iTWire - Education

University of Waikato halves IT energy demands using Nutanix cloud solution

2024-09-12T11:18:12+10:00

The University of Waikato claimed it has halved its IT energy demands with a hybrid multicloud strategy centred on Nutanix Cloud Platform solution.

When the University’s previous on-premise IT infrastructure was up for renewal, University of Waikato associate director of architecture and applications Glenn Penfold decided to take a completely new approach—one that would set it up for the future, derisk the organisation from vendor changes, and further improve its sustainability credentials.

Penfold recalls, “Traditionally, we had run and hosted our own data centre. Through the refresh process we identified data centres had become commoditised, and that we would be better off letting a professional organisation run ours.”

“For us, the ongoing capital investment and maintenance in running a data centre was prohibitive. This also caused us to focus on the wrong areas, and it was taking us away from adding digital value.”

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Penfold said one of the risks identified was the impending acquisition of VMware, which was the University’s incumbent infrastructure vendor.

“Our refresh project started in November 2023, so although we didn’t know exactly what the acquisition would mean for us, the writing was on the wall,” Penfold said. “It was enough of a risk for us to make sure we considered alternatives.”

After a tender process, the University selected Nutanix Cloud Platform and the AHX hypervisor since “Nutanix complemented the University’s desired hybrid multicloud strategy and energy efficiency targets.”

It also provided the flexibility and scalability required for the University’s future plans.

“Nutanix hit the mark for us as it was simple and easy to use, ticked all the boxes on our hybrid multicloud strategy, and from a sustainability point-of-view it was quite attractive,” he said.

“Through the implementation, we’ve consolidated our infrastructure needs from 14 physical racks to just seven, requiring much less power without sacrificing performance.”

Enabling the University’s hybrid multicloud strategy was a non-negotiable for Penfold. He said the University would always have a requirement for some on-premise infrastructure, given data sovereignty requirements around its research data, but public cloud and SaaS were preferred where it made sense.

“We’re heavy Microsoft Azure users, particularly for custom development applications and data integration, while Moodle – our Learning Management System – is fully hosted by Catalyst IT,” Penfold said.

“While we use cloud wherever it fits, we will always have a physical presence due to the sensitivity of some of our data and the incompatibility of some business-critical apps – like our student management system – to run on the cloud.”

“For us, that means our future is hybrid multicloud. With that in mind, Nutanix was a perfect fit as it enables application mobility across our environments where we need it, as well as providing a single pane of glass to manage and maintain our various clouds – whether public, private, or hosted.”

Penfold said the implementation was completed on an ‘aggressive timeline’ and completed during a period of peak demand.

“We made our decision in November 2023, had the platform up-and-running before Christmas, and finished migrating workloads by March,” Penfold said. “Our first semester starts in late February; it's our busiest time of year, and we were able to complete the whole migration of production workloads during this time with zero disruption.”

Penfold said the University’s relationship with local partner ASI Solutions was key to the project’s success.

“ASI has a good niche at finding these strategic technologies that are a perfect fit. They have a large education customer base, so they truly understood our business and the challenges we face.”

During the project, the University sold its data centre to Spark NZ. Its primary Nutanix cluster is now housed there with a disaster recovery cluster in Spark’s Takanini data centre in Auckland.

The University is now in the initial stages of a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure project where it plans to decommission up to 1200 high-powered lab computers.

It is also exploring the Nutanix GPT-in-a-Box solution for future machine learning projects.

Nutanix APJ sales general manager and vice president Aaron White said the University had future-proofed its business with a true hybrid multicloud strategy.

“Our recent Enterprise Cloud Index report found hybrid multicloud cloud strategies would see the highest growth over the next three years – more than doubling from 15% to 35% of deployments – but many organisations are only in the early stages of this journey,” White said.

“This puts the University of Waikato well ahead of the curve and sets themselves up for an even brighter, greener, and smarter future.”

