Live online cohort for AI leaders in education in 2027
Practical AI Leadership
For the person leading AI in your school, TAFE/RTO, university or other education organisation
A 20-week program that provides a structure for the year, policies and practices you can use in your own organisation, and a national community of practice to share ideas.
Register your interestWhat Is AI Leadership and What Are the Challenges?
Across schools, TAFEs/RTOs, universities and other education organisations, AI leadership often sits with one person. Sometimes that’s a formal role, but more often it’s an educator who picked up the work along the way during 2023–2026. Either way, they’re carrying policy, professional learning, student and community questions, procurement and assessment integrity at once, and often alone.
This program is for that person, whether or not AI is in their official role description or job title, including:
The program assumes you already know what generative AI is and have experience using the technologies. The focus is on leading your organisation’s response safely and proactively.
Practical AI Leadership runs from February to July 2027. It’s deliberately spaced out with enough time between sessions to try things in your own organisation and bring the results back to the group.
The Six Sessions
Six one-hour sessions with Dr Leon Furze, live on Zoom and recorded, three per program quarter. Session dates and times will be published in November 2026.
First program quarter
1. The role
Scope, mandate and priorities for the first quarter: what an AI lead is actually responsible for, and what to delegate.
2. Understanding your organisation
Running the self-audit and pulse survey, and benchmarking the results against other education organisations.
3. Policy and governance
Guidelines that connect to existing policies rather than a standalone AI policy. Surfacing use instead of suppressing it, and addressing “shadow AI”.
Second program quarter
4. Professional learning for the realities of AI
Designing professional learning that helps educators understand AI beyond chatbots and respond to its practical implications.
5. Students and communities
Assessment integrity, wellbeing, deepfakes and the broader AI conversations educators should be having with students, colleagues, families where relevant, and community partners.
6. Sustaining AI leadership
Building and managing an AI team, measuring change, and planning for the second half of 2027 and into 2028.
Also Included
- A moderated online community between sessions, with questions answered within the week
- A policy self-audit template and a short community pulse survey to run in your own organisation
- Annotated examples of AI guidelines and governance structures for education organisations, including the three-zone model of mandates, shared decisions and educator autonomy
- Slides, templates and readings that stay available after the cohort ends
- Optional face-to-face days, hosted with associations and networks in various states and territories, announced during each cohort and booked separately at a discount for cohort members
What You’ll Finish With
- A clear role description and mandate – What an AI lead is actually responsible for, and what to delegate to others.
- A completed self-audit – Your organisation’s AI policies reviewed using self-audit templates, and a pulse survey to run with your own community.
- A strategic AI plan – Governance, educator professional learning and community conversations, mapped out for the second half of 2027 and into 2028.
- A network of people in the same role – A community of AI leads from schools, TAFEs/RTOs, universities and other education organisations across Australia, which continues after the sessions end.
Investment
Early bird
$1,620
AUD per person + GST
Confirmed by 4 December 2026
Individual
$1,800
AUD per person + GST
Standard place
Organisation pack
$4,500
AUD for three people + GST
$1,500 each, any three people from one organisation
Bring your team. To get the most from this cohort, consider two or three people from the same organisation working through it together: the AI lead plus an education or academic leader, or an IT administrator. The organisation pack covers three places for AUD $4,500 + GST.
Association and network members may be eligible for a member rate: include your association name when you register. For ten or more places, email leon@leonfurze.com.
February–July 2027 cohort
Register Your Interest
Early bird pricing is available for places confirmed by 4 December 2026.
Nothing is charged when you register. I’ll be in touch by email to confirm your place, and your organisation is invoiced on confirmation.
The cohort runs with a minimum of 25 people and is capped at 60, and nobody is invoiced until the minimum is reached. If the minimum isn’t reached by 4 December 2026, you will not be invoiced and your details will be retained for an August–December 2027 cohort.
Questions? Email courses@leonfurze.com
Program lead
About Dr Leon Furze
Leon has worked with more than two hundred education organisations on AI strategy, policy and professional learning. He is the author of Practical AI Strategies and Practical AI Strategies 2, and a co-author of the AI Assessment Scale, which is used by educators around the world.
His quarterly course Practical AI for Curriculum Leaders draws participants from Australia, Asia, North America and Europe. Practical AI Leadership uses the same format, extended across two program quarters and focused on leadership across an organisation.
Common Questions
Is this the right course for me?
- Practical AI for Curriculum Leaders (six weeks, runs each quarter) is for curriculum and subject leaders working on assessment, task design and educational practice.
- Practical AI Leadership (two program quarters, two cohorts per year from 2027) is for the person leading their organisation’s response: policy, governance, educator professional learning and community engagement.
Curriculum Leaders alumni are welcome. The content doesn’t overlap.
Can I do this on my own?
Yes. Plenty of people join as the only AI lead in their organisation; that’s who the program is built for. Bringing a colleague or two is useful but not required.
How much time will it take?
Six hours of live sessions across two program quarters, plus whatever time you spend running the self-audit and pulse survey in your own organisation. There are no assignments. The work between sessions is work you’d be doing anyway.
What if I miss a session?
Every session is recorded, and the online community runs between sessions so you can catch up and ask questions.
What time zone are the sessions in?
Sessions use Melbourne time, with the applicable time zone shown alongside each session date. Dates and times will be published in November 2026, and all sessions are recorded for anyone in another time zone.
Can my organisation pay?
Yes. Once your place is confirmed and the minimum cohort size is reached, an invoice is issued to your organisation before the program starts.
How many people will be in the cohort?
The February–July 2027 cohort is capped at 60 people, with a minimum of 25. Nobody is invoiced until the minimum is reached.
Can I transfer my place?
Yes, to a colleague at your organisation, any time before the first session.
Are the face-to-face days included?
No. The program is fully online. Face-to-face days are an optional extra, run where an association or network hosts, and announced during each cohort. Cohort members attend at a discount.