Cyber-Physical Learning Alliance Summit 2025

Abstract:
This closing keynote for the conference will offer some reflections on how institutions move forward deliberately in a context of rapid change and technological advancement. I will touch on the imperatives for institutions, to ensure our academic program remain relevant for the current and near-future context. I will also highlight elements that must not be lost along the way in our enthusiasm and eagerness to experiment and who can best drive the change that is necessary. I will offer some examples from my own context leading this work at UBC, as well as try to weave in some of the themes and issues raised over the preceding sessions of the conference.

Biography

Simon Bates is the Vice Provost and Associate Vice President, Teaching and Learning at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His portfolio comprises responsibility for teaching, learning and technology support to faculty and departments creating credit and non-credit learning opportunities in areas of undergraduate, graduate and lifelong learning. He also contributes to new program approval and quality assurance processes overseen by the office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic.

Abstract:
In an increasingly divisive world, it is more important than ever to enable people of all ages, abilities, locations and cultures learn together by exploring shared problems. My talk describes a long-term series of projects to support learning through scientific investigation at scale. Drawing on a cybernetic theory of learning as conversation we have designed platforms to connect learners in classrooms, online and outdoors. Citizen inquiry merges citizen science and inquiry learning for large-scale collaborative investigations. Social generative AI offers a way to manage citizen inquiry at scale and to help people act together as scientists.

Biography

Mike Sharples is Emeritus Professor of Educational Technology at The Open University, UK. He gained a PhD from the Department of Artificial Intelligence, University of Edinburgh on Cognition, Computers and Creative Writing. His expertise involves human-centred design and evaluation of new technologies and environments for learning. He provides consultancy for institutions worldwide including UNESCO, UNICEF, universities and companies. He established the influential Innovating Pedagogy report series and as Academic Lead for FutureLearn.com he led the pedagogy-informed design of its open learning platform. He is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. He is author of over 300 published papers in the areas of educational technology, learning sciences, science education, human-centred design of personal technologies, artificial intelligence and cognitive science. His recent books are Practical Pedagogy: 40 New Ways to Teach and Learn and Story Machines: How Computers Have Become Creative Writers both published by Routledge, and An Introduction to Narrative Generators, published by Oxford University Press.

Abstract
Culture, rules, access, familiarity, and trust – these five key elements help individuals and institutions strategically and practically engage with AI. We will discuss how they intersect, what they may look like for different roles, and examples of how they can help connect minds and technology as we move forward with generative AI.

Biography

Danny is a molecular biologist by training, programmer by night, researcher and faculty developer by day, and educator at heart. A multiple international and national teaching award winner, he works at the confluence of artificial intelligence, student engagement, and educational technology. A Professor of Educational Technologies at the University of Sydney, he co-chairs the University's AI in Education working group, and leads the Cogniti.ai initiative that puts educators in the driver's seat of AI.

Abstract
The relatively novel practice of cyber-physical learning (CPL) requires ethical knowledge as foresight to avoid costly accidents and mistakes. In tandem, amid a rapidly evolving higher-ed landscape characterized by the normalization of AI technologies and changing learners’ expectations, this same knowledge can enable higher-ed institutions to shape more responsible and value-sensitive CPL innovations. In this presentation, we will share the findings of an interview study with 17 leading stakeholders of CPL technologies from Singapore and global educational institutions. Through the anticipatory gaze of these stakeholders, we construct a preliminary ethical profile of CPL technologies that can further support their development in higher-ed institutions.

Biography

Jeffrey Chan is assistant professor in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) and Design and Artificial Intelligence (DAI) program in SUTD. He is a member of the AI Technical Committee (AITC) in AISG. He is the author of two books, ‘Urban Ethics in the Anthropocene’ (2019), and ‘Sharing by Design’ (2020). His research bridges planning, design and ethics, and he has published in journals, Planning Theory, Design Studies, Landscape and Urban Planning, Socio-Ecological Practice Research and AI and Society, among others. His recent research focuses on the ethics of autonomous technologies in the urban environment.