As part of the 2025 Leadership Program, St Andrew's Cathedral School is proud to welcome the second guest speaker in our ongoing series featuring outstanding Australian educational leaders. These events offer practical, research-informed insights into educational leadership, equipping aspiring, new, and experienced leaders with the tools to understand their leadership identity, lead with clarity, and foster high-performing teams. This series is ideal for educators seeking to grow their leadership capacity, and teachers from all schools, sectors, and career stages are warmly invited to attend. 

Assistant? Coach? Twin? Agent? Ghost? After years of talk, we are now certainly living in the VUCA world we were told about. Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous, the landscape upon which leaders now walk is vastly different from those of previous generations. Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and platforms have arrived in an already dynamic space, and we now have the challenge, the opportunity, the responsibility to shape what we want it to be for us and with us. Is it an agent of chaos and instability, or an opportunity to rethink education's future for the better? Or, perhaps, both? In this workshop, Matt Esterman of The Next Word will delve into some of the leading ideas and practices that affect leadership and leaders in education when AI is in the room. This workshop will touch on both the individual work of leaders and how they can use AI in that context, as well as considerations for leading AI strategy in schools.

He has an interest in establishing and maintaining valuable partnerships with external organisations such as universities, industry partners and charitable organisations, as well as seeking out and adopting innovative approaches to the school experience. Matthew has explored many innovative areas of school and work, including eSports, entrepreneurship, partner projects, school design and professional learning. Matthew is a fresh thinker in the strategic and practical use of Al in schools, exploring the potential and pitfalls of various tools and platforms. He is a keen lifelong learner who believes we can bend the future using creativity, critical thinking, and compassion.

This Leadership lecture will be held Online. Please register and a Teams link will be sent to you prior to the lecture.