One of New Zealand’s leading institutions for teaching and research, the University of Waikato has 13,500 students and 2,500 staff across two vibrant campuses in the North Island: in Hamilton and a downtown Tauranga, as well as a joint institute in Hangzhou, China.

Humanforce Helps to Reduce Staff Turnover for Story House Early Learning

2024-09-12T11:51:26+10:00

Humanforce, an Australian-borne global provider of human capital management (HCM) solutions, has successfully partnered with Story House Early Learning to elevate their visibility and efficiency of its operations, when it comes to people and workforce management. Story House is a national early childhood education and care provider with a growing number of services across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.

Katie Ludwig, Head of People and Culture at Story House Early Learning, highlighted the transformative impact of Humanforce’s HCM suite on operations. "When I joined Story House almost three years ago, our HR processes were highly decentralised and manual, making it difficult to manage our dispersed workforce. Implementing Humanforce has given us the transparency and efficiency we needed. Now, our team members, who we call ‘Story House-ers’, have easy access to their employment information, and we have centralised oversight to ensure compliance and streamlined administrative tasks."

Through the adoption of Humanforce’s comprehensive HCM suite, Story House has achieved real improvements in employee engagement and retention. This is helping to increase retention in an industry that faces ongoing challenges with staff turnover. These challenges were illustrated in a United Workers Union (UWU) report released in October last year, which found about 95 per cent of the nearly 1,000 Australian early childhood centres surveyed said they have had staff leave in the past 12 months and, of those, 78 per cent have had more than three educators leave.

"We’ve seen a year-on-year decline in turnover of more than 5%, which is significant in our industry. Humanforce’s tools have played a key role in this by creating a supportive and efficient work environment," Ludwig continued.

Story House Early Learning, which currently operates circa 50 services with 1,500 team members, had unique HR needs due to the nature of its work. "Our focus is on educating and caring for children, so any systems or processes we implement need to free up our team members to focus on their core roles," Ludwig explained. "Humanforce has been instrumental in achieving this by reducing the administrative burden on our leaders and providing tools that support our staff's wellbeing and efficiency."

Humanforce has improved efficiency in managing shifts and scheduling, with the ability for managers to quickly offer shifts to team members via the mobile app. It allows Story House leaders to focus on their primary roles rather than being tied down by administrative tasks. The 95% of employees who currently use the Humanforce app can also access a range of self-service features, such as their roster, clocking in and out, and applying for leave. This has led to a more engaged and satisfied workforce.

For Story House, another standout feature has been Humanforce Thrive. Thrive allows Story House employees to access a portion of their already earned wages when they need it, providing financial autonomy and reducing the need for payday loans or credit cards.

“Humanforce Thrive allows childcare operators to improve their employee value proposition (EVP) by bringing a wellbeing and benefits proposition to employees. It offers individual workers more control over their day-to-day lives, with one powerful example being on-demand access to pay, which liberates cash flow in ways that can make a meaningful difference to employees’ lives,” explained Clayton Pyne, CEO of Humanforce. “We’ve also been able to help Story House effectively and efficiently manage compliance, a critical aspect in the heavily regulated early education sector. With Humanforce, they can now easily track qualifications, manage expiry dates, and automate notifications, ensuring the company remains compliant without the need for manual record-keeping."

Humanforce has also enabled Story House to gather meaningful insights from its workforce, which again improves employee engagement. Story House has seen a 65% response rate to its onboarding surveys, allowing the company to continuously improve the candidate and onboarding experience. Story House has also seen a 40% response rate to the regular surveys it sends to employees through Humanforce (up from 10% using a third-party platform). This continuous feedback model allows Story House to assess how employees are feeling in their roles and what learning and development opportunities they might need. This data is crucial for making informed decisions and ensuring the company’s strategic goals align with the needs of Story House-ers.

"Humanforce has been a game-changer for us. Their solutions have not only streamlined our HR processes and improved compliance but also empowered our staff by giving them greater control over their work and finances. The ability to access real-time data and feedback has been invaluable in helping us create a supportive, efficient, and compliant work environment," concluded Ludwig.

