STM Frankfurt Conference 2026

Knowledge Infrastructure and Responsible AI

Each year, the STM community convenes in Frankfurt — just ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair — for its flagship annual conference, bringing together academic publishers, innovators, learned societies, funders, and universities around a shared purpose: advancing trusted research.

KGL will be there again this year, joining the conversation on how publishers are navigating the next phase of AI, strengthening peer review and research integrity, and building integrated end-to-end services.

On Tuesday, October 6, join Atul Goel, President of KGL, alongside senior publishing leaders for a candid, CEO-level discussion on what it takes to operationalize trust in an AI-driven research ecosystem.

Meet us in Frankfurt

Our President, Atul Goel, and Chief Business Development Officer, Adrian Stanley, who serves on the STM Frankfurt Conference Program Committee, will be on site to connect, exchange ideas, and discuss how KGL can help future-proof your publishing strategy.

Executive Leadership Perspective: Trust Under Pressure: Decisions Leaders Can Make in an AI-Driven Research Ecosystem

Tuesday, October 6 | 16:30–17:30

Moderator:
Caroline Sutton, CEO, STM

Panelists:
Atul Goel, President, KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. (KGL)
Jessica Kowalaski, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Wiley
Barbara Pope, Executive Director, Hopkins University Press
Steven Heffner, Chief Publication Officer and Managing Director, IEEE
Laura Hassink, Managing Director/President for STM Journals, Elsevier/RELX

Moving beyond the question of what AI can do, the session will explore the decisions leaders need to make now: who owns trust within an organization, where human judgment must remain in control, how governance can withstand pressure, and how organizations can balance innovation with risk, transparency, and accountability.

The discussion will examine how responsible AI principles are being translated into practical policies, workflows, disclosure practices, audit systems, and escalation processes—and whether trust and transparency could ultimately become sources of competitive advantage.