IB Unplugged

What happens when the world a curriculum was designed for changes faster than the curriculum itself has?   The IB Diploma Programme has earned its reputation for rigor. But the challenges today's students will inherit — a warming planet, the next pandemic, AI reshaping work — don't arrive sorted by subject. So how do you keep that rigor and make learning more relevant to the world students are heading into? We sit down with Naheed Bardai — principal of UWC Atlantic College in Wales and one of the founding architects of the Systems Transformation Pathway — to unpack the IB's new transdisciplinary course: how it was designed, what two years of piloting have taught, and what schools can start doing now.

Tim Lovatt, Head of Digital Learning at UWC South East Asia, joins us to explore one of the quieter challenges of the AI era: keeping curiosity alive when it's no longer necessary for finding information.  Tim argues that as AI tools take on more of the cognitive heavy lifting, the quality of the questions students ask matters more than ever, not less. The conversation moves between two possible futures: one where AI narrows curiosity into a search for quick answers, and one where schools deliberately design for wonder, treating creativity, collaboration and critical thinking as the skills that make students distinctly human rather than as soft extras.

The IB has spent decades defining what it means to educate for international mindedness and ethical thinking. Now, for the first time, it has published principles to guide how AI should be used across its entire ecosystem — from classrooms and assessments to the platforms schools use every day. But principles on a page are only as powerful as what happens in a classroom.   Clara Hawking, Co-founder of Kompass Education, former IB educator, and one of the small group of external advisors who helped build the IB's AI Design Principles from the ground up, returns to IB Unplugged to go inside the process — unpacking what those principles actually mean, the hard conversations that shaped them, and what IB educators need to do now.

Schools talk about student voice. They have councils, surveys, and learner profile statements on the wall. But how often are students invited to build — not just to speak? Arissa Roy, UWC graduate, UNESCO youth representative, and founder of a global education equity organisation she started at 14, joins us to name the gap between consultation and genuine co-design — and to challenge educators to close it.

What were the biggest ideas to emerge from Season Two of IB Unplugged?   In this special season finale, Courtney and John look back on the conversations that challenged their thinking, influenced their classrooms, and reshaped how they view education. Rather than revisiting every episode, they identify five recurring themes that connected discussions with researchers, school leaders, and classroom practitioners throughout the season.   From the role of AI and assessment to teacher well-being, student identity, belonging, and the importance of keeping humanity at the heart of education, this reflective conversation explores the ideas that continue to resonate long after the microphones were turned off. Whether you've listened to every episode or are discovering IB Unplugged for the first time, this episode offers a thoughtful synthesis of the conversations shaping the future of IB education.