Why we must reimagine education, now!

In this keynote session, Pasi Sahlberg and Glenn Savage will argue there is an urgent need to rethink leadership in education if our collective aim is to produce thriving and futures-focussed schools. They will advocate for future education systems driven by the profession and in collaboration with young people, parents, and school communities. To energise and provoke the audience, a creative challenge will be introduced to harness the collective intelligence of attendees and inspire innovative ideas about the future of education.

Imagining our education futures

In this session, the products of the creative challenge introduced at the start of the day will be shared with the audience. The fruits of this imaginative work will be a surprise, capturing the unpredictability and potential of the future we collectively aspire to create. The session will conclude with a powerful call to action, reinforcing the message that the power to reimagine and redesign education lies within the collective agency and expertise of young people and the profession.

Pasi Sahlberg

Pasi Sahlberg is a professor of educational leadership at the University of Melbourne and global thought-leader who has advised education system leaders, researched school reforms, and advocated general publics about education. His latest books include ‘Let the Children Play: How More Play Will Save Our Schools and Help Children Thrive’ (2019), and ‘Finnish Lessons 3.0: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland’ (2021). Pasi lives in Melbourne with his wife and two children.

Glenn Savage

Glenn Savage is an Associate Professor of Education Policy and the Future of Schooling at the University of Melbourne. Glenn is a leading researcher and public commentator on education policy and schooling reform. He has extensive research experience, including major commissioned and collaborative research grants with AITSL, ACARA and the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership. His most recent book, ‘The Quest for Revolution in Australian Schooling Policy’, provides a detailed history of Australian schooling reform and offers a strong critique of failed attempts to improve equity and student outcomes.

Glenn began his career as a music journalist, after which he became a secondary English teacher and worked in diverse school settings in Australia and England. Motivated by a desire to examine the politics of educational inequality, he pursued an academic pathway, which led to a critical interest in the dynamics of policy design and system reform. Glenn regularly collaborates with school and system leaders to apply strategic design thinking to tackle education challenges and drive meaningful change. He currently leads an Australian Research Council project that is examining ways to improve collaboration between government agencies in the development of national schooling reforms.