CDH workshop: AI in education 2030 – Speculative futuremaking
How can we imagine the future of education in a time where reading, writing, analysis, art, poetry, and music are impacted by AI – generative or otherwise? And how should we respond as educators? These questions are being considered by every academic institution in the world at the moment. While there is no straightforward answer or universal response, universities and educators must respond – sooner rather than later.
This workshop invites teachers, course coordinators, and other interested participants to engage in a speculative fabulation workshop, where we will explore both possible and seemingly impossible futures for educational practices and goals. We provide three future scenarios and ask groups to engage in fictional but hopeful world-building – perhaps by imagining artifacts, mundane activities, learning objectives, or imagined scenes. Rather than critiquing these futures, the goal is to creatively imagine how they might work in a constructive and affirming way.
Theoretical inspiration
The lighthearted and hopeful tone of this workshop is intentional. It builds on educational specialist Sian Bayne’s work [1] on speculative utopias for education and cultural theorist Terry Eagleton’s idea [2] that hopeful speculation is the starting point for moving beyond resignation and anticipation of futures we cannot control toward proactive construction of ideas that can be enacted. Speculative world building is a way of specifying the imagination in particular scenarios. These can become more probable through aspirational recognition that “hope is not simply an anticipation of the future but an active force in its constitution” and therefore “confidence in a particular future may help to usher it in” (Eagleton, 2015, p. 59).
[1] Bayne, S. (2023). Digital education utopia. Learning, Media and Technology, 49(3), 506–521. https://doi-org/10.1080/17439884.2023.2262382
[2] Eagleton, T. (2015). Hope without optimism. Yale University Press. https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300220254
Workshop team
The workshop was developed by Dr. Ann Kustritz, Dr. Jasper van Vught, Dr. Karin van Es, Ani Encheva, Professor Annette Markham, and Dr. Sigrid Merx – a team with expertise in curriculum strategies, course design, educational leadership, and the impact of AI in education.
The primary facilitator, Annette Markham, is an award-winning university teacher with over 20 years of experience in creative curriculum design and workshop facilitation in the educational, governmental, and public and a research profile focused on the impact of datafication and digitalization on young adults.
The event is coordinated and co-hosted by the Centre for Digital Humanities (CDH), the Futures + Literacies + Methods Lab, and the Department of Media & Culture Studies. The event is funded in part by USO AI in Education.
For any questions, please contact cdh@uu.nl.
Lunch
After the workshop, you are warmly invited to stay for lunch and conversation. Please indicate on the registration form if you plan to join.
Practical information
This is Workshop A in a two-part series. Workshop B – ‘Re-visioning assignments and assessments in the GenAI era’ – offers a hands-on session where participants work in teams with expert facilitators to redesign a specific assignment or didactic situation they’re facing impacted by GenAI. Participants in Workshop A will receive priority registration for Workshop B if it reaches capacity.
Workshop A will be repeated on the following dates:
Workshop B will be taught on the following dates:
- Thursday 2 October 2025, 10:00 – 12:30
- Friday 10 October 2025, 14:00 – 16:30
- Friday 30 January 2026, 10:00 – 12:30
Level
No prior experience with generative AI is required. The workshop will be held in English.
Preparation
Participants should bring their own laptops.
For whom?
Due to funding, priority will be given to teachers and researchers from the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University. If you are affiliated with another faculty or institution, you are welcome to register to be placed on the waiting list. We will notify you of available spaces shortly before the workshop.
Registration
This event is free of charge, but pre-registration is required. To sign up, please complete the registration form below. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you register but can no longer attend, please inform us by emailing cdh@uu.nl, so we can offer your spot to another participant. Thank you for your cooperation.