10/20/2025

IDoA 2025: Reflections on the 10th International Day of Action for Academic Integrity

by Mary Davis

It was a wonderful experience to host IDoA this year on the magical date of 10.15.2025. That date was reflected in the celebration of 10 years of IDoA, with 15 sessions, panel contributors in 20 countries and support from 25 planning committee and working group members!

Our theme this year was ‘Everyday integrity: Discovering your superpower’. In drawing out the theme, contributors talked about integrity in every context and situation, and the small everyday actions of integrity that might go unnoticed. There were several mentions of the well-used saying often attributed to C.S. Lewis ‘integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching’ (Charles Marshall). The superpower theme was elaborated on in fun and thought-provoking ways in terms of integrity actions by students, staff and faculty.

In every session, a wide range of panel contributors shared their varied knowledge, experience, scholarship, wisdom and insights. Student contributors raised awareness of their approaches, actions and perspectives on integrity at high school, undergraduate, Master’s and doctoral levels in multiple parts of the world. Staff and faculty contributors gave insights from their work on academic integrity, and one session focused on professional contributors beyond academia.

In reflecting on each session below, I will convey some of the wonderful pearls of wisdom and memorable insights from speakers in the sessions through bullet points, along with screenshots for visual memories. 

1. Acting ethically everywhere: being honest isn’t always easy! A psychology debate

Speakers: Professor Jason Stephens, Ass. Professor Guy Curtis, Professor Joe Clare, Professor Gian Vittorio Caprara.

• Deviance is normal and a continuum.
• We can teach good/moral behaviour, but it does not work for everyone.
• Moral standards differ in different domains.
• One consideration for actions is how much other people are harmed by misconduct.
• Being honest in all situations is effortful
• Summative open unproctored remote (SOUR) assessment can be considered educational malpractice.
• Educators need to create the environment for good behaviour.

2. What would society look like without integrity? A discussion through the ICAI Fundamental Values

Speakers: Dr Nicole Reinke, Dr Martin McMorrow, Dr Manisha Thakkar, Dr Ann Parkinson, Lee Shibata, Dr Emma Fergus

• Honesty requires people to make a strong effort.
• Trust matters with social media if the person posting has power or authority over others.
• With fairness, we need to think about fairness to everyone in the situation, not just one group.
• Respect to creators of recipes is needed, even if you don’t bake!
• The person closest to the action has the strongest immediate duty. It is not about finding one person to blame but everyone needs to recognise their responsibility.
• Courage is speaking up even when your voice shakes.
• Kindness and wellbeing are connected to the fundamental values of integrity.

3. How can students discover and develop their integrity superpower? A news report from Adelaide

Speakers: Claudia Gottwald, James Maletto, Anisha Bhargava, Janani Palanikumar, Camila Goldin and Mary Davis

• Students, staff and faculty can inspire others through superpowers
• Superpowers can have cool names: Captain Credible, Growth Guardian, Curiosity Compass, Peer Connector, Fair Guide and Role Model Radiance.
• Student academic integrity ambassadors can help other students directly with their integrity decisions, especially through interactive and fun resources like videos
• Masks and capes definitely help display superpowers!

4. Integrity in the face of challenge: Student narratives and panel discussion

Speakers: Miriam Sullivan, Martin McMorrow, students from Edith Cowan University and Gaza

• Student resilience in Gaza is humbling and inspiring.
• Belief in integrity and the value of doing one’s own work overrides multiple obstacles
• Integrity can be expressed creatively through poems and stories
• Dedication to study can be an act of resistance in war zones

5. Hidden risks of AI use for integrity: international perspectives

Speakers: Dr Lorna Waddington, Dr Retha Visagie, Dr Sabuj Bhattacharyya, Dr Richard Blacquiere-Clarkson, Dr Ronaldo Gomes Jr, Dr Titilola Olojede, Dr Loretta Goff

• Concerns about AI use for integrity vary across the world
• When we examine AI, whose perspective do we look at, whose ethical frameworks do we use?
• We are between a rock and a hard place: there is no way to respond to AI without damage to education.
• Different perspectives can be seen like this: Two people are on either side of an abyss, one says to other ‘how do I get to the other side/’, the other says ‘you are on the other side’. Everything relates to where you are.

