Challenge Conversations

How do we balance standards and inclusion in responses to AI language translation?

This session extends our previous conversation on AI translation tools in higher education to challenge long-standing assumptions about "academic English" and the international student experience.

We are delighted to welcome Kelly Webb-Davies, Lead Education AI Consultant at the University of Oxford, to join this discussion.

Panellists:

• Kelly Webb-Davies, Lead Education AI Consultant, University of Oxford.
• Marnie Brown, Monash University.
• Professor Ari Seligmann, Monash University.
• Associate Professor Tim Fawns, Monash University

Format: Hybrid (In-person at Clayton campus & online via Zoom webinar)

In the context of AI translation technologies, this discussion asks if our current expectations of language fluency are exclusionary or essential to the rigour of a degree. Panellists will navigate the fine line between supporting inclusion and student agency, and maintaining academic integrity. We can’t be sure where the conversation will lead, but it might involve questions such as:

• When is it ok to use AI translation?
• Does our insistence on academic English create a barrier that penalises international students for their cultural background, or is it a necessary element of disciplinary knowledge and understanding?
• When, and to what extent, does formal academic English matter to the demonstration of learning outcomes?
• How do we know if we are grading the student’s knowledge or the AI representation of it?
• How do we manage classroom discussions where students may rely on live translation?
• What are the long-term risks to the student and to the institution?

Why join us in person?

This session offers the chance to hear directly from Kelly Webb-Davies, an AI Consultant at the AI Competency Centre at the University of Oxford whose background in linguistics and higher education gives her a distinctive perspective on inclusive, thoughtful AI use.

Joining us at Clayton also allows you to network with colleagues over light refreshments.