Looking to the Future: Highlights from SXSW EDU 2025
- Sara Schapiro
- Mar 10
- 3 min read
The Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI) team enjoyed connecting with coalition members and fellow education advocates at SXSW EDU 2025 in Austin. Since the last SXSW EDU, ALI has worked with state education leaders and federal agencies to grow and bolster the education research and development (R&D) field. It was great to celebrate these wins and build community with the more than 100 R&D leaders who came together for this event.
Harnessing the Power of Research, Data, and Innovation
In our third annual SXSW EDU cocktail hour, the ALI community heard from accomplished education leaders about how research and data inform better outcomes for students. Featured speakers included Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education; Dr. Sydnee Dickson, Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction; and Dr. Jeff Weld, formerly of the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Each speaker expanded upon the critical role of evidence-based decision-making in driving student outcomes. Dr. Jenner spoke about how she harnesses data and evidence to prepare Indiana students for the workforce of the future, and Dr. Dickson shared how Utah turns data into insights that provide actionable solutions to meet community-specific needs. Dr. Jeff Weld discussed the growing momentum behind evidence-backed STEM education and its importance in preparing young people for the workforce of the future.
“We can’t go forward in anything that we’re doing without R&D,” shared Dr. Dickson.
Widening the Scope of Education R&D
ALI’s panel, “Building and Broadening the Education R&D Enterprise,” featured education leaders who understand the importance of expanding R&D to encompass a broader range of practitioners, researchers, and institutions. This panel featured moderator Jinann Bitar, Director of Higher Education Research & Data Analytics at The Education Trust, and panelists Dr. Pamela Scott Johnson, Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs at Spelman College; Dr. Marybeth Gasman, Executive Director of the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions; and Dr. Ivory Toldson, Professor of Human Development and Psychoeducational Studies at Howard University. They discussed the valuable role minority serving institutions (MSIs) have played in advancing research and discovery, stimulating the economy, and making the U.S. more globally competitive.
Dr. Gasman emphasized how the best ideas can only be identified and nurtured when research institutions are inclusive and diverse. MSIs are filled with talent, and they need federal support to tap into that potential. She emphasized that “MSI’s serve the interests, livelihoods, and successes of everyone in our nation.”
The panelists discussed policy solutions for broadening the education R&D enterprise, building off of ALI’s Task Force brief on the Role of HBCUs, MSIs, and TCUs in Education R&D. They highlighted the importance of diverse and representative peer reviewers and making the federal funding process more transparent and accessible.
Join the Movement
Throughout the week, ALI members and supporters made appearances on SXSW EDU stages to discuss harnessing AI tools in the classroom, the changing political landscape, the future of education and the workforce, and more. ALI is eager to continue working toward a more robust and innovative future for education R&D.