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
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 academic 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
An overview of why education must respond now, with a focus on coordinated action, human capability, learner agency, and responsible AI use.
9:25 am: Education's Human Response to AI: Reimagining Learning, Assessment and Human Capability
This keynote explores how learning, assessment, and human capability must evolve as AI becomes increasingly embedded in education and work.
10:15 am: Responding to AI: Perspectives from Across the Education Ecosystem
Perspectives from across education, industry, and technology on the opportunities, challenges, and shared priorities shaping our response to AI.
11:00 am: Morning Tea
Enjoy morning tea in the atrium.
11:15 am: Debate
Should AI Play a Central Role in Marking Student Work and Providing Feedback? - A debate on whether AI should take a central role in marking and feedback, weighing gains in scale and personalisation against risks to judgement, trust, and educator roles.
Concurrent Session: Facilitated Roundtable Discussions
12:00 pm: Panel Discussion
AI in Action: What's Working in the Classroom - Educators, researchers, and students share practical examples of where AI is working in teaching and learning, where it is falling short, and what remains unresolved.
12:45 pm: Lunch
Enjoy lunch in the atrium.
1:30 pm: Education's Technological Response to AI: Building Systems That Support Better Learning
This keynote explores how AI systems can be designed and implemented to support better learning, drawing on research, evidence, and real-world applications.
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.
3:45 pm: Closing Reflections and Next Steps
A short reflection on the day's key themes and priorities for moving from discussion to action.
4:00 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!
About UQSchoolsNet Professional Development workshops
Discover the endless learning possibilities that only a UQSchoolsNet Professional Development workshop in technology can offer, in workshops led by world-class researchers at the University of Queensland.
