Marisa is the team administrator for DEFI. She is enjoying supporting the team’s wide range of projects and finding out more the extraordinary developments which are taking place in the education space.

Before joining DEFI, Marisa was a teaching administrator for the School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge. She is passionate about learning and used to develop and deliver accountancy training to trainee accountants.

Piyush Ahuja (Oxford PPE, IIT Delhi Maths and Computing) is a tech entrepreneur.  As the founder of Cambridge Innovation Labs, he is currently leading an initiative to create the world’s first learning web, backed by Innovate UK. 

Previously, Piyush developed products for scientists and researchers in genomics as a senior software engineer at Wellcome Sanger Institute, and for millions of consumers as a product leader at an on-demand services company in India.  He has been recognised by Tech Nation as an exceptional leader in digital technology.

Tasnim has a passion for creative art design and a strong interest in corporate branding and the psychology behind an effective design. She has been involved in leading creative projects for clients in Dubai and Istanbul. Most recently she has created the design for the “The Futures of Assessment” report developed by DEFI and sponsored by Cambridge University Press and Assessment. She holds a double major in New Media and Visual Communication Design from Bahçeşehir University.

Jude Hannam is an educator with over twenty years experience teaching in primary, TEFL and informal education settings. After working in Germany, Italy and the UK, she felt it was high time she formalised and expanded her knowledge of education systems around the world. She has just completed a Masters in Education (Globalisation and International Development) at the Faculty of Education in Cambridge, where her research focused on assessing how marginalised communities access education. Moving forward she hopes to keep her feet firmly in both camps by working in UK schools and international development projects especially in the areas of gender equity, informal and adult education.

In addition to her role as a founding staff member of DEFI, Jude is research assistant for Inquiring Science, a DEFI project at Hughes Hall, Cambridge which teaches the philosophy of science to primary children to improve their engagement with online sources of information.

Recent publications

Casebourne, I., Hannam, J., & Abu Sitta, F. (2025, December). Glimpse into the futures of teacher wellbeing: A DEFI foresight study (ISBN 978-1-7384336-3-6). https://www.deficambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Glimpse-into-the-Futures-of-Teacher-Wellbeing.pdf

Kerslake, L. & Hannam, J. (2022). Designing media and information literacy curricula in English primary schools: Children’s perceptions of the internet and ability to navigate online information. Irish Educational Studies, 41(1), 151–160. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2021.2022518

Kevin Martin is the managing director at DEFI, responsible for strategic planning, financial management, and day-to-day operations. His professional background lies at the intersection of social innovation and education, and he has spent much of the last 20 years working on related initiatives in East Africa.

Kevin earned his PhD from the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, with research interests in dialogic education, EdTech, and international development. Prior to undertaking his doctoral research, he was an Assistant Professor of Business Administration and an Associate Dean at New England College.

Recent publications

Martin, K. (2025, December). Could zero-rating advance meaningful connectivity in education? UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/could-zero-rating-advance-meaningful-connectivity-education

Martin, K. (2022). Using mobile phones to enhance small group dialogic learning: A design based approach to educational innovation in rural East Africa. Apollo – University of Cambridge Repository. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.85755

Professor Rupert Wegerif is a member of the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge and founder of the Digital Education Futures Initiative at Hughes Hall, Cambridge. He is on the steering group of the Cambridge Educational Dialogue Research Group and co-convenor of the argumentation, reason and dialogue Special Interest Group (SIG) of the European Association of Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI). He has received numerous large grants and is highly cited for his  books and articles researching the use of technology in education and developing a new theory of education for the Internet age.

Rupert is also the principal investigator on two DEFI Projects, WoW Scenarios, introducing children to the World of Work, and Inquiring Learners, developing inquiry-based resources for use in primary schools.

Recent publications

Wegerif, R. & Major, L. (2024). The theory of educational technology: Towards a dialogic foundation for design. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781032056371.

Shi, S., & Wegerif, R. (2024). Cambridge Guide to Educational Design-Based Research (EDBR). Cambridge: Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI) & Cambridge Educational Dialogue Research (CEDiR). ISBN 978-1-7384336-1-2.

