Is Your University Disrupting Itself? If Not, Who Is?
Why this matters
Tertiary education is at a genuine inflection point.
It faces the disruption of AI from within — in how students learn, how knowledge is created, and how institutions operate — and increasing competition from new entrants who are not constrained by decades of infrastructure, tradition, or regulation.
But this disruption is also an opportunity.
Universities and tertiary institutions have a rare chance right now to take charge of education, of lifelong learning, of the public good they were built to serve. To emerge from this period not as casualties of disruption, but as its architects. To restore and deepen their value to students, to communities, and to society.
The institutions that move now — boldly, intentionally, resourcefully, and with peers alongside them — will define what higher education looks like in the decade ahead.
What is the HEDx and EVR AI Coalition?
To meet this moment and help drive the change needed, HEDx and Educate Ventures Research (EVR) have jointly developed a facilitated coalition programme for universities serious about transforming operating models and the student experience with AI.
The coalition approach grew out of EVR’s schools and colleges coalition — a programme brought to life by the people in it, through their own action. Carrying that origin into higher education, this is a joint HEDx and EVR initiative: EVR as co-originator and evaluator, HEDx as facilitator and convener.
The coalition is working in partnership with the 2050 Alliance, Australia’s network of universities committed to equity-led innovation in higher education, and is building an international advisory board of leaders across industry, education and research.
How it works
Each institution takes on one substantive AI project — working it through to a live result by Demo Day on November 5, 2026, and sharing progress with the cohort along the way.
Projects can focus on any area — operations, student experience, curriculum redesign, people and capability, or external relations — but should have a clear line of sight to broader institutional transformation.
The cohort meets regularly, with defined outputs and actionable commitments from every session. HEDx and Educate Ventures Research (EVR) co-facilitate, with EVR also providing an independent evaluation framework developed through the Shape the Future School and College Leaders Coalition in the UK.
Between sessions, institutions are supported, with findings feeding into a shared evidence base the whole sector can learn from.
The cohort is the engine: by actively contributing, members generate and share evidence, build a national knowledge base, and shape the AI landscape in the interests of students and educators.
A parallel UK cohort launches in September 2026. Both cohorts share findings and come together for a joint showcase in 2027.
Projects institutions are exploring
Our founding institutions are already working on ambitious projects that aim to transform how universities work, teach, and deliver value for students. These include:
- Personalised learning for access to marginalised communities
- AI-powered predictive insights for student retention
- Coordinating AI support across research and teaching
- Improving graduate employability through stronger employer connections
- Fundamentally revising curricula — and the assessment that evidences learning — in light of AI-driven changes to skills and knowledge
- Reimagining assessment design for an AI-native world
Demo Day: November 5, 2026
Every institution in the cohort presents a live result of where they are up to at the second HEDx conference in 2026. It is this accountability that we believe will make the difference.
Want to know more?
If you would like to get involved, provide feedback, or simply find out more — we want to hear from you. Get in touch with the Director of Innovation and Engagement, Annabel Murphy at annabel@hedx.com.au or +61 405 611 421