D2L acquires H5P Group, launches new AI package

2024-08-21T10:36:28+10:00

Learning technology company D2L has acquired provider of interactive content creation software H5P Group. It also launched D2L Lumi, a new AI package that empowers educators.

H5P Group is the creator of H5P, a platform for creating rich learning content interactives.

H5P's suite of over 60 interactive content tools in areas such as live-engagement activities, formative assessment, and interactive learning, along with its AI-powered Smart Import Tool, help educators access enriched course materials to boost learning outcomes, driving innovation and engagement for millions of individuals in more than 50 countries.

D2L regional director for ANZ Tony Maguire says D2L's investment in H5P and support of the H5P community is a commitment to aid in empowering educators and helping to enhance the learning experience for users.

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"For years, D2L has facilitated advanced content creation through its integration with H5P,” he says.

“Our team remains committed to supporting the H5P open-source community, fostering innovation and high-quality interactive content. This dedication can enable D2L to continue to deliver impactful learning experiences that are able to help transform learning experiences around the world."

D2L Lumi on the other hand helps educators create better content, assessments, and activities. Maguire says the feature had been developed with privacy and data governance in mind and can help provide users with more ways to build high-quality, engaging, human-centred learning experiences with more ease.

“We’re strategically integrating D2L Lumi so that it can be used in everyday workflows to help enhance them in meaningful ways while keeping humans at the core of everything we do,” he says.

This initial launch includes four key features, Lumi Quiz, Lumi Idea, Lumi Practice and Lumi Chat.

The launch of D2L Lumi follows the recent announcement of the arrival of Achievement+ for D2L Brightspace. This new package can help higher education institutions and other organisations easily deliver and report on outcome-based education.

Australian students set to hone their programming prowess with upcoming comp

2024-07-22T10:57:15+10:00

Not-for-profit edtech charity Grok Academy’s five-week online programming course and interactive competition, the National Computer Science School Challenge (NCSS Challenge) is kicking off in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand on 29 July 2024.

Grok says over 25,000 active Australian students from 1200 schools competed in last year’s NCSS Challenge, which was up from 16,171 in 2022 - and these numbers make the NCSS Challenge one of the largest coding events in the country.

According to Grok, almost three quarters of students who did the NCSS Challenge last year reported being “more confident about programming” and said they learnt a significant amount about programming - which is a top-rated future job skill. 70 percent of students also said they enjoyed the challenge, demonstrating an important balance between learning and fun.

“Grok Academy has worked closely with industry partners to design challenges closely aligned with real-world problems from medicine to movies, sport to science, and everything in between, explained Jane Abrams, Grok Academy’s Chief Product Officer.

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“The NCSS Challenge is specifically designed to engage young people in technology and STEM-focused problem solving, while also giving teachers an excellent classroom-ready resource aligned to the Digital Technologies curriculum (Australia and New Zealand).

“It’s an immersive and interactive experience where students have fun, learning as they go, and competing to climb the leaderboard against peers from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand,” Abrams said.

Abrams notes that students receive online support from Grok Academy tutors, as well as experts actively working in tech-related roles within sponsor organisations like Atlassian, Australian Signals Directorate, Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie, National Australia Bank (NAB), Optiver, Telstra, Westpac, and platinum sponsor, WiseTech Global.

“Having our industry experts on-hand takes the pressure off classroom teachers. They have confidence knowing their students are applying different technical skills from the curriculum, with personal access to ‘real-life’ engineers, scientists and programmers to answer questions and guide them along,” Abrams said.

“Teachers consistently praise the NCSS Challenge and sign their classes up year after year. One teacher described the Challenge as ‘one of the best and most rewarding extra-curricular activities available for students who love programming and want to grow their skills and knowledge in that area.”

Grok notes that NCSS Challenge participants are also supported with intelligent auto-marking and instant feedback. “Teachers get a live dashboard showing their students’ progress against others from both countries. If teachers wish to utilise the material at a pace that suits their class, content can be made available throughout the year without the leaderboard aspect and tutor support.”

