Preparing students for the age of AI

The Centre for Learning Analytics at Monash (CoLAM) has just been launched by Monash University.

The centre will gather expertise from across the university to advance learning analytics and make an impact on different industries and sectors. It will also establish a leading international education hub for training students, professionals and leaders in learning analytics — preparing them for the age of AI.

CoLAM researchers are already working on projects which will help adapt to post-pandemic needs such as supporting development of data-smart schools, using AI to build skills for teamwork and collaboration, studying the impacts of COVID-19 on teaching practice, and looking at opportunities for virtual internships.

Leader in educational technologies Professor Dragan Gasevic said the team behind CoLAM has established learning analytics as an official, recognised area of research, and will harness data as a key for enhancing education.

“The centre will focus on empowering learners for the age of AI which will require individuals to be equipped with critical skills that enable them to be highly adaptive and agile in a fast-changing world. The purpose will be to prepare today’s learners for a future of automation,” said Gasevic, Director of CoLAM.

One of the first national centres of its kind, CoLAM will focus on the development of learning analytics-driven technology, enhance our understanding of human learning and education across different education levels and deliver new education opportunities across different organisations and age groups.

The centre will focus on four key strands of activity: research, innovation, education and training.

“The centre will lead analytics-driven innovation that supports human learning and education within the classroom, higher education, industry and across society more broadly. It will also aim to provide targeted short courses that focus on stakeholders from a range of different sectors,” Gasevic said.

Countries around the world are investing in research, enterprise and human capabilities to prepare for the age of AI. Through CoLAM, students, professionals and citizens now have the chance to learn how to interact with AI and better prepare for this emerging future.

“The centre has already contributed to a number of ground-breaking research projects that are advancing technology and education,” said Professor Ann Nicholson, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University.

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