JEN DEAKIN
Final-year PhD researcher & Lecturer
Leeds Beckett University

Jen Deakin is a final-year PhD researcher whose doctoral study explores assessment authenticity and the ethical use of artificial intelligence in Further and Higher Education. Using a mixed-methods approach, her research examines how assessment can provide credible evidence of learning while supporting responsible AI use. As part of this work, she has recently published 'Assessment in the Age of AI: Research-informed Guidance for the Education Sector'.

Alongside her PhD, Jen is a Lecturer in Digital Transformative Education in the Carnegie School of Education at Leeds Beckett University, where she teaches on the PGCE teacher training and MA Transformative Education programmes. She began her career in the creative industries before spending nearly a decade in Further Education, where she led A Level and Vocational Graphic Design courses and later became an Advanced Practitioner, mentoring teachers and delivering CPD on pedagogy and digital innovation. In 2024 she was awarded a Technical Teaching Fellowship from the Education and Training Foundation and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, researching how AI can reduce teacher workload and enhance teaching across the FE sector. She has presented her work at various National conferences and in 2025 was invited to share her research with HRH Princess Anne at the Royal Commission's Presidential Dinner. Jen is a board member of the Association for Research in Post-Compulsory Education (ARPCE), Vice Chair of the ETF Practitioner Advisory Group, and member of the Education and Training Foundation's Quality and Standards committee.