Of those who participated in the NCSS Challenge last year, Grok explained that 73 per cent said they felt more confident about programming, and students agreed the top three aspects of the competition were learning to code (70%), that it was fun (65%), and being supported with step-by-step instructions (48%).

2023 NCSS Challenge participant, 17-year-old student Lauren, says the online programming competition teaches you as you go: “You are able to test yourself, but you aren’t expected to already know everything. I love how the problems are so creative and entertaining to read. The tutors are also really friendly and respond quickly to queries.”

Grok said the NCSS Challenge is one of its many initiatives that support its goal to empower Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand students with the technology skills they need to thrive in the digital economy. The program runs twice a year in February and July. For more information visit theNCSS Challenge web page.

Castlepoint improves Radford College's digital operations

2024-07-18T10:33:15+10:00

Canberra’s Radford College has implemented Castlepoint’s explainable AI (XAI) platform underpin its information management and governance framework, allowing the school to remain compliant with industry regulations and reduce risk as it executes on its Digital On Demand strategy.

“The objective of Digital On Demand was to determine what information we have, what we need to keep, how to categorise and sentence it, what should be destroyed, and how to dispose of it sensibly,” says Radford College chief operations officer David Perceval. “We engaged an independent consultant to determine the most suitable method for achieving this, and after evaluating various options, Castlepoint stood out as the most viable and effective.”

The college is using Castlepoint to maintain a single, unified view of data stored in its school management system, Synergetic, as well as Microsoft SharePoint files and shared datasets and repositories.

The Castlepoint platform gives Radford College the ability to automatically index, search and control information, deduplicates and flags data for disposal, and enables access controls. Minimising the volume and type of information the college stores also dramatically reduces the school’s risk profile.

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“We previously relied on archiving through various registers in Microsoft Word and spreadsheets, with files placed in off-site storage – often never recalled or required again,” recalls Perceval.

“Bringing Castlepoint into the fold gave us a systemic, policy, and process-based approach to information management. This reduces risk, saves time and money as we can reduce the cost of storage space, and makes us confident we are compliant with records management principles and our own policies, and meeting our obligations under the ACT Education Act.”

The deployment sees Radford College storing its paper files—many of which have been stored for decades—online.

Castlepoint will also help the college rapidly respond to information requests, including those pertaining to legal processes, workers compensation, and building claims, for example.

“Schools – particularly those with communities as large as Radford College’s – hold significant amounts of student, parent, and teacher information, alongside extensive operational data. Much of the information that needs to be retained on the network is highly sensitive or personal to stakeholders,” says Castlepoint co-founder and CEO Rachael Greaves.

“The extension of the College’s formal information management practices, powered by Castlepoint’s Explainable AI, ensures Radford College has a centralised view of its records so it can apply the right rules around their access, and destroy sensitive and obsolete data that it is no longer required to retain. Radford is a trusted institution and is known for its commitment to its students. Protecting and preserving their records is a key part of this mission.”

Radford College is the second largest K-12 school in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It enrols about 2,200 students per year and employs 300 full time stuff plus up to 200 part time coaches and contractors.

The college introduced the Castlepoint platform to automate and de-risk the management of significant volumes of sensitive data and personally identifiable information (PII) in its custodianship.

Turnitin new feature detects AI paraphrasing in research papers

2024-07-17T10:59:31+10:00

Academic technology solutions provider Turnitin unveiled its new AI paraphrasing detection feature, integrated within Turnitin’s AI writing capabilities.

Turnitin’s AI writing detection is part of Turnitin Originality. iThenticate users can access it by licensing AI writing capabilities separately. When AI writing detection is enabled, including AI paraphrasing detection, it automatically checks each submission for both AI writing and AI paraphrasing.

Turnitin’s AI paraphrasing detection feature highlights where within the submission a text spinner was likely applied to AI writing, giving insights into how the writing was constructed. It shows an overall percentage of the document that was likely AI-generated, including both a breakdown percentage of text that was likely AI-generated and text that was likely AI-generated and may have also been AI paraphrased.

