally inviting you all to the AI in Assessment: From Theory to Practice in Manchester, a first-of-its-kind residential conference over 10th and 11th  November. The programme promises to take you on a deliberate journey - Understand, See, Try, Scrutinise, Decide - moving from setting the sector context through real deployments by awarding organisations and hands-on practice with consultants & technology providers to hard scrutiny and, finally, a concrete next step each organisation can take home.  I’d encourage you all to ask the most difficult questions of every contributor, sponsors included: what's the evidence this worked, where did human expertise intervene, what models are running underneath the shiny apps and what were the limitations? That's exactly the standard our sector should be holding itself to, and I'm glad to see it built into the DNA of the event rather than bolted on as an afterthought. We're proud to be opening the "See" stage on the Tuesday, sharing what we've learned deploying AI-assisted assessment at scale - the performance evidence, the human oversight that has to sit alongside it, and the implementation lessons that only show up once something is live.  On a personal note, once again, I’m looking forward to co-chairing the AI SIG to bring another set of webinars and events to the community and also participating as a judge for the eAA Awards. I've had the privilege of seeing some of the best work our sector produces, and entries for 2026 open on 1 October. If you're doing work you're proud of, I'd encourage you to put it forward and showcase what you’ve achieved and hopefully inspire many others to do the same in the coming years.   See you in Manchester! Dr Rajeshwari Iyer \| CEO and Co Founder \| Sainaptic eAA News Programme Announced!  Explore AI in Assessment, From Theory to Practice The programme for AI in Assessment: From Theory to Practice is now live. Taking place on 10–11 November 2026, the event moves beyond the conversation around AI to explore what it means for assessment in practice.   Across two days of practical workshops, real-world case studies, live demonstrations and expert discussion, delegates will explore how AI is being used across the assessment lifecycle - from design and authoring to grading, quality assurance, data, integrity and governance.   The programme is structured around five stages: Understand, See, Try, Scrutinise and Decide, helping delegates move from understanding current practice to considering responsible next steps for their own organisations.   Highlights include sessions on trustworthy AI-assisted assessment, AI foundations, intelligent assessment data, open standards, item similarity, AI and grading, regulation, and the evidence needed to support defensible decisions.   Explore the full programme and register below   Register here The 2027 International e-Assessment Awards are open! We’re excited to announce that the 2027 International e-Assessment Awards are officially open! The Awards celebrate the people, projects, research and innovations shaping the future of technology-enabled assessment around the world. We’re looking forward to discovering what organisations, teams and individuals have been working on, and to showcasing the developments making a real difference across education, qualifications, professional certification and workplace assessment. Whether you are piloting a new approach, scaling an established programme, conducting important research or developing innovative assessment technology, we want to hear about the work you are doing and the impact it is having. Enter here Interested in joining our judging panel? Applications to join the 2027 judging panel are also open. Our judges bring a wide range of expertise and perspectives from across the international assessment community, helping us deliver a robust, fair and thoughtful evaluation process. If you would like to contribute your experience, learn more about developments across the sector and play a part in recognising outstanding work, we would be delighted to receive your application. Join here AI in assessment is moving fast. Help us understand what’s changing. The eAA’s 2026 AI in Assessment Survey is now open. Whether you are already using AI, exploring its potential or have no plans to adopt it, we want to hear from you. It takes just five minutes, and your responses will help shape guidance and support for the assessment community. Take the survey Case Studies How a Leading Middle Eastern University Built a Secure, Scalable Digital Assessment Ecosystem Regional data residency. Gender-specific proctoring. A three-week data retention policy. Seamless LMS integration. For a leading Middle Eastern university, secure online assessment had to meet all four requirements simultaneously. This case study explores how an integrated assessment ecosystem brought these operational, regulatory and cultural requirements together at scale. Read more here Built to Last: 20 Years of Zero-Defect Engineering and What It Means for You Excelsoft has spent two decades as the engineering team behind one of the world’s largest education publishers — running 12+ platforms at once, from assessment tools to course delivery. Here’s what that partnership