Exploring the Future of Education:
Where Artificial Intelligence meets Emotional Intelligence
Where Artificial Intelligence meets Emotional Intelligence
Thursday 30 April 2026
📍 Westonbirt School, Gloucestershire
Education, work and society are being reshaped by Artificial Intelligence at a pace unprecedented in human history. As technology takes on increasing roles in content delivery, assessment and feedback, the central philosophical question becomes: what is the purpose of education in an AI-enabled world?
The AI × EI Conference is a thought-leadership summit for Heads and Senior Leaders, exploring how schools can navigate this transformation; not only by embracing new technologies, but by deepening the qualities that make us human: empathy, creativity, character and purpose.
1. Engage with leading thinkers from education, industry, neuroscience and psychology.
2. Reflect on the philosophical, practical and ethical dimensions of AI in schools.
3. Connect with fellow leaders to share insights and shape collaborative projects for mutual benefit.
4. Experience the beauty and inspiration of Westonbirt School, a venue designed to spark big ideas.
Hosted by the Wishford Centre for Innovation, this event marks the publication of the first Wishford Journal of Educational Innovation, reflecting Wishford’s aim to be at the forefront of research and thought leadership in education.
We are assembling a dynamic panel of subject-matter experts who will deliver valuable insights and thought-provoking perspectives. We’re thrilled to introduce our speakers below.
Stay tuned – additional speaker announcements and the full programme will be revealed soon!
Simon is Director of Innovation at Wishford Education, where he created the Wishford Centre for Innovation to explore education at the forefront of the AI revolution. Combining philosophical depth and technical expertise, he brings over 20 years’ experience exploring where artificial intelligence and human potential intersects. Simon’s career spans senior leadership roles, teaching Computer Science and Philosophy across independent and state schools, and pioneering work in AI development. He understands the transformative promise and practical challenges of implementing AI in education. His work has featured in the Times Educational Supplement and Sir Anthony Seldon’s The Fourth Education Revolution, and recently presented at Artificial Intelligence in Education at Oxford University.
Simon believes we are experiencing a disruption as profound as the Industrial Revolution, at exponential speed. As AI increasingly automates manual and cognitive tasks, he argues that uniquely human qualities – creativity, emotional intelligence, leadership, and teamwork – become essential. Through the Wishford Centre’s CPD programmes, the inaugural Wishford Journal of Innovation in Education, and convenings like the AI x EI conference, he aims to help educational leaders navigate this transformation with both ambition and wisdom.
Cat Scutt is a former English teacher who has since held a number of leadership roles in the education sector, having recently been appointed as Chief Executive of The PTI. She was previously Deputy Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching and Head of Learning Technology at the GDST.
She is an expert in teacher development, education research and edtech, and has been a member of several government advisory groups.
She received an MBE for services to education in 2021 and completed her PhD at UCL IOE in 2024, with a focus on school leaders’ use of research evidence. She is also Chair of Cornwall Education Partnership, a trustee of NASBTT, and a governor of Astra Teaching School Hub.
Isaac Pattis leads the evaluation and implementation of emerging AI technologies for educational applications at Oxford University Press. With a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington and experience building machine learning systems in Microsoft’s Cloud + AI division, Isaac brings both technical depth and practical wisdom to the challenge of AI in education.
Currently developing ELT-Bench, an open-source evaluation framework for assessing Large Language Models in English language teaching contexts, Isaac works directly with educators and researchers to understand where AI genuinely enhances learning – and where it falls short. His hands-on experience evaluating and implementing AI systems gives him a grounded perspective on both the capabilities and limitations of current technology.
Isaac is passionate about helping school leaders navigate AI disruption thoughtfully – balancing innovation with the irreplaceable human elements that make education transformative. He believes the future of education lies not in choosing between artificial and emotional intelligence, but in understanding how they can work together to support both students and educators.
Victoria Hedlund, The AI Bias Girl, is the founder of consultancy GenEd Labs.ai and a recognised voice on equitable, bias aware use of generative AI in education.
She is one of LinkedIn’s 12 voices to follow in AI for Europe, convenes the Teacher Education AI Network (TEANs), and serves on the advisory board of the Institute of AI Education.
Her published research examines emergent bias and pedagogy in AI science outputs, with a focus on practical mitigation. She is editor of AI Bias in Education, author of 100 Quick GenAI Prompts for Teachers and Educators, and created LessonInspector.ai.
Award-winning Visual Effects Supervisor Ian Comley has delivered widely acclaimed, boundary-pushing imagery, creatures and digital humans for projects including ABBA Voyage, Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Paddington and Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity.
He is Academy and BAFTA Award nominated for his work on Gareth Edward’s “visually stunning” The Creator, and winner of multiple Visual Effects Society Awards for The Creator, ABBA Voyage and Gravity.
With a background in Digital Engineering and Look Development/Shader Writing, he has spearheaded global studio pipeline and technology at both Framestore (Head of Pipeline) and Industrial Light & Magic (CG Technology Supervisor), leveraging the latest AI and Realtime techniques. He participated in the UK Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths (STEAM) programme, has been speaker at SIGGRAPH, VIEW, FMX, SCA, Ciclope, and ran Master Classes at the National Centre for Computer Animation and Visual Effects Society.
Dr Rebecca Torrance Jenkins is an educational neuroscientist who specialises in translating insights from neuroscience, psychology and evolutionary anthropology into practical, transformative tools for schools, charities and learning environments. Her work asks a simple but urgent question: what would education look like if it were designed around how human brains actually develop and learn, rather than around timetables, buildings or inherited systems?
Rebecca works directly with schools, multi academy trusts and families to help them understand how relationships, environment and emotional climate shape learning outcomes. She is particularly interested in how emotional intelligence underpins cognitive performance, and how the conditions that allow young people to feel safe, seen and purposeful are the same conditions that allow them to think clearly and creatively. Her not for profit programme in the North West of England received a She Inspires award, and she previously founded a Prep science department in a school later named STEM Prep School of the Year. As a writer and researcher, she bridges academic insight and real world application, including a forthcoming Cambridge University Press chapter on neuroscience informed policy for SEND. She serves as a council member of the educational neuroscience think tank Learnus and as a senior learning consultant for an international EdTech platform.