Bryan Maddox leads the assessment strand at DEFI, holistically exploring the ways in which digital technologies and digital data can help support new models of assessment, in collaboration with industry partners. His research on the validity and fairness of assessment also aligns closely with DEFI’s vision of a more dialogic and inclusive educational system.

Bryan is Executive Director of Assessment Micro-Analytics Ltd, and Honorary Professor at the University of East Anglia, where he was previously Professor of Educational Assessment.  He has held Visiting Professor roles at the University of Oslo, and the University of British Columbia. His work focuses on the digital transition in educational assessment, with a strong interest in the test taker experience and inclusive assessment. He is skilled in observational research methods including digital ethnography, eye tracking and gesture analysis.

Recent publications

Abu Sitta, F., Maddox, B., Casebourne, I.,  Hughes, S., Kuvalja, M. & Oates, T. (2023). The futures of assessment – Navigating uncertainties through the lenses of anticipatory thinking. Cambridge: Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI) & Cambridge University Press and Assessment (2023). ISBN number: 978-1-7384336-0-5.

Zumbo, B.D., Maddox, B. & Care, N. (2023). Process and product in computer-based assessments: Clearing the ground for a holistic validity framework. European Journal of Psychological Assessment.

Addey, C., Maddox, B., & Zumbo, B.D. (2020). Assembled validity: Rethinking Kane’s argument-based approach in the context of international large-scale assessments (ILSAs). Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice. 27 (6) 588-606.

Dr. Abu Sitta is a UNESCO Chair in Anticipatory Systems and an expert in Strategic Thinking and Complexity Management. He has more than 30 years of experience in Scenario Planning, Strategic Planning, Project Management, and Operational Excellence Management. Dr. Abu Sitta’s foresight research studies have been translated into various languages including Spanish, French, and Arabic, and have been adopted by various governments and corporations globally.

Dr. Abu Sitta is an advocate for promoting futures literacy as a method for accelerating innovation and building resilient nations. He is a founding member of the Center for Future Studies at the University of Dubai and an adjunct professor in the Master of Professional Studies – Foresight Program at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Dr. Abu Sitta holds a Master of Science in Foresight from the University of Houston and a PhD from the University of Bath.

Recent publications

Casebourne, I., Hannam, J., & Abu Sitta, F. (2025, December). Glimpse into the futures of teacher wellbeing: A DEFI foresight study (ISBN 978-1-7384336-3-6). https://www.deficambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Glimpse-into-the-Futures-of-Teacher-Wellbeing.pdf

Abu Sitta, F. (2025). ‘Reinventing education strategic planning and policymaking through the lenses of futures thinking’, The Future of Education Policy in the State of Qatar (2025th edn). Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-97-9667-0

Abu Sitta, F. (2024). ‘A strategic foresight framework for anticipating uncertainties in tourism industry’, in Futures in action: Strategic anticipations and deployments in organizations facing the future, vol. 19 – Innovation and technology. Wiley. ISBN: 9781836690054.

Abu Sitta, F. (May 2024). What is a futurist and why do we need one? [podcast] The Art & Science of Learning. https://www.theartandscienceoflearning.com/e101-jan-present/107-what-is-a-futurist-and-why-do-we-need-one-dr-fawaz-abu-sittanbsp

Abu Sitta, F., Maddox, B., Casebourne, I.,  Hughes, S., Kuvalja, M., & Oates, T. (2023). The futures of assessment – Navigating uncertainties through the lenses of anticipatory thinking. Cambridge: Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI) & Cambridge University Press and Assessment (2023). ISBN number: 978-1-7384336-0-5.

Abu Sitta, F., Aldhaheri, S. & Woodgate, D. (2020). The world post Covid-19: Plausible scenarios and paradigm shifts. University of Dubai. The-World-Post-COVID-19-Report-FINAL.pdf (ud.ac.ae)

Zubair Junjunia is an award-winning social entrepreneur who founded ZNotes at the age of 16, an online learning platform promoting global educational equity. ZNotes has impacted 6 million students across 190+ countries, offering high-quality resources and peer support for secondary school exams.

