Higher education's AI challenge and opportunities

Ever play in a sandbox? If so, was it fun. In Episode #264 we will hear from Patricia Mangeol who is the Director of Research and Digital Learning Initiatives at Sandbox Inc., a Canadian agency focused on helping public and nonprofit organizations achieve their education and outreach objectives. Also on this episode will be Isaac Kwakye from the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) which is a Washington State’s higher education agency. Together they will discuss many things including new approaches to supporting student learning in a rapidly changing digital and social context. This conversation will include how we need to think differently -- at both policy and behavioural levels -- about motivating students, and how innovative partnerships between policymakers, educational institutions, and creative/tech/learning design partners like Sandbox can help drive more effective outreach and support. Patricia and Isaac will also discuss the *Changing the Narrative* project with Central Washington University, alongside other work that they each are involved in -- particularly around leveraging AI for learner support and designing learning for AI-shaped labour markets. Overall, this session will offer a broad lens grounded in the notion that understanding student behaviours, motivations, and needs is central to improving access, equity, and social mobility." In this epsiode, we will explore how Sandbox and Sandbox Labs—the research and innovation arm of Sandbox—partners with institutions and policymakers to prototype, test, and scale new approaches to student engagement and digital learning. We will hear how the Washington Student Achievement Council is driving statewide innovation – and the challenges and opportunities of adaptive leadership needed to leverage the benefits of new technology like AI while countering the risks. We’ll close by discussing some of the most serious challenges higher education institutions are facing today.

Let's turn to Sandbox Labs for a moment. Sandbox Labs is promoted as a research and innovation team that has a distinct social mission. They are the experimental arm of Sandbox Inc. that initiates “new projects and collaborations with partners around the world to analyze individual and social challenges and conceptualize solutions.” This approach most definitely requires a complex set of multidisciplinary skills for conducting research and associated analyses as well as “developing actionable recommendations,” and, perhaps, most importantly, “designing new learning experiences and human-first, user-focused technology tools.” It is worth noting that publications and research reports emanating out of Sandbox are developed in collaboration with their project partners (which Isaac and Patricia will speak to during the Episode #264 of SLL). These research reports attempt to offer documentation on the process that the teams engaged in as well as the research findings and ensuing recommendations. What we shall discover during this episode is that Sandbox’s ultimate goal is to provide innovative solutions that respond “to the real-world challenges and complex contexts of the people and organizations we support.”

Patricia Mangeol
Patricia Mangeol is the Director of Research and Digital Learning Initiatives at Sandbox Inc., a Canadian agency focused on helping public and nonprofit organizations achieve their education and outreach objectives. She leads the work of Sandbox Labs, the company’s R&D arm, forging partnerships in North America and Europe to leverage research methodologies and technological innovations to advance education and learning. Previously, Patricia led higher education research and policy projects at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and was a policymaker in the Ontario government (Canada). She advised governments in Canada, France, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, and the United States on policies spanning higher education, the labour market, immigration and digital education. Alongside her work at Sandbox, Patricia is conducting doctoral research within the Open University of Catalonia’s Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences on how higher education institutions and leaders respond to AI-driven labour market changes. (Contact via LinkedIn or email).

Sandbox: https://www.sandboxinc.ca/about

https://www.sandboxinc.ca/

Isaac Kwakye

As Deputy Executive Director of the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC), Washington State’s higher education agency, Isaac Kwakye champions the advancement of education and economic opportunity across the state. He supports the Executive Director in leading the agency’s management and leadership team, overseeing daily operations, and stewarding critical resources and personnel toward educational success for all Washingtonians. In this capacity, Isaac drives the implementation of WSAC’s strategic education policy agenda, ensuring alignment with the Council’s vision for an equitable and prosperous Washington. His leadership transfers strategic action plans into impactful outcomes while strengthening executive governance to advance the agency’s financial and operational goals. Through this work, Isaac helps position Washingtonians for long-term success by expanding access to high-quality postsecondary pathways and fostering statewide economic mobility. Contact via: LinkedIn or Email.

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