About the Team
The Students and AI Project brings together an expert group of experienced, established, and emerging scholars from four universities.
We are enabled, supported, and sponsored by our Deputy Vice-Chancellors (Academic), ensuring this work is grounded in both rigorous research and sector-wide leadership.
And we’re already seeing impact. Findings from this project are informing policy, strategy, and practice in our own institutions, while the broader research is shaping evidence-based conversations across the Australian sector—and internationally.
We wish to acknowledge and thank our research sponsors (and funders):
- University of Queensland: Prof Kris Ryan, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic
- Monash University: Prof Allie Clemans, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education
- Deakin University: Prof Liz Johnson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic 24-25; Prof Jessica Vanderlelie, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic 25-
- University of Technology Sydney: Prof Kylie Readman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Education and Students)
We also acknowledge and thank the industry friends in our 2025 co-labs:
| Katie Ford | Microsoft Australia and New Zealand |
| Dr. Graham Ashford | StudyPlanner |
| Mark Sampson | Cenote Solutions Pty. Ltd. |
| Amanda Ford | OES |
| Kevin Bell | AWS |
| Nils de Vries | Amazon Web Services |
| Lyndin Smith-Francis | Vygo |
| Manuela Franceschini | Adobe |
Our researchers:
- University of Queensland: Prof Kelly Matthews (institutional lead), Dr Aneesha Bakharia, Dr Yifei Liang, Glenys Oberg, A/Prof Christine Slade
- Monash University: A/Prof Tim Fawns (institutional lead), Prof Michael Henderson, Dr Lyn Komarzynski, Prof Ari Seligmann, Alice Yu
- Deakin university: Prof Margaret Bearman (institutional lead), Dr Jennifer Chung, Dr Thomas Corbin, A/Prof Trish McCluskey, Dr Jack Walton
- University of Technology Sydney: Prof Simon Buckingham Shum (institutional lead), A/Prof Jan McLean, Dr Lisa-Angelique Lim, A/Prof Nicole Pepperell, Dr Antonette Shibani
A closer look
Professor Kelly Matthews (UQ lead), Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Teaching and Learning Innovation, the University of Queensland. Kelly researches student voice and student partnership. Recognised as an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow (2015) and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2023), Kelly’s research has been translated into practice at over 40 universities in Australia and overseas.
Profile: https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/1754
Associate Professor Tim Fawns (Monash lead), Monash Education Academy, Monash University. Tim has a strong theoretical knowledge of the interface between education and technology, including AI. He is also a very experienced educator and educational leader in digital education, clinical education, and higher education more generally.
Profile: https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/tim-fawns.
Professor Margaret Bearman (Deakin lead) is a Research Professor in the Center for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE), Deakin University. Margaret’s interests span higher and professional education and she is known for her study of assessment design, feedback, and learning in a digitally mediated world, with a particular focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Profile: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/margaret-bearman
Professor Simon Buckingham Shum (UTS lead) is Professor of Learning Informatics and Director of the Connected Intelligence Centre, University of Technology Sydney. Simon brings human-centred computing theory and methods to the use of analytics and AI in education, most recent work including participatory consultation with students and academics on the effective, ethical adoption of generative AI.
Profile: https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Simon.BuckinghamShum
Dr Aneesha Bakharia is currently a Senior Lecturer within the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Queensland. Her educational background includes a Bachelor’s in Microelectronic Engineering, a Master’s in Digital Design and a PhD in automated content analysis. Aneesha has written nine books on programming and web development. As an early experimenter with generative AI, she is the creator of EduWeaver, a ChatGPT powered course creator.
Profile: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=a5AkQPQAAAAJ&hl=en
Dr Jen Chung is currently a Lecturer in the Office of Pro-Vice Chancellor Graduate Employment at Deakin University. Jen holds a PhD in Psychology and designed, implemented and evaluated a mindfulness for student well-being initiative for over 800 University students. Her research expertise lies in large scale evaluations and surveys, quantitative research methods and analysis, in topics including student experience, assessment, academic integrity, generative AI, and wellbeing.
Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=21stnQoAAAAJ&hl=en
Dr Thomas Corbin is a Research Fellow in the Center for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE), Deakin University. Previously a lecturer in the Philosophy Department, Thomas now works at the intersection of Generative AI and assessment design. He has also written on AI and the impact on employment and workplace skills.
Profile: Thomas Corbin | Deakin
Professor Michael Henderson, Professor of Digital Futures, Director of the Educational Design and Innovation Hub, Faculty of Education, Monash University. Michael’s research is focused on digitally enabled educational design, assessment and feedback. His research spans early childhood, schools, universities and professional learning contexts.
Profile: https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/michael-henderson
Dr Yifei Liang is a Research Assistant in the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation (ITaLI) and a Casual Academic in the School of Education at the University of Queensland. Yifei holds a PhD in Education with a focus on pedagogic theory. His research interests include pedagogical innovation, student experience, and generative AI, particularly focusing on student partnership and the adoption of generative AI in higher education.
Profile: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=dqs55tAAAAAJ&hl=en
Dr. Lisa-Angelique Lim is a Lecturer in the Connected Intelligence Centre at the University of Technology Sydney. Her research interests include automated feedback, interactions with data-informed systems, student belonging, and student experience. Her work contributes to the understanding of human interactions with learning analytics and AI systems, aiming to leverage data to improve educational outcomes.
Profile: https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Lisa-Angelique.Lim
Associate Professor Trish McCluskey is the Director of Digital Learning at Deakin University in Melbourne. Trish’s research focuses on innovation in tertiary education, particularly the student experience, teaching methodologies and curriculum design to enhance student success. Her work also advocates the strategic use of digital technology in education to ensure students are equipped with essential skills for the digital age.
Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uWbMshMAAAAJ&hl=en
Glenys Oberg is a PhD student focused on researching compassion fatigue in teachers, integrating trauma-informed pedagogy. She is a published author with several cited works and brings extensive experience as a classroom teacher and guidance officer. Currently, Glenys serves as a tertiary educator in initial teacher education, dedicating her efforts to promoting teacher well-being and resilience through innovative, evidence-based practices.
Profile: https://learning-lab.uq.edu.au/profile/426/glenys-oberg
Associate Professor Nicole Pepperell leads the Teaching & Curriculum Team (TACT) in the Education Portfolio at the University of Technology Sydney. With a professional background in IT and academic expertise in critical social theory and social research design, Nicole’s work centres on the relationship between new technologies and potentials for social and individual transformation, as well as social-psychological dynamics that impede learning and drive epistemologies of ignorance.
Profile: https://profiles.uts.edu.au/nicole.pepperell
Professor Ari Seligmann is Associate Dean Education in the Art Design & Architecture Faculty at Monash University and the Academic Lead AI in Education within the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education (DVCE) portfolio. He was a member of the GenAI in Education Working Group, the University AI Steering Committee and is leading Monash’s inaugural Learning Circle on AI in Education.
Profile: https://www.monash.edu/mada/architecture/people/ari-seligmann
Dr Antonette Shibani is a Senior Lecturer in TransDisciplinary School and a member of the Centre for Research on Education in a Digital Society (CREDS) at the University of Technology Sydney. Shibani’s work spans Learning Analytics, automated feedback in writing, Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education, AI literacy, and the ethical use of AI.
Profile: https://profiles.uts.edu.au/antonette.shibani
Associate Professor Christine Slade is an academic at the University of Queensland’s Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation (ITaLI). Christine’s primary areas of research and expertise are assessment, academic integrity, and more recently, artificial intelligence across various educational contexts.
Profile: https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/14189.
Dr Jack Walton is a Research Fellow in the Center for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE), Deakin University. A musician by formal training, he holds a PhD in higher music education. His main research interests centre around the assessment of complex and creative work, and the relationship between assessment and generative AI.
Profile: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=M-czyuAAAAAJ&hl=en
Alice Yu is a PhD candidate in the School of Curriculum Teaching and Inclusive Education at Monash University, and serves as both a Teaching Associate as well as a Research Assistant. Her research focuses on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) with instructional videos in higher education, with experience in both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
AI in Higher Education: Students and AI Project 