Zubair received the Diana Legacy Award and was appointed a UNDP & Samsung Generation17 Young Leader for ZNotes’ contributions to UN SDG4. He is one of the youngest recipients of the Freedom of the City of London and served as the UK Youth Leader for the Global Partnership for Education. Zubair holds a master’s degree in mathematics from University College London (UCL).

Dr. Imogen Casebourne is the research lead at the Innovation Lab at DEFI. She has a DPhil in Education (Oxon) and an MSc in Artificial Intelligence, for which she developed an AI program that wrote short stories (Sharples & Pérez y Pérez, 2023 p.8-10). She recently co-edited a book for Springer on AI and Education and co-authored a paper on AI and Collective Intelligence . In 2023, she designed and taught a short introductory course on AI and Education for students at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. She is currently a co-convener of the BERA special interest group dedicated to AI and intelligence, and works alongside UNESCO Futures Chair Dr. Abu Sitta, on DEFI’s Horizon Scanning and Futures thinking projects.

Imogen is interested in the design, development, deployment and evaluation of educational technology, and particularly in the role technology might play in supporting experiences of community, dialogue and serendipity in learning. Prior to joining DEFI, Imogen consulted for multiple organisations, including a leading Business School, Wikipedia and the NHS. She is also an award-winning EdTech designer with projects including a Maths Revision App for Harper Collins, and a mobile authoring tool which went on to become GoMo learning. An important aspect of this work involved inclusive design, contributing to organisational frameworks and advising on strategies for developing accessible and inclusive tools.

Recent publications

Casebourne, I., Hannam, J., & Abu Sitta, F. (2025, December). Glimpse into the futures of teacher wellbeing: A DEFI foresight study (ISBN 978-1-7384336-3-6). http://www.deficambridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Glimpse-into-the-Futures-of-Teacher-Wellbeing.pdf

Casebourne, I., & Wegerif, R. (2025). A dialogic theoretical foundation for integrating generative AI into pedagogical design. British Journal of Educational Technology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.70026

Casebourne, I., & Wegerif, R. (2025, October). AI and education for collective intelligence: A futures perspective. UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/ai-and-education-collective-intelligence-futures-perspective

Casebourne, I., Shi, S., Hogan, M. et al. (2024). Using AI to Support Education for Collective Intelligence. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-024-00437-7

Casebourne, I., & Wegerif, R. (2024). The role of AI language assistants in dialogic education for collective intelligence. In P. Ilic, I. Casebourne, & R. Wegerif (Eds.), Artificial intelligence in education: The intersection of technology and pedagogy (pp. 111–125). Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71232-6

Casebourne, I., Sitta, F.A. (2024). The Role of Emerging Technologies in Shaping the Futures of Teacher Wellbeing: A Futures-Thinking Perspective. In: Guralnick, D., Auer, M.E., Poce, A. (eds) Creative Approaches to Technology-Enhanced Learning for the Workplace and Higher Education. TLIC 2024. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 1150. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-72430-5_7

Casebourne, I. (2024). Left to their own devices: An exploration of context in seamless work-related mobile learning. British Journal of Educational Technology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13410.

Casebourne, I. (2024). ‘Navigating context and conflict – Investigating seamless mobile learning through the lens of Hedegaard’s framework’. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction 47: 100837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2024.100837.

Abu Sitta, F., Maddox, B., Casebourne, I.,  Hughes, S., Kuvalja, M.,& Oates, T. (2023). The futures of assessment – Navigating uncertainties through the lenses of anticipatory thinking. Cambridge: Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI) & Cambridge University Press and Assessment. ISBN number: 978-1-7384336-0-5.

Hogan, M. J., Barton, A., Twiner, A., James, C., Ahmed, F., Casebourne, I., Steed, I., Hamilton, P., Shi, S., Zhao, Yi., Harney, O. M., & Wegerif, R. (2023). Education for Collective Intelligence. Irish Educational Studies 2023: 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2250309.