This feature helps educators and publishers identify when AI paraphrasing tools may have been used to modify AI-generated text to avoid detection.

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With the proliferation of generative AI tools, ensuring original critical thinking in education and research writing has become increasingly challenging.

Writers, including students and researchers, may use AI paraphrasing to modify AI-generated text created by large language models, leading educators and publishers to believe that the work is original.

A recent study conducted by Tyton Partners found that students continue to lead educators and administrators in their use of generative AI tools. Fifty-nine percent of students are regular users (monthly or more) compared to approximately 40% of educators and administrators.

Turnitin's AI paraphrasing detection feature helps address this issue by identifying instances where AI paraphrasing may have been used to modify AI-generated text.

The AI paraphrasing detection feature can spark discussions among educators and researchers to initiate constructive conversations with writers about the importance of ethical writing practices and proper paraphrasing techniques.

“AI has incredible potential to benefit education, but writers need to be transparent in how they use Generative AI,” suggests Turnitin chief product officer Annie Chechitelli. “Applying AI paraphrasing to AI-generated content is likely a sign that the writer is trying to hide their use of AI, which is the opposite of transparency. Turnitin provides the tools and insights to preserve the value of original work."

“Education and technology are today intertwined, and with that comes the need to strike the right balance between academic integrity and the increasing use of generative AI. The ability to empower educators and their invaluable experience to create an environment of transparency, that promotes original thinking and work while integrating the responsible use of generative AI tools, is foundational to find that balance,” says Turnitin regional vice president for Asia Pacific regional vice president James Thorley.

In early 2023, Turnitin launched its AI writing detector and report, leveraging over 25 years of experience in understanding and safeguarding academic writing.

Of the over 200 million papers reviewed since the launch, Turnitin data shows:

- Over 22 million papers (approximately 11% of over 200 million) have at least 20% AI writing present

- Over six million papers (approximately 3% of over 200 million) have at least 80% AI writing present

D2L unveils new add-on package feature

2024-07-11T11:26:35+10:00

Learning technology company D2L has introduced D2L Achievement+ for Brightspace, a new add-on package that can help institutions and organisations transition to a competency-based learning model to allow learners to advanced master material at their own pace.

D2L Achievement+ features an interface that can help align course activities and assessments with learning outcomes.

It also offers a centralised dashboard for program achievement data, simplifying accreditation reporting and can provide valuable insights for continual improvement and upskilling.

"As educational technology leaders, one of our primary goals is to make it easy to transform learning and deliver real impact," said D2L founder and CEO John Baker.

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"I'm very proud of our team's work to optimise our platform to help improve outcomes for learners. The launch of Achievement+ can make it easier to progress students based upon mastery of learning materials and real outcomes. Ultimately this can give educators more time back in their day to help students to be better researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, or to tackle the big challenges in our communities."

Competency-based education (CBE) helps enable schools, institutions, and organisations to deliver learning experiences that can lead to practical, demonstrable outcomes and genuine skill mastery.

According to a 2020 National Survey on Post Secondary Education, 82% of US institutions anticipate growth in CBE programs by 2025, underscoring the increasing demand for straightforward and effective reporting—this is why D2L created Achievement+ for Brightspace.

4 Essential Things to Do to Kickstart Your Career Life After Graduation

2024-07-09T10:45:40+10:00

Finishing your university with flying colors is surely a wholesome experience. After four years of hard work and dedication, toiling study nights, and hectic assignments, graduation is the best fruit one can get.

So, what’s next?

Well, if you’re not planning to pursue further studies, it’s time to step out into the real world. Be it starting your own venture, landing a job, or freelancing, professional life is way different than being a

It’s only natural that after spending so many years as a student, many fresh graduates find it quite difficult to readily adapt to a more professional and disciplined life.

That said, there’s no need to worry because you’re not alone. Ask your batchmates and they may feel the same as you do. However, some tricks may help you to get over this feeling, and we’re going to help you out with this article.

