KAI Symposium

The 6^th Annual KAI Symposium will be held April 13-14, 2026, at the Virginia Tech Research Center, Arlington, Virginia. The theme is KAI at 50: Shaping the Future of Work and Wellbeing through good health, leadership, coworking, care, education, the arts, engineering, and science.

The KAI Symposium is open for all to attend.

Symposium Information

• Save the date! The 2026 Annual KAI Symposium will be April 13-14, in Arlington, Virginia.
• Submit your presentation or roundtable discussion for the KAI Symposium, due November 28th.

The KAI Symposium is an opportunity for individuals to share insights and findings from using KAI and adaption-innovation theory with KAI practitioners and guests from around the globe.

Lodging Options

The KAI Symposium does not have a block of rooms reserved. Rather we offer these hotels as options, which are within walking distance.

• Holiday Inn Arlington at Ballston
  • Approximately four-minute walk to the VTRC
• The Westin Arlington
  • Approximately two-minute walk to the VTRC
• Hilton Arlington
  • Approximately seven-minute walk to the VTRC
• Placemakr Marymount Ballston
  • Approximately three-minute walk to the VTRC

Context and Significance of the Symposium

Dr. Michael Kirton’s seminal article was published in October of 1976, with the title, Adaptors and Innovators: A Description and Measure. While many years of prior work had gone into the development of Adaption-Innovation (A-I) theory, we recognize 1976 as the year KAI was born. This was the beginning of Dr. Kirton and colleagues using KAI to help groups and teams reduce conflict and improve collaboration. At the 2026 Annual KAI Symposium, we celebrate 50 years of KAI and A-I theory, and its use in a wide range of organizations and situations, including Fortune 500 companies, military leadership development, and the teaching and research of leading universities. The breadth of A-I theory and the KAI’s applicability is a testament to their value and potential for improving the future of work and wellbeing.

The future of work and wellbeing includes a focus on leadership, teamwork, good mental health, creativity, and having a sense of purpose. To thrive in the reality of faster-paced change, application of artificial intelligence, and redefinition of the workplace, we believe that the KAI and A-I theory is needed now more than ever to help teams resolve the conflict associated with working together to solve problems. As we shape the future of work and wellbeing, we are transitioning to a more desired approach, which fully embraces mutual respect, humility, and recognition that we each have an innate, stable, and measurable preference for how we solve problems; that being more adaptive or more innovative.

Proceedings and Reviews from Past KAI Symposia