Presentation Panel
The Role of AI Avatars in Student Support and Training
Date Thursday, Dec 4 Time – Room: Charlottenburg III
AI-driven personas are beginning to transform how we learn, connect and support. This panel examines what happens when deeply human practices move into digital spaces. Together, the different perspectives offered by the speakers, highlight both the promise and the ethical questions of avatar-based learning, asking how we ensure technology amplifies, rather than replaces, the human touch at the heart of education.
Andy Johnson
Head of Online Courses, London Business School
Andy is a seasoned education professional with over 20 years of experience in designing and delivering high-impact learning solutions across digital and in-person formats. With more than two years at London Business School, Andy has played a pivotal role in shaping its digital learning strategy and expanding the online course portfolio. He has been instrumental in managing the delivery and development of the school’s expanding online course portfolio, ensuring each programme meets the highest standards of design and learner experience.
Else Lauridsen
Digital Development Consultant, Business Academy SouthWest
Else holds a master’s degree in information technology and a PhD in digital learning. With this background, she enjoys exploring the intersection between humans and technology. In her work, Else focuses on how IT influences our interactions and lives, as well as how it can enhance and challenge our work and learning. Else is involved in research and development projects within areas such as online learning, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
Henrik Juul Larsen
Lecturer, UCL Erhvervsakademi og Professionshøjskole
As a Lecturer at UCL Erhvervsakademi og Professionshøjskole, Henrik Juul Larsen specializes in business economics, financial accounting, management accounting, ESG reporting, and IT economics. With a decade of experience in the auditing sector and a degree in Auditing from the University of Southern Denmark, he brings a robust practical foundation to his teaching. Henrik is deeply committed to integrating Generative AI across all facets of education, from curriculum development and lesson planning to designing innovative assignments and interactive learning experiences, aiming to enhance student engagement and future-readiness.
Petra Lammers
CEO, onto [story] - Office for Transformation & Storytelling
Petra Lammers is TransformationDramaturg, communications consultant and storyteller. She effectively drives transformations with strategic and collaborative storytelling.
In 2010, she founded onliveline GmbH as an office for transformation & storytelling. With onliveline, she organized interactive productions as well as accompanying transformations through live, digital and virtual formats. Since 2025, Petra Lammers has been focusing even more intensively on the “story-driven transformation process” with her new company onto[story] GmbH - office for transformation & storytelling, thus effectively strengthening companies in their transformations through strategic and collaborative storytelling.
Petra Lammers was previously Creative Director and Concept Designer at Panroyal and was responsible for artistic productions with complex technologies for comprehensive communication strategies.
As a freelance theater director, she combined the art of storytelling and dramaturgy for over 12 years at various locations, such as Container City Jeruville, Volksbühne Berlin, Hungary, Switzerland, Vienna, New York or Puerto Rico, where she transformed walk-in spaces into unique stage worlds.
Petra Lammers holds an MBA from Murray State University and an MFA in Dramaturgy & Directing from the State University of New York and she is right now working on her PhD on transformation & storytelling. She innovatively implements strategic transformations through storytelling for companies in industry, research, SMEs, pharmaceuticals and society.
Beyond the Screen: Creating AI Avatars of Faculty to Humanise Digital Learning, Andy Johnson
At London Business School, we’re addressing the challenge of preserving human connection in digital education by creating AI-powered avatars of our faculty—lifelike, pedagogically aligned personas that bring the warmth and authenticity of our classrooms into online learning. This session offers a behind-the-scenes look at the project’s technical, pedagogical, and ethical foundations, and how these avatars are already transforming engagement in our online and hybrid programmes.
Counselling Avatars: Exploring Empathy and Presence in Virtual Reality Student Counselling, Else Lauridsen
What happens when deeply human practices like student counselling move into virtual reality? This session reflects on empathy, embodiment, and communication in digital counselling—and how VR reshapes what it means to be present with someone.
AI in Higher Education: A Dual Approach, Henrik Juul Larsen
Our work at UCL Erhvervsakademi og Professionshøjskole explores AI's transformative potential in higher education, specifically through AI avatars for counseling training and fostering student co-creation in research. We're excited to discuss how these applications are redefining learning and engagement.
Redesigning Learning Through Collaborative Storytelling and AI, Petra Lammers
Learning isn’t a content dump—it’s a shared narrative. This presentation shows how to turn a strategic North Star into living, co-authored storylines that make learning active, social, and sticky by using playful triggers, gamified formats, and AI.