So, without further ado, let’s get started.

Step in the Professional World

Work on Your Skills

Grow Your Network

Get an Internship

Step in the Professional World:

The first thing that you should do after your graduation party is to look for jobs. Yes, it’s a hectic and tiring process, but starting early may be in the best of your interest.

Why?

Because finding a job as a fresh graduate is much easier than landing one when it’s been a while since you’ve graduated. Also, with time, the job market gets saturated and the competition among graduates gets higher.

Curate the CV according to every job opening, and don’t forget to make it an applicant-tracking-system (ATS) friendly. Then, head over to platforms like LinkedIn, or Glassdoor. You may find a lot of job openings there. Apply for the positions that complement your skills .

Unlike a job that you should start early, doing a business or freelance work is different. Don’t haste to start either of them them. If you don’t have an implementable business plan, make one first and do the market research. Tick all the boxes before investing.

If you want to opt for freelance work, research the skills that are in demand. Acquire them and become adept at them. Then, join different freelancing platforms like Upwork or Fiverr and start working on getting hired.

Work on Your Skills:

If you’re not prepared to dedicate your time to a profession, that’s alright. If you’re opting to take a gap year, that’s fine too. However, there’s a slight risk involved in both things. If you’re totally free for a long time, you may become a bit sluggish.

To avoid that, it’s best that you keep learning a skill in your free time. Find and enroll in online courses that are related to these skills. There are multiple platforms like Coursera and Udemy where you can access thousands of courses. You can pick one that may be aligned with your objectives. This way, you’ll spend your free time productively.

To experience seamless learning, make sure to have a fast and reliable internet connection. Not only this, but when you are applying to jobs, some companies may conduct online interviews. It’s totally a headache if you don’t have a good internet connection like Optimum. Call Optimum’s 24/7 customer support via Optimum servicio al cliente to know more about their plans and packages.

Grow Your Network:

Some people may find it difficult to reach out to strangers and initiate a conversation. However, it’s not as hard as they think. You can start networking slowly by attending seminars and conferences. Chances are, you may find a lot of like-minded people at such events. Also, you never know when someone may come up to you with a perfect career opportunity.

Besides making the job hunt easier, networking can help you grow your skills, get acquainted with industry leaders, and keep your skills updated.

Get an Internship:

Well, it may seem pointless to go for an internship after graduation, right? Well, it’s one of the best ways to acquire new skills and get accustomed to industry traditions and office environment. The best thing about pursuing an internship after graduation is learning the important traits without feeling the heat of a real job.

People who don’t want to go for a job right after their graduation can opt for an internship. Such an opportunity will keep their learning on point and isn’t as hectic as the full-time job. Also, an internship in a reputable organization can be a gateway to secure a full-time opportunity there in the future.

Feeling a little lost after graduation is something most people experience. The sudden shift in everyday routine may be a hard pill to swallow. If you’re unsure of what to do next, we’ve presented four tips above that will assist you in starting your professional career. So, see what tips benefit you the most and get started today.

Lumify launches Digital Solutions

2024-06-28T08:52:18+10:00

Corporate ICT, soft and digital skills provider Lumify launched its Digital Solutions offering as a standalone business division.

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the need for adaptive and comprehensive training solutions is more important than ever.

Recognising this, Lumify created a Digital Solutions team to develop bespoke e-learning programs for clients.

The division will be lead by Digital Solutions general manager Luci Setoue.

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Lumify launched Digital Solutions as a standalone business division due to increasing demand for flexible learning options. The business will provide comprehensive, flexible, and scalable solutions with four core offerings:

Blended learning programs: A hybrid of online and traditional instruction, integrating instructor-led training with e-learning. This model ensures learners benefit from personalised guidance and real-time interaction with experienced instructors, while enjoying the flexibility and accessibility of online modules.

Custom e-Learning development: These solutions leverage the latest educational technology to ensure that content is engaging, interactive, and aligned with clients’ learning objectives.

