As Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning), Adam Bridgeman is leading one of the largest teaching and learning transformations in the University's 175-plus-year history. By placing humans at the centre of AI innovation in teaching and assessment, Adam and his team are helping the University embrace a rapidly changing landscape while preparing graduates for the future workforce.
Focus on future-ready capabilities
To prepare students for the careers of the future, Adam believes that universities need to start priming students for shifting employer expectations and changing job markets, helping to develop the skills that will be needed in the workforce of tomorrow.
"Graduates must be able to work effectively with AI, critically evaluate its outputs, and exercise judgement in complex contexts," he explains. "It's not just changing how students learn; it's redefining what it means to be an educated citizen, to be capable, discerning, and able to engage critically and effectively with the world."
As leadership and critical thinking skills become even more essential in an evolving AI-enabled society, Adam sees this as a defining opportunity and moment for those in higher education.
This vision is reflected in the University's new green paper, Education in the Age of AI, and in the Castlereagh Statement, developed through a national summit hosted by the University. Together, these initiatives highlight how education must evolve and call for Australians to engage with AI "confidently, critically and creatively," with human flourishing at the centre.
Already, the University has a large and thriving community of AI champions. Its award-winning platform, Cogniti, empowers staff to build AI agents and learning experiences without requiring programming skills and is now used worldwide.
"By enabling educators to control how AI behaves, Cogniti builds trust while developing educator capability," explains Adam. "They can use their pedagogical expertise and imagination to build agents fit for their disciplinary context or teaching needs."
Approximately 5,000 agents are currently in use in schools and universities around the world.
"Many thousands of students are obtaining actionable feedback on their assignments before they submit them, and markers are sharpening their assignment questions, rubrics and feedback," adds Adam. "This enhances rather than replaces the role of the human."
Our role is not to resist AI, but to redesign education so that our graduates are capable, trusted, and prepared to continue learning in a world shaped by intelligent systems.
Adam Bridgeman, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)
Reshaping the way we teach and learn
While the introduction of AI in the classroom has raised concerns relating to potential bias, misinformation, over-reliance, privacy, and equity, Adam says the University's approach involves designing systems that embed good practice from the start.
For Adam and his colleagues, this starts with making the learning process more visible.
"We're embedding AI fluency and authentic, practice-based learning directly into disciplines," he says. "This cannot be an add-on; it must be part of the core curriculum."
This approach uses learning activities and assessments that simulate real-world situations, work-integrated learning, and skills-focused program design, described by Adam as the "two-lane" model.
One lane uses supervised, in-person assessments where AI use is controlled, ensuring that students can demonstrate their own knowledge and skills. The second lane embraces AI use, helping students learn how to use these tools responsibly.
"By stating that AI can be used in lane-two assessments, we're developing student judgement on when to use AI, how to use it effectively and when not to trust it," Adam explains.
The key shift we're making is to move from restricting AI use to developing student judgement and critical engagement. We need to help students use it effectively to accelerate rather than replace learning
Adam Bridgeman, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)
Navigating trust and integrity in the age of AI
The changes brought about by AI are not limited to students. Educators must also adapt by reflecting on what they value, teach, and assess, ensuring that human skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and adaptability remain priorities.
Adam argues that educators will need to set transparent expectations and embrace process-based assessment while focusing on human oversight and equitable access to AI tools.
"Integrity in the age of AI is about demonstrating capability in ways that are trusted and visible," he explains. "It is foundational to ensure trust between students, educators, institutions and society."
Adam believes this is where the real transformation in learning is taking place, shifting from preparation to adaptation and transparency.
This approach equips students with the capabilities needed to lead in new environments, enter the future workforce with confidence, and develop the critical thinking skills required to navigate an increasingly AI-enabled world.
Hero image: Stefanie Zingsheim / The University of Sydney
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