Every year, entrepreneurs, educators, investors, policymakers, and industry leaders gather for the ASU+GSV Summit. The event, held across multiple days, explores the education technology sector through panel discussions, tours of innovative schools, keynote speakers, new product demonstrations, fireside chats, workshops and plenty of opportunities to network with others in the field.
USC Rossier Senior Fellow Doug Lynch has been a part of ASU+GSV since it’s inception in 2010, appearing as a speaker each year. For nearly a decade, he has taken students in the school’s Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership program to the summit as a part of a special program for business and education students from a range of schools, including USC, Harvard University, Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago and UNC-Chapel Hill. Since 2017, when he founded the USC Ed Tech Accelerator, he has hosted a pitch event for the entrepreneurs in each Accelerator cohort. This year, Lynch extended an opportunity for students in USC Rossier’s Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership program (EDL program) to attend the event by raising funds to cover students’ registration fees and lodging. Thirty students from the program were awarded support to attend the summit.
An opportunity to connect
This year’s summit took place in San Diego, Calif, from April 12-15. The theme of the sold-out conference was The Power of Fusion, and featured over 700 speakers, from politician Rahm Emmanual and actress Goldie Hawn to Managing Partner of GSV Ventures Deborah Quazzo and ASU President Michael Crow. And while the speaker list is indeed impressive and gives attendees an opportunity to hear from those an array of disciplines, the “magic of the conference,” says Lynch, lies in the networking opportunities and receptions.
For the EDL program students in attendance, the conference provided them with a valuable opportunity to engage with one another and the many attendees and presenters at the conference.
Dana Tate, a first-year doctoral student in the EDL program, said that the summit gave her the chance “to meet, network and connect with peers in person,” something she found incredibly valuable as she primarily attends courses online. Similarly, Director of Special Education at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, Gladys Aparicio, who will graduate in 2027, went in with one goal: “to prioritize genuine connection.” She said she focused on meeting new people “to share laughter and swap stories.”
For Sridaya Mandyam-Komar, who graduated from the EDL program this past spring, the most rewarding part of attending the summit was meeting other professionals across a range of disciplines. The former math and engineering teacher enjoyed discussing ways she and the other participants she met could leverage their expertise to meet the challenges facing K–12 schools. “I found this summit to be aspirational in terms of creating fusion between all entities in the ecosystem, educators, ed tech companies, government agencies, nonprofits, foundations, VCs, etc.,” Mandayam-Komar said. She also met California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, a speaker at the event, which was a particular highlight for her.
Luis Saballos, director of student affairs at the USC Department of Astronautical Engineering, described the experience as “transformative and energizing.” Saballos, who will graduate in 2028, said he also found himself reflecting on representation and access while attending the summit, which is fitting, given the summit’s mission that all people deserve equal access to the future.
“I sincerely hope that more individuals who come from backgrounds like mine have the opportunity to experience spaces like this in the future,” Saballos said. “It has inspired me to one day be in a position where I can fund and create similar opportunities for others to attend conferences like this because the exposure, connections and mindset shifts are truly life-changing.”
AI in focus
Today, it’s hard to imagine any conversations about the future that don’t include the role of artificial intelligence. And AI, was indeed, top of mind and a focus at this year’s summit. Presentations focused on AI included such topics as how to create school governance plans, equipping students to excel in an AI-ready work space, integrating AI in the classroom, and the role of AI in academic research to name just a few.
Alex Rose Wiesel-Brown, an actress and adjunct acting faculty at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy College of the Performing Arts, graduated from the EDL program this May and was thrilled to attend the conference in her hometown. After her experience at the summit, Wiesel-Brown left with big questions on her mind, like how institutions can devise ways so “we can use AI for the busy work, so our human brains have the freedom and capacity to create art?”
Similar to Wiesal, Gladys Aparicio also left thinking about AI. “AI will continue to reshape how we learn,” Apaircio reflected, ”but its value will depend on who uses it and how we can use it with clear purpose and intention.”
Syeda Saima Ferheen Bukhari, who has closely followed the evolution of AI in higher education as both a practitioner and researcher, said she was deeply interested in the summit’s focus on AI and the increasing role of AI agents in research, personalized learning and academic workflows. At the same time, Bukhair emphasized the importance of maintaining human oversight and ethical responsibility as institutions integrate these technologies more deeply into education.
“What became most apparent was a shared momentum toward reimagining learning ecosystems,” Bukhari said. “The challenge ahead lies not only in advancing technological capability but also in ensuring that its application aligns with the broader purposes of education.”
Preparing leaders who can shape the future
The summit gave students the chance to network with leaders from a variety of sectors, including education, technology and business. It also gave them the opportunity to reflect on their own futures and the roles they hope to play in shaping how technology and education will continue to intersect and shape the way we teach and learn. Lynch hopes to make the summit an annual experience for EDL students, creating more opportunities for them to engage with the leaders transforming the ed tech sector while grappling with the big questions shaping the future of education.
Doug Lynch
- Senior Fellow
