Join us and InclusiveEdu to find out if inclusive assessment and security can coexist

14 August 2025

Tuesday 9 September at 2pm

Assurance of learning in the age of GenAI

Can assessment for inclusion and security co-exist? A panel hosted by CRADLE, Inclusive Education, and the Redefining Assessment project.

When: Tuesday 9 September 2025

Time: 2pm – 3.30pm (AEST)

Where: Online and at Deakin Downtown

Cost: This is a free event

Be part of the event by registering now

The widespread availability of Generative AI has significant implications for assessment design, highlighting and exacerbating existing problems.

There is an urgent need to more effectively assure student learning, which generally requires in-person, supervised tasks.

While assessment has never been particularly inclusive, there are concerns that strategies to assure student capability boil down to invigilated exams, which are definitely not inclusive for the wide range of equity-deserving students with diverse characteristics and circumstances. A commonly suggested solution – oral assessment – has also been highlighted as problematic, particularly in the face of rising numbers of access plans and adjustments. But these dilemmas of assessment design existed long before GenAI, as have ongoing efforts towards conceptualising and implementing assessment for inclusion.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, in this interactive panel session we will draw on the expertise of educators and the lived experience of students to consider how structural modifications of assessment to assure learning can also accommodate student diversity. The expert academic panellists – Dr Imali Dias, Dr Maria Rae, and Associate Professor Joanna Tai – will be joined by two student panellists, Will Cook and Connor Coombes. Together, the panel will offer nuanced perspectives on what is possible, recognising the importance of context and acknowledging that some tensions may never be resolved.

Refreshments will be served following the panel for those attending in person at Deakin Downtown.

Following the event, a small team will compile a brief guide to assessment which assures learning and supports accessibility and inclusion in the context of GenAI. Submissions of practical case studies will be invited from tertiary educators to facilitate practice sharing.

Facilitated by Sue Sharpe, this panel is a Deakin collaboration between CRADLE, Inclusive Education, and the Redefining Assessment project.

Join us at Deakin Downtown or online for this compelling and topical seminar

Register Now

Panellists

Imali Dias is originally from Sri Lanka and arrived in Australia for her PhD in Engineering from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Melbourne in 2016. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in Internet of Things at Deakin University, Australia and is involved in delivering embedded systems units in the School of IT.

Maria Rae is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and Policy in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences; she previously worked as a newspaper journalist. Her research interests include political communication, media, podcasts and digital journalism. More recently, she is studying the sound of politics through voice, power and audio technology.

Joanna Tai is an Associate Professor with CRADLE. She is an assessment and feedback researcher who has co-designed and researched inclusive assessments and is currently studying how students use GenAI in assessment tasks.

Will Cook is a 4th year student pursuing a double degree in law and cyber security. He has been deeply involved in the AI space at Deakin University and has expanded his knowledge by studying AI Law at the University of Exeter. Over the years, Will has integrated AI into his studies and contributed to Deakin’s resources and student guides on AI.

Connor Coombes is a first year social work student with six years of experience in higher education, having completed a Bachelor of Criminal Justice & Criminology at Swinburne University. He is passionate about student accessibility, especially regarding the neurodivergent and mental health space.

Facilitator

Sue Sharpe is a Lecturer, Inclusive Education, at Deakin Learning Futures (DLF), part of Deakin University. Sue works at the intersection of academic and professional, bridging theory and practice, helping educators and institutions navigate these complex challenges.