About

Lee Hickin, Beth Worrall, and Dan Bowen work in the Microsoft Australia team, and they talk about Artificial Intelligence in Education - what it is, how it works, and the different ways it is being used. It's not too serious, or too technical, and is intended to be a good conversation of background information. We're planning to have a chat each week about the story of AI in education, and are definitely not going to be describing the official Microsoft position on anything.

With “the robots are coming to steal our (students’) jobs!” being a hot topic of many education conferences (and, at many business conferences too), Dan, Beth and Lee have their feet on the ground and spend their time talking about what’s really happening, and what the technical language means in plain English. As we run further into the podcast series, Lee and Dan will talk about scenarios that are more specific to their areas of expertise. And along the way they will also interview specialists in other areas – personalising learning, accessibility – and how artificial intelligence is intersecting with them and bringing innovation.

Your podcast hosts and team

Host: Dan Bowen (Client Technology Lead, Education at Microsoft)

Dan Bowen is a Technology Strategist working with schools and school systems. He has worked in education as a teacher, governor, and school inspector. He also worked in higher education as a blended learning advisor, before moving into Microsoft where he was the product manager for Office 365 in Education, STEM education lead, and managed the Minecraft portfolio for Australia (to the delight of his kids). In his current role, he is working across Azure, Windows, and devices and looking to support schools to drive educational transformation. His interest in Artificial Intelligence comes from both the use cases and implementation as well as the education and enablement of IT to drive this technology. He is interested in the social and ethical uses of AI in Education.

Host: Lee Hickin (National Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft ANZ)

Lee Hickin is the National Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft and has over 27 years experience in the IT industry working across a variety of roles and technologies. Lee has worked in Asia, the UK, and Australia with a passion for innovation and leading-edge technologies such as AI. He has been a CISSP certified security architect with RSA Security and Tivoli, leading the IoT business development team across APAC with Amazon Web Services and most recently the CTO for Microsoft Australia. As the CTO, Lee helps customers on their journey of digital transformation through cloud technologies; focusing on the adoption of intelligent cloud services such as AI, IoT, Machine learning, and cognitive services underpinned by core cloud infrastructure technology strategy, Security and ethical AI principles. Lee is passionate about the positive potential for Artificial intelligence to build an inclusive and bright future and is a regular speaker on Cloud technology, innovation, and driving digital transformation.

Host: Beth Worrall (Program Director of Social Value, Public Sector at Microsoft ANZ)

Beth Worrall is the Program Director of Social Value, Public Sector at Microsoft and she is passionate about changing lives through technology! Especially passionate to implement programs that improve the lives and livelihoods of women and girls. She has over 15+ years working as a social and environmental intrapreneur working for some of the world's largest companies - including Microsoft, Bupa, Bank of America. Experience in working in UK and Australia as well as regionally across Europe and Asia.

Podcast Coordinator: Jerwin Parker (Education Marketing Coordinator at Microsoft ANZ)

Jerwin Parker is the Education Marketing Coordinator for Microsoft Australia and New Zealand, driving impact for the next generation of Australians. He is one of the first to complete a triple degree in less than 5 years at UTS, (University of Technology, Sydney) where he studied the Bachelor of Business (Marketing), Creative Intelligence and Innovation (BCII), and Entrepreneurship (Honours) at UTS. His interest in Artificial Intelligence comes from his experience and contribution to the Human Rights and Technology project, and enjoys working with Dan, Lee and Beth to drive the impact and awareness of the AI Education podcast.

You can find the podcast in Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts, search in your normal podcast app for “AI in Education”, or listen directly on this website