SAGE Conference: Learning to Thrive in a World of AI
Event Information
SAGE Conference 2026
Learning to Thrive in a World of AI
SAGE 2026 Melbourne Conference | Mon 7 – Wed 9 September
How do we prepare young people to not simply succeed, but to truly thrive in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence?
At a time of rapid technological change and global uncertainty, this question sits at the heart of education systems around the world. The SAGE 2026 Melbourne Conference (Monday 7 – Wednesday 9 September) brings together educators, leaders, and thinkers to explore how schools can respond with clarity, purpose, and optimism — ensuring that learning continues to nurture not only capability, but also identity, wellbeing, and human potential.
The conference invites participants to engage deeply with how emerging technologies are reshaping learning, work, and human agency, and what this means for the design of education. Through a combination of provocative keynotes, practical workshops, school-based sharing, and structured reflection, delegates will explore how to translate insight into action — developing strategies that honour both innovation and human flourishing.
This global conversation is hosted within the Strategic Alliance of Global Educators (SAGE) — a network of leading schools across Asia, Europe, Australia, and the United States, united by a shared commitment to collaborative inquiry, professional dialogue, and building a better world through education. The three-day SAGE Conference provides a unique opportunity for member schools to learn with and from one another, strengthening relationships and shaping future directions together.
The opening day of the conference — Monday 7 September — is open to all schools, offering an opportunity for local educators to join this global focus through our keynote program. It will provide a chance to participate in an international conversation alongside delegates from SAGE schools across the world.
Click on the image below for the full conference Program
Click on the image below for the Local School Program
Lineup
Headline speaker - Valerie Hannon
Valerie Hannon Global Education Thought Leader | Senior Adviser, OECD Education 2030 Opening Keynote: Learning to Thrive in the New AI World: Rethinking Our Purpose Valerie Hannon is a globally recognised education thought leader and a powerful, values driven voice for change in schooling. With deep experience across practice, policy, and system leadership, she brings rare insight into how education systems currently work — and how they might be reimagined. As Senior Adviser to the OECD’s Education 2030 project, Valerie has been at the forefront of global conversations about the future of education. Her opening keynote will set the intellectual and moral frame for the conference, exploring what it means to live a thriving life in the 21st century. At a time when humanity faces complex and interwoven challenges, Valerie argues that education’s mission must remain one of optimism and possibility. By reframing “success” through the lens of thriving, she will invite educators to consider a more expansive purpose for schooling — one that goes beyond skills and employment to address questions of purpose, identity, wellbeing, and meaning in an AI shaped world. This opening address will be followed by a more dialogic and interactive workshop, where participants will explore the practical implications of these ideas within their own contexts.
Emeritus Professor Sandra Milligan
Emeritus Professor Sandra Milligan Enterprise Professor and Executive Director, Melbourne Metrics, The University of Melbourne Professor Sandra Milligan is one of Australia's most respected educational researchers and a leading authority on assessment, credentials, and the measurement of learning. As Enterprise Professor and Executive Director of Melbourne Metrics at the University of Melbourne, she has spent decades modernising how student success is recognised. Her work challenges reliance on traditional testing and focuses on making visible the complex capabilities students need to thrive including critical and creative thinking, agency, collaboration, and adaptability. Professor Milligan leads nationally and internationally significant work on learner profiles, microcredentialing, and new metrics for success. She convenes a global MOOC on assessment and 21st-century skills that has supported the professional learning of more than 30,000 educators worldwide. At SAGE 2026, she will invite delegates to rethink assessment, credentials, and evidence of learning in an AI-rich world.
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