FD3 - Multi‑LLM Hackathon for Strategic Intelligence in Education & Training

Paul Bacsich is the Founder and Managing Director of Matic Media Ltd, a consultancy in the UK active in online learning since 1996. In the last few years he has also been Professor of Practice for the University of West Indies Open Campus and Visiting Professor at the University of Derby. His consultancy and research interests cover: use of AI in learning and assesment, cost-benefits of online learning, project evaluation and departmental review. He has a long-standing interest in logic (in which he did his doctorate) and artificial intelligence (he led a project on enhancing Prolog in the Alvey Fifth Generation Programme). In 2023 he first started sytematically using ChatGPT as an aid in project research and in early 2025 he began extensive work on the extent to which LLMs could automate the creation and revision of well-referenced long reports (up to dissertation length and beyond) on global topics (e..g virtual schools) and the extent to which such automation was detectable. For many years he was Senior Consultant (EU projects) at Sero Consulting Ltd. He led the Sero team who reviewed Learning Technology Support at the University of Oxford, and the team who developed an accredited vocational short online course to teach teachers to teach online for Wey Education. He has a long-standing interest in Open Education via leading a large EU project (POERUP) and several EU/European Parliament studies. He was a co-author for the JRC 2017 report “Policy Approaches to Open Education in 28 Member States”. His interests in leadership in e-learning were developed during the Erasmus+ D-TRANSFORM project 2014-17, which drew on and continued his work over 20 years on management of open and distance learning. he has also worked on and led EU projects on virtual campuses (Re.ViCa) and virtual schools (VISCED) In addition to his university-related work he consults for a number of international, government, and commercial clients on market/competitor/pricing research, policy, education funding models and retention strategies. He also has consulted for commercial and venture funding clients on due diligence, competitor research and acquisition. In 2015-16 Paul chaired the review panel for the Vision and Strategy Appraisal of the UK Open University Library, where he interviewed over 70 staff and students and carried out substantial comparative and policy research. He also chaired the E-learning review panel for Uppsala University, with three days of intensive meetings and presentations, and spent four months chairing a task force for the National Forum for Learning and Teaching in Ireland to prepare a scoping document on infrastructure issues related to online learning. (He has also carried out a project review last year for an Irish University.) He also has been involved in several early-stage online providers including the UK e-University. In the university phase of his career he was a researcher at Oxford University, had many roles over 25 years at the UK Open University, ending as Assistant Director of the Knowledge Media Institute (KMI) and was for seven years Professor of Telematics at Sheffield Hallam University and then Director (Special Projects) at the UK e-University. He has also been Visiting Professor at Middlesex University, Advisor to the Rector of the Arab Open University, and Visiting Fellow at the University of Canterbury New Zealand, National Institute of Multimedia Japan, Deakin University and the School of the Future at University of Sao Paulo Brazil. He has knowledge of and/or experience in higher education in many developed countries.

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Margaret Korosec is a forward-thinking and strategic leader in open, online, and professional learning, known for her human-centred approach and ability to scale bringing creativity, intentionality, and systems perspective to her leadership in scaling open, online and professional education. As Dean of Online and Digital Education at the University of Leeds in the UK, Margaret holds academic and strategic responsibility for advancing the institution’s online degrees and flexible learning portfolio. She has championed scalable, inclusive models for online course design and led efforts to build resilient and sustainable in-house capabilities ensuring a seamless end-to-end student experience from application through to graduation. Prior to her current role, Margaret made significant contributions to the expansion of online degree portfolios at the University of Derby Online Learning and Western Governors University (WGU). Witnessing the transformative power of inclusive, accessible and flexible education on individuals’ lives and communities solidified her dedication to advancing online and flexible learning initiatives.

Brian Mulligan is a leading expert in learning technologies, with a career spanning three decades in shaping digital education in Ireland. As the founder of the Irish Learning Technology Association in 2002, he has played a pivotal role in advancing the field. At Atlantic Technological University, he spearheaded the development of online distance learning, driving innovation in accessible education. Now a consultant with Universal Learning Systems (ulsystems.com), Brian specialises in the strategic application of learning technologies to transform education and expand opportunities for learners worldwide.

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Glenda Morgan is a Market Analyst at Phil Hill & Associates and the lead analyst at Morgan EdTech Strategies, helping higher education institutions, vendors and investors navigate the edtech landscape. She brings more than 30 years of experience in higher education, including roles as a faculty member, IT administrator and education analyst at Gartner and Director of Academic Technology Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Morgan holds a PhD in political science from the University of Minnesota.

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