The OEB Annual Debate: This House Believes That AI Should Be the Teacher of the Future, Supported by Human Coaches

With 40+ years in online learning, he literally 'wrote the book' on AI for Learning in 2001 (2nd edition 2024). As founder and CEO of Epic Group plc (floated and sold in 2005), investor and board member of Learning Pool (sold in 2021), also CogBooks (sold 2021), he has invested and advised on learning technology for private and public organisations. With experience in AI going back to his student days, he has focused entirely on AI since 2014, building product, consultancy, speaking and writing books. See less Donald Clark is a Learning Tech Entrepreneur, CEO, Author, Blogger, Podcaster and Speaker. He was CEO and one of the original founders of Epic Group plc, which established itself as the leading company in the UK online learning market, floated on the Stock Market in 1996 and sold in 2005. He has been involved at all levels of investment – angel, VC, growth, PE and IPO. As well as being the CEO of Wildfire an AI learning company, he also invests in, and advises, EdTech companies. An investor and board member of learning companies such as Cogbooks (sold in 2021 to Cambridge University) and Learning Pool (sold 2021 for $200 million), he was also on the Boards of City & Guilds, Learn Direct, University for Industry and the Brighton Dome and Festival. He has published 5 books; AI for Learning (1st & 2nd editions), Learning Experience Design, Learning Technology, Learning in the Metaverse, AI and Productivity. Alongside these he has completed a series of articles on over 350 learning theorists from the Greeks to the Geeks and over 40 podcasts derived from these articles in Great Minds on Learning. Donald has over 40 years' experience in online learning, adaptive learning and AI projects. He has designed, delivered and advised on online learning for many global, public and private organisations. His interest in AI started at Dartmouth College in the US, continued in Expert Systems in the 1990s and in adaptive learning company CogBooks in 2013, also Learning Pool. He founded the world's first AI content generation company in 2014 and has been involved in many AI for Learning projects. He came 28th on the TYTO Tech 'influencer' list and number two on the European 'EdTech influencer' list in November 2024. Awards An evangelist for the use of technology in learning, he has won many awards, including the first 'Outstanding Achievement in E-learning Award' and 'Best AIM Stock Market Company', 'Most Innovative Online Product', 'Best Online Learning Project' and 'JISC EdTech Award'. Neon Elephant Award from Will Thalheimer (2023), and Edufuturists Outstanding Achievement Award (2024). Author He is a well known author, with 5 published books, one in its second edition, also published in South Korea and China, as well as contributions to other books on AI. AI for Learning (2020) Learning Experience Design (2021) Learning Technology Learning and the Metaverse (2022) AI for Learning 2nd edition (2024) – also published in South Korea AI and Productivity (2025).

Aruj Khaliq is an award-winning intervention scientist, Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability governance specialist, and 30 Under 30–nominated educational leader whose work has created opportunities for over one million individuals across the Global South over the past 13+ years. A postgraduate scholar at the University of Oxford, she specialises in designing large-scale social interventions and policies at the intersection of AI governance, human agency, and sustainable development.

Aruj is the founder of ALIF, an executive advisor of Pakistan’s National Artificial Intelligence Task Force, and Head of Academics at Learning Alliance International. She has designed and led pioneering interventions including the world’s first systematic review on AI and Teacher Agency, a global comparative analysis of AI teacher-readiness policies, and advisory roles supporting governments and organisations in AI Literacy programme design and implementation. In sustainability education, she is the architect of Pakistan’s largest school-based intervention, ECO Schools, and the brains behind IB Ripple- the world’s first research journal for IB students. She has also contributed to influential global projects such as the Youth Support Programme (University of Warwick), Generation Justice (European Union), and Think–Educate–Aspire (University of Birmingham), advancing youth capability, digital equity, and pedagogical innovation.

In 2023, Aruj became the only Pakistani invited by UCL to present at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, where she introduced the first Global South–driven theoretical framework on Whole School Approaches to Sustainability. Her authorial work appears in international venues, with a major Bloomsbury publication forthcoming in 2026. Her impact has been recognised by UNESCO Youth, UNDP, national and international media, and the International Baccalaureate. She currently divides her time between the UK and Pakistan while advancing research and policy in AI governance and sustainability interventions.

Mairéad Pratschke is an independent researcher, author and advisor working at the intersection of AI strategy, ethical governance, and human-centred design. With over 25 years of experience in digital education and learning innovation, she focuses on learning systems design that prioritises pedagogical alignment and human development.

She is the author of Generative AI and Education: Digital Pedagogies, Teaching Innovation and Learning Design (Springer, 2024); New Horizons for Higher Education: Teaching and Learning with Generative AI (National Digital Education Leadership Network, 2025); ‘From Consumers to Designers: Strategic Pathways for European Higher Education in the AI Age’ (Journal of Digital Politics, 2025); and – most recently – a chapter in the Foundational Frameworks section of the new Handbook of Generative AI in Education: Integrating Research into Practice (Springer, 2026), entitled ‘From AI Tools to AI Systems: Designing Pedagogical Systems for Learning’.

In Generative AI and Education she introduced the term ‘the new hybrid’ to describe a future of human-AI collaboration rather than replacement, and she is the originator of the Generativism, TPAIK, Context Framework and Agentic Community of Inquiry (ACoI) frameworks for designing learning in and for that future.

Mairéad is a Visiting Professor at the LSE Data Science Institute (2024-27)and serves on the External Advisory Board of the US National Science Foundation-funded AI Institute for Adult Learning & Online Education (AI-ALOE) at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). She also sits on the Expert Review Panel for the Workforce Development Applied Research Fund (2026-27) of Singapore's Skills & Workforce Development Agency (formerly SkillsFuture Singapore), which is run in collaboration with Singapore's Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower.

Mairéad is a regular keynote speaker internationally on AI and education. She works with educational institutions, national government agencies, policy bodies and learning organisations on how to prepare for the AI-driven future, helping them turn research into decisions they can trust.

Website: maireadpratschke.com

Michael Onyango is the founder of Africa’s Forgotten Bottom Millions (4BM), a transformative WhatsApp platform that reaches over 500,000 people weekly, providing young Africans across several countries with access to career opportunities through digital technology. Since 2016, 4BM has shared over 500,000 verified opportunities, including scholarships, fellowships, grants, and job offers, helping young people gain skills and build successful careers.
Michael has been at the forefront of economic empowerment, chanmpioning the use of frontier technoolgies, leading initiatives across interdisciplinary sectors within governments, NGOs, and the private sector in Africa and globally. He served as a key member of the Distributed Ledgers and Artificial Intelligence Taskforce under the Ministry of ICT, Kenya, and was formerly the Minister responsible for Communication, Information, and Technology in the County Government of Kisumu.
Currently, Michael is a Senior Skoll Foundation Fellow, an alumni Fellow in Social Innovation from the Rockefeller Foundation, and serves on the Advisory Board of the African Blockchain Institute. He actively works with young Africans, leveraging technology to drive impactful change. Michael has also played a significant role in shaping Kenya’s creative industries, including co-developing the roadmap for the sector in collaboration with IBM, positioning it as a catalyst for economic growth and outlining strategies to double its contribution to Kenya’s GDP.