Dr. Alexandra Urban’s Talk

Disruptor and Enabler: Preparing Learners for AI Transformation

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is revolutionizing online and workplace learning, presenting difficult changes and unprecedented opportunities. This session explores GenAI's disruptive potential to automate tasks and reshape the job market. We'll examine economic opportunities for businesses, the fastest-growing skills required, and upskilling strategies in this dynamic tech environment.

Then, we'll focus on embracing GenAI as an enabler in learning. Discover how this technology can supercharge online learning, offer innovative content delivery, personalize the experience, and add more effective assessment methods. We'll also discuss incorporating GenAI-related content into your upskilling plan, equipping us all with essential knowledge and skills.

About Dr. Alexandra Urban

Dr. Alexandra Urban is the Learning Science Research Lead at Coursera, focused broadly on platform innovation, content design, and online pedagogy. Her background is in Educational Neuroscience, applying how the human brain learns to improve teaching environments. She completed her doctorate in Mind, Brain, and Teaching from Johns Hopkins University, where she created novel interventions for better supporting women in online STEM courses. Before that, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Educational Neuroscience from Brown University and a Master's in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard University.

Dr. Urban publishes and presents worldwide at universities, companies, and conferences, sharing new research insights. Most recently, she has led presentations at DEMO Conference hosted by Georgia Tech, the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) Annual Meeting, and gatherings of enterprise managers in Dubai, as well as an onsite with university leadership at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC Chile) in Santiago. She lives with her husband and their dog in the Bay Area, California.

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