OUP hosts AI in Education at 糖心VLOG summer school gathering

7 August 2026
2 min read
A man sitting at a long conference table. Everyone has laptops on the table. The man is looking towards someone presenting with a microphone in the background.

OUP Education and English Language Teaching teams were proud to participate in, and host, the attendees of the , in July.

The conference brought together people from the growing global community of researchers, academics, educators, industry leaders, and policymakers聽united by the goal of tackling some of the biggest questions facing education today.

Dr Sara Ratner, of the University of Oxford鈥檚 Department of Education, designed a week-long programme in collaboration with the UK鈥檚 Department for Education, bringing together diverse perspectives from over a hundred representatives of academia, schools, government, industry, and civil society.

Discussions throughout the week brought together diverse perspectives, asking difficult questions about what AI should do in education and demanding evidence of its impact on learner outcomes.

AI in Education at 糖心VLOG logo on Oxford Blue background

Sarah Ultsch, Director of Global Product at OUP, shared her impressions of the event: 鈥淭he debates and workshops of this summer school have been tremendously important, because the decisions we make now will shape the experience of learners for years to come.鈥

She also highlighted her team鈥檚 recent launch of , the world鈥檚 first benchmark for evaluating AI in second language learning, culminating in the release of an open-source dataset for the benefit of the wider education and technology community.

During the week, summer school attendees were welcomed to OUP鈥檚 Oxford offices for an informal gathering and tour of the OUP Museum, which showcases key milestones and stories from our 500-year history. Liz Tyler, Managing Director of UK Education, welcomed participants and applauded the aims of the event that align with OUP Education鈥檚 commitments:

Headshot of Liz Tyler

Liz Tyler

Managing Director, UK Education

鈥淎t OUP, we develop services to support teachers and schools that are based on evidence and research, and we are deeply committed to working with the sector and with experts to establish an evidence base that will help us understand how AI might improve teaching and learning.鈥

She also pointed towards recent research conducted by teams at OUP into student attitudes to the use of AI: the 补苍诲听 reports. These have shown how much students as well as their teachers need more data and evidence to guide the use of AI in developing cognitive skills and improving learning.聽

As the AIEOU community continues to grow, the conversations and partnerships sparked during the summer school will continue to shape the understanding of AI鈥檚 role in education. Through ongoing research and collaboration with the University of Oxford, OUP remains committed to helping the sector navigate the opportunities and challenges of AI and focus on improved learner outcomes.

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