In late 2025, a team from across the Centre was successful in bidding to design, develop and teach a nine-week, research-led Learning Cycle on AI and Education for The Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Pacific hub (KIX EMAP), based at NORRAG.
Current and emerging AI technologies are having a significant impact on practice, curriculum, policy and governance in education. It has become urgent for education leaders, policymakers, researchers and practitioners to understand the realities of AI in education and position themselves to positively influence and intervene in AI futures. In response to this need, the KIX EMAP Learning Cycle was designed to create a collaborative and critical environment for peer-learning with 20 country-based teams. Through instructional sessions and peer engagement sessions, combined with mentoring for each country team, the Centre for Research in Digital Education supported participants to produce policy research papers on AI and education in their respective country contexts.
The Learning Cycle, which ran from 16 February–8 May 2026, was aimed at mid- and senior-level education professionals, policymakers and researchers based in KIX EMAP countries. In total, 108 participants from 20 country teams were selected to take part.
The Learning Cycle and the policy research papers created from it revealed the strength of global commitment to mobilising AI while protecting and advancing what is valued and distinctive about countries’ education systems, cultures, and ambitions for the future. Our Learning Cycle and its outputs offer a valuable glimpse into how these ambitions can be collectively strengthened, and directions that AI technology and policy development will need to take to meet the needs of education systems worldwide.
