Philippa Hardman

Dr Philippa Hardman is a leading expert in learning science, instructional design, and the use of artificial intelligence in education. She has spent more than 20 years researching how people learn and how learning experiences should be designed. Her main focus is connecting learning science with real-world learning design, using AI to improve the quality, efficiency, and impact of education and training. Her mission is to help educators, organisations, and businesses design better learning experiences powered by AI.

She is the Creator and Founder of DOMS™, a learning design system that combines AI and learning science. Through DOMS™ and its sister method FRAME™, she runs the AI & Learning Design Bootcamp, which is considered the world’s most popular AI course for educators and learning professionals. She also hosts monthly AI bootcamps where she shares practical methods to use AI in education and training.

Dr Hardman works as a specialist AI and education advisor for major global organisations, including OpenAI, KPMG, Novartis, BCG, Salesforce, and Haleon. She is an OpenAI Education Advisor, a LinkedIn Top Voice, an ASU+GSV Woman in AI for 2025–2026, and a TEDx speaker. She regularly delivers keynote talks at global education and technology conferences and appears on podcasts related to AI and learning.

She is an Affiliated Scholar in Digital Humanities at the University of Cambridge, where she continues to research online and digital learning. She has a strong interest in community-first learning models and in moving beyond traditional MOOCs. She has also served on the MK:U Advisory Board at Cranfield University, helping to design innovative higher education curricula.

Previously, she held senior roles at Aula, Construct, and Teach First, where she led community-first and hybrid learning strategies. Her work has improved student engagement and satisfaction at large institutions, including the University of Oxford and Coventry University.

Dr Hardman holds a PhD, Master’s degree, and Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Sheffield. She has published research on digital learning, gamification, and professional development. In 2023–2024, she won the Innofounder Denmark Award for her work in AI and education innovation.

Dr Philippa Hardman was born in the United Kingdom. From an early stage in her academic life, she developed a strong interest in history, learning, and how people understand and share knowledge. This interest later shaped her career in education, learning science, and digital learning design.

She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in History at the University of Sheffield between 1999 and 2002, graduating with First Class Honours. During this time, she focused on British history, gender history, and the cultural history of science and ideas. She was awarded the Welling’s History Prize on graduation. She then completed a Master’s degree in History at the same university from 2002 to 2003, achieving a Distinction. Her master’s research focused on historical research methods, innovation in teaching, and evolutionary discourse.

From 2003 to 2006, she completed her PhD in British Cultural History at the University of Sheffield. Her doctoral research examined how evolutionary ideas influenced institutional reform in Britain during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Her research was later published in the academic journal Cultural and Social History in 2013.

Alongside her studies, Dr Hardman worked as a Teaching Associate at the University of Sheffield from 2005 to 2010. She also worked on major digital humanities projects, including the Old Bailey Proceedings Online and Plebeian Lives projects, where she led teams converting historical records into searchable digital resources. She contributed to public education projects focused on women, LGBT communities, and Black communities.

Between 2008 and 2010, she volunteered with Nacro, supporting young offenders and vulnerable learners to re-engage with education. This work strengthened her focus on inclusive and supportive learning design.

In 2010, she became an Affiliated Scholar in Digital Humanities at the University of Cambridge, a role she continues today. She later completed a postdoctoral internship at Harvard University, where she explored active learning and digital innovation in education.

From 2013 to 2017, she led hybrid learning strategy at Teach First. She later became Chief Academic Officer at Construct, where she designed community-first learning models for institutions such as the University of Oxford and Cornell University. From 2020 to 2021, she served as Vice President of Learning at Aula, leading research-driven learning products that improved student engagement and satisfaction.

In 2022, Dr Hardman founded DOMS™, a learning design system powered by AI and learning science. She also created the AI & Learning Design Bootcamp, now recognised as the world’s most popular AI course for educators. She advises global organisations including OpenAI, KPMG, BCG, Novartis, Salesforce, and Haleon. She is an OpenAI Education Advisor, TEDx speaker, LinkedIn Top Voice, and ASU+GSV Woman in AI for 2025–2026.

She is currently focused on helping educators and organisations design better learning experiences using AI, research, and community-first approaches, while continuing her academic and advisory work globally.

Dr Philippa Hardman’s vision is to improve how learning is designed and delivered across the world. She believes education should be based on strong learning science and real human needs, not only on technology or content. Her goal is to help educators, trainers, and organisations use AI in a practical and responsible way to create learning that is active, meaningful, and inclusive. She focuses on community-first learning, where learners connect, participate, and apply knowledge in real situations. Through research, teaching, and advisory work, she aims to make high-quality learning accessible, effective, and relevant for people at all stages of life.

Dr Philippa Hardman has received wide recognition for her work in AI, education, and learning design. She was the winner of the Innofounder Denmark Award 2023–2024, supported by Innovation Fund Denmark, for her work on combining AI and learning science. She is recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice for her thought leadership in AI and education. She has been selected as an ASU+GSV Woman in AI for 2025–2026. She is also a TEDx speaker and an OpenAI Education Advisor, and she regularly delivers keynote talks at leading global education and technology events.