taught us. Read more here Modernising Assessment at an African Medical School: How Exam Management Software Streamlined Processes With an ambitious goal to transform healthcare education and delivery across Africa and beyond, the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) sought the help of Speedwell’s eSystem exam management software to help. Read more here Blogs & News Ofqual confirms on-screen assessment for new vocational qualifications England’s exams regulator recently published the response to its consultation on proposals for regulating new vocational qualifications. Exam boards providing V levels, Foundation Certificates, and Occupational Certificates will be allowed to use on-screen assessment in certain circumstances. RM Assessment consider the implications for candidates, awarding bodies and test centres.  Read more here  Protecting the Data of Children: What Really Matters?   In digital learning and assessment environments, data of children requires a higher standard of care than ordinary commercial data. In most privacy frameworks, a child is generally defined as anyone under 18, though legal thresholds may vary by jurisdiction. For assessment organizations, this responsibility is especially important: beyond basic identifiers such as names, student IDs, and dates of birth, they may also process confidential information such as academic results. Even where such data is not legally classified as sensitive, it carries heightened ethical and reputational significance because it concerns children. Jana Begun Data Protection Officer at Vretta explains more.... Read more here  Results Day is the right time to rethink assessment  As thousands of young people received exam results this summer, RM's COO Gráinne Watson poses a fundamental question that's often missed; did the assessment experience itself give every candidate a fair, authentic chance to show what they knew and what they’re capable of? Read more here Responsible AI in practice: Lessons from our ISO 42001 journey As AI adoption accelerates across assessment, organisations face growing pressure to demonstrate that innovation is matched by robust governance. Becca Murdoch, Chief Information Officer at Surpass, shares how the company became the first assessment technology vendor to achieve ISO/IEC 42001 certification, a key way to demonstrate that AI innovation is being implemented transparently and with appropriate safeguards. In this article, she offers practical lessons for others beginning the journey. Read more here Product News QTI-Certified Authoring, Now with AI-Generated Items Assessible’s Content Editor already handles high-stakes exam authoring at scale. Together with the Institut für Bildungsevaluation (IBE), Trifork Amsterdam has added AI item generation. Built into the Editor itself, this new feature comes with fact-checking and human review as standard parts of the process to ensure high-quality assessment items. Read more here Events & Webinars The Winner Webinar Series Continues This October A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for the first two sessions in our 2026 e-Assessment Awards Winner Webinar Series.   We’re back in October with two more opportunities to hear directly from award-winning teams and explore the thinking, challenges and impact behind their work.   7 October \| Newcastle University \|Building Long-Term Digital Exam Success Hear how Newcastle University has developed a sustainable approach to digital exams and the lessons learned along the way.   20 October \| Henley Business School \|AI-Supported Rubric-Based Marking and Feedback for Large Cohorts Join Matteo Borghi and Andrew Hull to discover how AI is being used to support marking and feedback at scale.   Free to attend — register now and view the full webinar schedule below. Read more here Join the Language Testing Forum 2026 in Oxford Registration is now open for Language Testing Forum 2026, one of the UK's leading conferences in language testing and assessment. Join researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in Oxford to explore this year's theme: Methodological Choices in Language Assessment: Traditions and New Directions. Register here AI Can Mark Text. But Can It Mark Video?  That’s the exact question a new Ufi VocTech Trust-funded project - featuring our guest editor Raj , CEO of Sainaptic - set out to explore: can AI marking technology be stretched beyond text and applied to real, authentic video evidence in vocational settings? This wasn’t a hypothetical or lab-based exercise, but two live, very different use cases, run with real awarding organisations and real assessment challenges.  Read more The flagship event for qualifications and assessment professionals will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Milton Keynes on 26 and 27 of November this year.   26– 27 November 2026 Milton Keynes, UK Read more here View our events Directory for the latest Digital Assessment events and submit your own event.   Industry News Visit the eAA Industry News page for the latest updates on global digital assessment news. Read the latest industry news Copyright © 2025 e-Assessment Association, All rights reserved. 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