A new blueprint for AI in higher education
From Education Futures by Svenia Busson & Laurent Jolie
April 27, 2026 · 54 min · Season 1 · Episode 39
About this episode
The episode explores the integration of AI in higher education through a framework presented by Boris Walbaum of Forward College.
What does it actually look like when a higher education institution takes AI seriously, as something to integrate into the very design of how students learn, are assessed, and grow? In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with the founder of Forward College, Boris Walbaum, who walks us through one of the most concrete and thoughtful AI-in-education frameworks we've encountered. From an in-house AI Hub giving students access to all major models, to an AI Mirror dashboard that maps how each student is using AI (memorising, getting feedback, or — the red flag — offloading higher-order thinking to the machine), to an AI Journal where students log and defend their AI strategy on every assignment, this is what AI-integrated learning can actually look like in practice. We also dig into the bigger philosophical shift behind it: why "excellence" itself is being redefined in a world moving from certainty to uncertainty, why the appetite for learning is collapsing among teenagers, and why investing in deep skills — cognitive, social, emotional and practical — is the only no-regret move in a world where technical skills become obsolete every few years. A must-listen for anyone in higher…
People in this episode
Host: Svenia Busson
Guest: Boris Walbaum
Topics covered
- AI in education
- higher education
- student learning
- assessment
- philosophical shift
- skills development
Keywords
- AI
- higher education
- student assessment
- learning framework
- skills development
- cognitive skills
- social skills
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Forward College, London School of Economics
Books & works: Excellence Isn't What You Think
More episodes of Education Futures
- Future of work: A Gen Z wake-up call · June 11, 2026 · 47 min
- Sorbonne's AI college for humanities students · June 8, 2026 · 39 min
- A Philosopher's case against AI · June 4, 2026 · 55 min
- Measuring what actually matters in Edtech · June 1, 2026 · 47 min
- Making computer science tangible for children · May 28, 2026 · 45 min
- SuperSkills: The 7 human skills AI can't replace · May 25, 2026 · 41 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Education Futures podcast page.