Racing the Clock: Education's Response to AI's Rapid Rise

AI is transforming knowledge, learning and work at an unprecedented pace. This one-day event brings together educators, researchers, students and industry leaders to explore how education can respond with urgency and leadership.

The future students are being prepared for is changing. AI is rapidly changing the nature of work, reshaping the skills graduates need, the ways knowledge is produced, and the roles humans will play alongside intelligent technologies. The pace of change creates an urgent challenge for education: students are being prepared for futures that are already shifting beneath them. Students already feel this shift. Many are using AI daily, often more fluently than their educators. Yet there is growing empirical evidence of a learning-performance paradox: while AI can enhance short-term task performance, it may also undermine deeper learning, including cognitive growth, knowledge transfer, critical judgement, and metacognitive development. This creates an urgent need for education systems to move beyond simply allowing or prohibiting AI use and instead focus on helping students learn with AI in ways that strengthen, rather than replace, human capability.

Event: Racing the Clock: Education's Response to AI's Rapid Rise
Date: Thursday 1 October 2026
Location: The University of Queensland St Lucia campus

Getting to UQ St Lucia: The St Lucia campus is only seven kilometres from Brisbane’s city centre. The campus is accessible by bus, train, ferry, car or cycling. Follow this link for information on how to get to campus.

Schedule

8:30 am: Registration & Coffee

We will meet at the University of Queensland in Collaborative Room (11A-110) at the ModWest Building.

9:00 am: Welcome & Acknowledgement of Country

A short opening to frame the day — the pace of AI advancement, the gap between technological capability and institutional response, and the urgency for us to change our educational systems.

9:05 am: Opening Remarks

A welcome from UQ leadership, situating the event within institutional priorities and the broader strategic importance of AI in education.

9:15 am: Setting the Scene: Why We Must Act Now

Drawing on national and sector-wide perspectives, this opening session will bring together voices from higher education, schools, industry and technology to examine why coordinated action on AI is now urgent. Speakers will highlight the risks of fragmented institutional responses and make the case for a forward-looking approach that prioritises human capability, learner agency and ethical engagement with AI.

9:45 am: Keynote: AI in Education Past, Present, and Future

This keynote will trace the evolution of AI in education—from early learning analytics and intelligent tutoring systems to today’s generative AI tools—and explore what lies ahead. Drawing on large-scale research and real-world deployments, the session will highlight what we have learned about how AI can support learning, where its impact has been limited, and the challenges of scaling these systems responsibly.

10:30 am: Morning Tea

Enjoy morning tea in the atrium.

10:45 am: Debate

• Should AI Be Formally Recognised as a Co-Educator in Teaching and Learning? - In a context where many institutions are still grappling with basic AI adoption, this debate pushes the conversation further: should AI move beyond being a tool to becoming a formally recognised partner in teaching and learning? The debate will explore whether recognising AI as a co-educator could unlock new possibilities for feedback, personalisation, and scalability—or whether it risks undermining human judgement, educator roles, and trust in the learning process. Each side will be represented by a cross-disciplinary team, including an education expert, an AI expert, and a student representative, ensuring the discussion reflects pedagogical, technical, and learner perspectives.

11:30 am: Panel Discussion

• AI in Action: What's Working in the Classroom - This panel brings together educators, researchers, and students who are actively using AI in real teaching and learning contexts. Moving beyond speculation, the session will focus on what is actually working—where AI is enhancing learning, where it is falling short, and what remains unresolved. Panelists will share practical examples across feedback, assessment, and classroom practice, alongside student perspectives and emerging evidence. The aim is to provide grounded insights that help participants move from curiosity to informed action.

12:30 pm: Lunch & Showcase

Enjoy lunch in the atrium while connecting with colleagues, exploring the AI showcase, and discussing innovations in and in response to AI.

1:30 pm: Panel Discussion

• Assessment and Feedback in the Age of AI: What Should Change, What Should Stay? - Assessment and feedback are among the areas most disrupted by generative AI, raising urgent questions about integrity, authentic learning, student agency, feedback literacy, and the purpose of assessment itself. This panel will explore how educational institutions can move beyond detection and compliance towards practices that build capability, judgement, and trust. Panellists will discuss authentic assessment, process-based assessment, AI-integrated tasks, and feedback-rich designs that help students demonstrate not only what they produce, but how they think, learn, revise, and make decisions with AI.

2:15 pm: Innovative Presentations

• AI Snapshots: Rapid Insights from Practice and Research - This session will showcase short, five-minute presentations from students and teachers sharing emerging AI initiatives, research projects, classroom practices, and early-stage ideas.

3:30 pm: Networking Social

The day concludes with an informal networking session with a chance to continue conversations, connect with presenters and explore potential collaborations, turning insights into ongoing dialogue and action.

Limited spots available. Book yours now!

Register now