FutureFocusGenAI ProgramThe Program aims to provide valuable insights into the future of work and society.
FutureFocus GenAI Program
The FutureFocus GenAI Program, launched in May 2024, is a groundbreaking initiative that fosters unique collaborations between higher education, industry, and the professions to address the transformative potential of generative AI (genAI) in their fields. The program has established an active community of over 40 participants dedicated to revolutionising curriculum design and academic-industry partnerships. There are dual objectives that drive this program. The first, to develop new, relational, and process-oriented approaches to academic-industry partnerships. The second, to produce recommendations for an industry-engaged AI-evolved course-wide curriculum transformation.
The FutureFocus GenAI Program is both an invitation and a provocation to think deeply about generative AI (genAI) at the intersection of education and the world of work for the graduates of today, tomorrow and the future.
To achieve these aims, the FutureFocus GenAI Program hosts a multi-disciplinary open educational community of inquiry (CoI) composed of seven disciplinary partnerships that bring together senior Deakin academics and their professional peers to have a conversation about the impact of gen AI on their fields. The program fosters robust relationships and prioritises safe, equitable partnerships at the intersection of education and employability, integrating diverse perspectives to drive genuine curriculum transformation and promote human-technological-environmental flourishing for a people and a world to come.
The FutureFocus GenAI Program is a joint initiative between Deakin Learning Futures and Graduate Employment.
Meet our FutureFocused Disciplinary Partnerships
The FutureFocus GenAI Program foregrounds robust relationships and prioritises safe and equitable partnerships at the intersection of education and employability. The program hosts seven disciplinary partnerships that transcend traditional ‘research’ and ‘teaching’ related partnerships, prioritising relational exchange to explore the impacts of genAI on their fields. The disciplinary partnership conversations will contribute to an evidence base that will shape Deakin University’s future education strategy and directly inform AI-evolved course-wide curriculum transformation projects.
GenAI and Digital Collection Management at the Powerhouse Museum
Powerhouse Museum
Exploring the impacts, ethics, and governance of genAI in collection management within the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archies, museums) sector to improve teaching and professional competency, ultimately informing curriculum transformation.
AI in Healthcare: Shaping Future Nursing and Midwifery Education
Western Health
Examining genAI’s role in clinical practice to develop a curriculum that prepares nursing and midwifery students to responsibly integrate genAI into patient care while maintaining high professional and ethical standards.
Exploring the Impact of GenAI on Australian Marketing Professionals
The Fuel Agency
Uncovering insights from partnerships to support the design of learning experiences in marketing technologies, preparing the next generation of marketing professionals to work alongside genAI.
From Classroom to Career: AI-Ready Engineers
Engineering Sector
Investigating how genAI is transforming engineering practices and integrating AI literacy into the curriculum to ensure students are career ready.
Generative AI and the Future of Sustainability
Local Government
Exploring genAI’s impact on sustainability practices, environmental management, and workforce needs, aiming to develop insights into the long-term implications of AI adoption and prepare students with the skills required to lead in this field.
The Algorithmic Advocate: Preparing Students for GenAI’s Role in Addressing Family Violence
Allied Health
Examining how genAI integrates into social work, focusing on family violence prevention and response, ensuring Deakin social work graduates are industry-ready and equipped to lead technological advancements.
GenAI and the Future of Legal Education
Members of the legal profession
An investigation of genAI’s impact on legal work and education, aiming to develop evidence-based recommendations for lawyer training and curriculum design at Deakin’s Law School.
The insights gained through these seven disciplinary partnerships and collective conversations will be translated into recommendations and contribute to an evidence-base for educational experiences that demonstrate the digital, course-wide and authentic principles of Deakin Design to be presented at the Deakin Teaching and Learning Conference, 2025.
To learn more about the FutureFocus GenAI Program or connect with the disciplinary partnership teams please contact Dr Danni Hamilton, FutureFocus GenAI Program Lead: danni.hamilton@deakin.edu.au
