Recognised leader of public purpose reform and innovation, Leslie Loble, will take up a new position at UTS to explore how EdTech can lift learning outcomes for disadvantaged students.
The position as Industry Professor at UTS is supported by the Paul Ramsay Foundation.
The one-year fellowship seeks to answer the fundamental question as to why public purpose AI-based education platforms, which could so powerfully address both individual learning needs and system-wide reform, are not being widely adopted, especially when compared to the rapid growth of AI in the commercial sector – and how that can be addressed.
I am honoured that the Paul Ramsay Foundation has provided me with a fellowship to investigate how we can better deploy artificial intelligence and public purpose technology toward lifting education achievement and outcomes for disadvantaged students: where are the opportunities and risks and how does public policy need to shift?
It’s especially pleasing that I will be part of the University of Technology Sydney as Industry Professor and able to work closely with the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion and experts across the university. UTS is an exciting place to be with its combination of deep expertise, support of innovation and commitment to social justice.
Leslie’s fellowship will examine how education, central to overcoming disadvantage, could more effectively develop and apply technology that will lift achievement and outcomes, and support and enhance the work of their teachers and schools.
Dr. Jeni Whalan, Chief Program Officer at Paul Ramsay Foundation, shared her enthusiasm for the combined research and policy expertise that Leslie brings to her Fellowship.
'We’re delighted to support Leslie and her path-breaking work helping to ensure that data and technological advances are harnessed for the benefit of Australian children and their learning potential.'
Leslie will establish the opportunities for education delivery innovation, the conditions that drive effective, equitable and fair learning platforms, and the learning and teaching requirements that EdTech can address.
This education focus considers the wider public sector dynamics encouraging or restraining the growth of AI-based technology for public purpose.
A series of dialogues will anchor the work, ensuring a wide range of perspectives to gain insight and build a network of support and engagement.
Recommendations will be suggested for policies, programs and institutional arrangements that can be implemented by governments to catalyse greater design and use of public purpose, trustworthy, effective technology.
Leslie Loble is a recognised national leader of public purpose reform and innovation in Australia and the US. She has been a driver of forward-thinking organisational and policy shifts across education and related economic domains in both countries.
Leslie has headed major divisions (400 employees, $2 billion annual budget) for 20 years in the NSW Department of Education, working across schooling, early childhood and tertiary education in Australia’s largest and most diverse education sector. She was awarded Australian Financial Review/Westpac Top 100 Women of Influence in 2013 for impact on Australian public affairs and named one of Australia’s top 50 school education innovators in 2019.
Leslie has been appointed by Australian governments and public purpose organisations to some 20 major governing boards and advisory committees. Prior to coming to Australia, she served in top-level roles for five years in the Clinton Administration, delivering six major Presidential initiatives. Her position at UTS starts in June and will run into 2022.
The Paul Ramsay Foundation was set up in 2006 by Paul Ramsay AO. Since his death in 2014, the Foundation has continued through his bequest with the intention to break cycles of disadvantage in Australia by investing in partnerships for potential.