Heriot-Watt Inspiring Learning New Year Lecture 2026 “Learning beyond the machine: recovering teachers’ agency with (and without) AI”
Heriot-Watt Inspiring Learning New Year Lecture 2026
January 20, 2026 @ 8:00 am – 9:00 am
We are delighted to announce that Helen Beetham (University of Manchester) will give this year’s annual Heriot-Watt University Inspiring Learning New Year Lecture.
Title: “Learning beyond the machine: recovering teachers’ agency with (and without) AI”
Date: Tuesday 20 January 2026, 8-9am UK| 12-1pm Dubai | 4-5pm Malaysia
Location: Online
We look forward to welcoming Helen Beetham, University of Manchester to deliver the 2026 Inspiring Learning New Year Lecture 2026. Helen will invite (or perhaps provoke) us to “Learning beyond the machine: recovering teachers’ agency with (and without) AI”.
Abstract
Three years on from the release of ChatGPT, many of its promises have proved to be over-blown. Yet despite disappointing returns on productivity, accuracy and ‘general intelligence’, and in the face of public disenchantment, generative AI is everywhere. Students have been among its most dedicated adopters, and universities have been quick to embed its functionality into their platforms and services. Teaching staff might reasonably feel caught between these two forces, urged to update their courses for the ‘age of AI’, while still ensuring that students are learning the skills, knowledge and expertise that universities are set up to accredit. Helen Beetham joins us with the hopeful New Year message that in this moment, teachers and teaching are more necessary than ever to student learning. A critic of AI hype and hyperbole from day one, Helen reflects on what we have learned about learning, and how we can work with students towards a diversity of possible learning futures with, alongside, and even without AI.
About the speaker
Helen Beetham is a writer, researcher and consultant in digital education. She has edited a number of standard texts including Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age and published peer-reviewed articles on topics from digital literacy to surveillance pedagogies, and from curriculum practice to feminist theories of technology. Helen has advised universities in the UK, Europe, Africa, and Australasia on their digital education strategies, and has worked for international bodies such as the EU, UNICEF, UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Learning.
Since 2004 she has played a leading role in Jisc programmes, building capacity for digital transformation in universities, and helping to centre the student experience in strategic thinking. Her Digital Capabilities framework is widely used in and beyond the UK. Her substack, Imperfect Offerings, has been recommended by the Guardian/Observer for its ‘wise and thoughtful’ critique of generative AI.
Accessibility
We try to ensure our sessions are accessible for everyone attending them. If you are attending an event (or plan to) please let us know in advance how we can make it accessible for you.
Booking
The Heriot-Watt New Year Lecture 2026 is open to all Heriot-Watt staff and colleagues across the tertiary education sector. There will be an opportunity for attendees to participate in a Q&A session after the lecture. A recording of the lecture will be available afterwards on the LTA YouTube channel.
Book your place via this MS Form or the button below.