Self-paced courses: Designed to empower individuals to learn at their convenience, these support both personal and professional development. They allow organisations to efficiently upskill their workforce, fostering continuous learning and development.

Learning management systems: These systems are provided as a SaaS solution and integrate content management, assessment tools, and interactive features to deliver targeted training programs that enhance outcomes.

Integration of AI and advanced technologies is reshaping work environments, emphasising the importance of digital skills.

The World Economic Forum predicts 50% of employees will need reskilling by 2025 as the adoption of technology increases.

Learning and development departments are adopting flexible strategies and microlearning programs to equip employees with essential skills and knowledge.

Short, targeted bursts help staff integrate learning into their daily routines without overwhelming them.

LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report shows 94% of employees would stay longer if their employer invested in their development.

“Our goal is to provide clients with flexible and scalable digital training solutions,” said Digital Solutions general manager Luci Setoue.

“We are focused on using cutting-edge technology to deliver high-quality educational experiences that cater to the diverse needs of our clients.”

Lumify CEO Jon Lang emphasised focusing on Digital Solutions represents its potential as a complementary market with significant growth opportunities for Lumify’s overall business.

He added, “This expansion aligns with our commitment to our core instructor-led training offering. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to leveraging our expertise to deliver unparalleled digital experiences to our clients.”

Lumify offers learners an interactive experience through its unparalleled instructor-led training solutions.

This hands-on approach is delivered by expert trainers with a wealth of industry experience and deep technical knowledge.

It provides immediate feedback, personalised learning paths, and the opportunity to engage with complex concepts in a supportive environment.

UNSW to help provide basic AI literacy to more school children with $1m in funding

2024-06-26T11:18:59+10:00

UNSW Sydney has agreed to a new four-year partnership in collaboration with AI in Schools to “improve and expand a free program to schools” that introduces teachers and students to the basics of artificial intelligence.

UNSW says Day of AI Australia is aimed at students in years 5 to 10 to help them better understand AI - “what it is, how it works, and its risks and limitations” - and become more responsible and ethical users and designers of AI.

The new partnership agreement has been funded via a group of supporters, including the TDM Charitable Foundation, via a philanthropic grant amounting to $982,000 over four years.

Day of AI Australia has been running since 2022 with more than 80,000 students participating over the last three years.

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UNSW notes that the program incorporates lessons and materials, initially developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and I2 Learning, that are tailored to the Australian context by experts and specialist education partners – including those from UNSW, such as Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence Toby Walsh.

“All the activities within the program are specially designed to be easily delivered by teachers with little to no background in computer science and digital technologies and to be accessible to students of all abilities.”

Dr Jake Renzella, Co-Head of the Computing and Education research group, and Director of Studies (Computer Science) in the School of Computer Science Engineering at UNSW, will lead the new project.

He said: “This is a landmark collaboration between UNSW, and Day of AI Australia, and we are so excited for the future of the Day of AI Australia. This collaboration recognises the massive impact that Artificial Intelligence will have on Australian lives today, and in the future.

“It ensures Aussie kids are not only ready for the AI-shift, but poised to take advantage of the benefits it will bring.”

Natasha Banks, Program Director of Day of AI Australia, said: “The Day of AI is designed to spark students’ curiosity about AI and computer science and to encourage them to develop the skills that will be critical to the future.

“If students are able to see what AI involves and how many ways it applies to their lives, they are much more likely to consider it as a further study and career option.

“We want all Australian students to have the opportunity to be the inventors and creators of the future.”

Roly Clifton-Bligh, from TDM Foundation, said: “The TDM Foundation has been the driving force in bringing Day of AI to Australian students and we are so privileged to partner with some of Australia’s leading AI experts.

“The Day of AI Australia team and partners tailor the global lesson materials to the Australian curriculum and context, showcasing Australian scientists and technologies, their applications and impacts.

“The TDM Foundation is working to develop the next generation of leaders in digi-tech to benefit Australia - Day of AI is an exciting initiative in this space.”