6. How do integrity decisions affect your life?

Speakers: Professor Sandie Dann, Professor Michael Draper, Dr Stephen Gow and Kit Messinger

• You are the product of your knowledge
• It is never too late to ask for help: staff need to be approachable
• It is ok to get things wrong, but bad actions get normalized if they are not picked up
• Not learning has dire consequences for future jobs and the stability of companies

7. Everyday integrity: Showing your strength beyond the classroom

Speakers: Professor Sarah Elaine Eaton, Dr Beatriz Moya Figueroa, Páola Saenz, Dr Luz Godina, Dr Daniela Avello

• We have a moral shield
• Better to fail with integrity than succeed without it
• Stay true to your purpose
• Authenticity and consistency are part of integrity
• Knowledge does not happen in isolation
• Integrity is not a fixed thing there is a moral journey
• The life you live is the lesson you teach.

8. Integrity superheroes all through education: students, teachers and librarians

Speakers: Dr Zeenath Reza Khan, Tasneem Bhatia, Bianca Chelley Santiaguel, Obaya Ahmed Bezeid, Laura Barber, Professor Christopher Hill

• Chatbots spark curiosity
• Integrity is a way of life
• Think about what AI should/should not do rather than what it can/can’t do
• Accountability and responsibility are key to use of AI

9. ICAI Conference 2026 and announcement of ICAI Conference 2027

Speakers: Dr Camilla Roberts, Dr Luz Godina, Dr Liliana Almaguer, Dr Jean Guerrero Dib

• ICAI Conference in Denver 2026: registration open, invitations to nominate individuals for awards
• Announcement of ICAI Conference in Monterrey Feb 25-28 2027
• Promotion of Monterrey: city, mountains and UDEM campus.

10. Everyday life decisions and academic integrity dilemmas

Speaker: Veronika Krásničan

• Humans make mistakes
• Be kind to others
• Be the best you can

11. Everyday integrity in high school

Speakers: Simone Deitch and students from Westwood High School, Texas, and Kelly Tibbetts and students from Gorham High School, Maine

• I imagine that integrity at university is just as important as integrity at school
• We are in a very competitive environment; this is a risk to integrity
• We need to sharpen the line between integrity and not integrity
• We need to build a culture of integrity together

IDoA materials-interlude

Speaker: Hannah Gifford

Materials include:

• Escape room
• Build your own superhero
• Superpower wall
• Integrity quest
• 24 hours of integrity

12. Everyday integrity in workplaces: the perspectives of organisations

Speakers: Dr Luz Godina, Sue Hackett, Ronan O’Loughlin, José Herrera

• Before joining any company, check out what their ethics program is like and what ethical training they do: this tells you a lot about the company
• There is no room for unethical employees, they lose their jobs
• Sometimes someone or something puts pressure on an employee to do a fiddle, but people to take an oath and must not waver.
• Shortcuts are not the way to success, when I or my colleague fails, the whole profession suffers

13. Vivir íntegro, vivir auténtico

Speakers: Mextli Garcia Flores, Andrés Salvador Arvizu Perales, Cristina Cordón Godoy, Samantha Jiménez, Elihu Ibarra

• Believe in yourself
• Integrity is a way of life
• Nowadays many young people are anxious and fearful, that’s why they may take an easier path
• You can succeed more with others

14. What does everyday integrity look like in an academic integrity office and who are the superheroes?

Speakers: Dr Victoria Malaney-Brown, Wanda Moore, Dr Kelly Ahuna, Amanda McKenzie, Dr Greer Murphy, Dr Ainsley Rouse, Dr Joe Brown

• Show up and do the work
• You are not defined by misconduct; it’s never too late to redeem yourself
• Dolly Parton: Figure out who we are and do it on purpose
• Taylor Swift: My honesty era
• Paint the bull!

15. Everyday integrity in the lives of doctoral students: maintaining your superpower

Speakers: Abhilasha Gandhi, Mira Azzasyofia, Tian Tian, Nashaa Ahmed Naseem, Eyram Gyimah

• Be honest every step of the research process
• Take responsibility
• Be true to yourself
• Extend grace to yourself
• Reflect on how you got to where you are

Final round up – Mary and Rachel

• Ride on the enthusiasm, goodwill and creativity in the academic integrity community
• Eat bananas for energy to keep going for 15 hours
• End on a happy note

With many thanks to everyone: presenters, planning committee and working groups and all 300+ attendees! See you next year!

Professor Mary Davis is Academic Integrity Lead at Oxford Brookes University, UK. She serves as ICAI Vice-President (Communications) and IDoA co-chair.