As part of the project, our student fellows were invited to write an “Astonishment Report”.
This exercise encourages them to take a fresh and reflective look at education by focusing on something that surprised, intrigued, or challenged them. The topic may concern an aspect of education that they find inspiring and positive, or, conversely, something that raises questions or reveals a difficulty.
Students are encouraged to adopt a curious perspective and to allow themselves a degree of naivety—real or deliberate—in order to question practices, assumptions, and routines that are often taken for granted. The purpose is not necessarily to provide solutions, but rather to observe, reflect, and share what sparked their curiosity or sense of wonder.
The reports presented here offer a collection of thoughtful observations and personal reflections on contemporary educational issues, viewed through the eyes of emerging professionals.
Read the Astonishment Reports below
Brazil
Marina Padilha studies Communication in Brasília, Brazil. She is passionate about education, creativity, and the role of artificial intelligence in transforming the way people learn and communicate. She enjoys traveling, developing marketing projects, and exploring new technologies.
In the future, she hopes to work on initiatives that combine innovation, communication, and learning.
Read her Astonishment report When Answers Come Easily, What Counts as Learning?
Rebeca Mesquita studies Communications at the University of Brasília, Brazil. She is interested in philosophy, sci-fi and post-humanism.
In her spare time, she enjoys gaming and hanging out with friends.
Rebeca believes education is the primary tool for human emancipation and for building a collective future through critical thinking and autonomy.
Read her Astonishment report The Purpose of Education in an AI World
France
Colyne Souriau is a master’s student in education and adult training sciences at Nantes Université, France.
Naturally curious, she is particularly interested in students’ experiences and enjoys using qualitative data collection methods.
Read her Astonishment report How Can a Simple Numerical Grade Seem to Have Such a Significant Impact on a Student Educational Pathway?
Prune Sochard studies English (Language, literature and civilisations) at Nantes Université, France. She wants to be a teacher and is interested in education and critical thinking; to her, transmitting and sharing knowledge with others is a purpose in life.
Her hobbies are running, video games and reading science fiction.
Read her Astonishment report The Purpose of Education in an AI World
Baptiste Bridier graduated with a law degree in 2025 from Nantes Université, France and now works in corporate law at a law firm. He enjoys reading and reflecting on the challenges facing contemporary society.
Curiosity is his greatest source of motivation in life.
Read his Astonishment report Open Education, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of Higher Learning
Lebanon
Catherina Saba is a Computer Communication Engineering student from Lebanon. She is interested in technology, communication systems, and how digital tools shape everyday life.
Outside her studies, she enjoys reading, learning new skills, and exploring different cultures and perspectives.
Read her Astonishment report When Knowledge Exists but Access Does Not
Nour Semaan studies Political Science at Notre Dame University Louaize in Lebanon. She is interested in diplomacy, international relations, educational policy, and emerging technologies.
Outside her studies, she organises Model United Nations conferences, enjoys learning languages, and is particularly interested in how artificial intelligence is transforming education.
Read her Astonishment report The Most Astonishing Student in the Classroom
Rebecca D. Bou Doumit studies Management Information Systems at Notre Dame University Louaize, Lebanon. She is fascinated by data analytics, AI, and education innovation, and is committed to environmental awareness. Curious and eager to learn, she spends her time exploring new ideas and hiking outdoors, hoping to build solutions that inspire growth.
Read her Astonishment report The Classroom That Learns With Us
Mexico
Yaretzy Gabriela Calamaco Munguia is studying for a Master’s degree in Pedagogical Innovation and Educational Management at the Benemérita Escuela Normal de Coahuila, Mexico. She is interested in educational innovation, digital technologies and artificial intelligence applied to learning.
She enjoys mountaineering, nature and the arts. She is passionate about creating dynamic, creative and meaningful learning experiences.
Read her Astonishment report Educating in an Age of Fragmented Attention
Yovanna Leija is studying for a Master’s degree in Educational Innovation and Management at the Benemérita Escuela Normal de Coahuila, Mexico. She is interested in educational research, particularly in areas related to artificial intelligence, ethics and learning.
She enjoys analysing the current challenges facing the education system and reflecting on the changes that new technologies are bringing about in teaching and learning.
Read her Astonishment report Academic Ethics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Gabriela Alvarado is studying for a Master’s degree in Pedagogical Innovation and Educational Management at the Benemérita Escuela Normal de Coahuila, Mexico. She is passionate about reading, enjoys playing sport and taking part in artistic activities such as dancing.
She devotes much of her time to teaching children and teenagers, using play as a key tool in their educational process. Throughout her professional career, she aspires to become a teacher who leaves a significant mark on the lives of her students
Read her Astonishment report School Safety and Coexistence Protocols as Part of the Mexican Education System
Morocco
Salma Regragui is a PhD student in geosciences at Mohammed V University of Rabat, Morocco. She loves drawing, especially mural art, and deeply loves cats. She rescued four street cats that she considers part of her family. She is also a huge fan of the Hunger Games movies and admires their message about courage, resistance, inequality, and hope.
Read her Astonishment report What a Good Teacher Can Change in a Child’s Life
Rita Berrada is a pharmacist and a PhD student in biology. Her research focuses on the adverse effects of medicines and the application of artificial intelligence to predict and analyse them.
She is particularly interested in the use of machine learning and deep learning to improve medicine safety and contribute to advances in biomedical research.
Read her Astonishment report Why Does Access to Knowledge Still Depend on Invisible Barriers?
Abdennour Lamharchi is a PhD student in Education Sciences at the Faculty of Education Sciences in Rabat, Morocco. He is interested in pedagogy and educational innovation. He is also a part-time lecturer at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Rabat, where he teaches digital literacy.
He is an active, motivated and committed person who aspires to become a higher education lecturer. He is also a keen sportsman and enjoys morning runs in the fresh air.
Read his Astonishment report Grades as a Ticket to the “Top Universities”
Slovenia
Pia Groleger is a designer and young researcher at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She sees design as a tool for connecting disciplines and generating responses to urgent social and ecological challenges. Her favorite movie is Perfect Days.
Read her Astonishment report How Inappropriate to Call this Planet Earth, When it is Quite Clearly Ocean.
Žan Rode father of three boys, is a teaching assistant at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Education. He is an educator at heart and enjoys discussing science, especially nature. He creates illustrations, digital art, and informational science posters.
He trains and coaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu, loves cooking, and in his free time enjoys reading fantasy novels.
Read his Astonishment report Intelligence Emergence – an Observation
South Africa
Lucky Geluk holds a BA in Industrial & Organisational Psychology and Afrikaans from the University of Cape Town. She is currently pursuing her BAHons in Afrikaans as a Mandela Rhodes scholar. She approaches academia as a space for connection and transformative dialogue, specialising in healing through relationality and multilingual expression.
Read her Astonishment report Are Tutors Really ‘Just Tutors’? An Ode to the Most Instrumental Beings in the Successful Completion of My Undergraduate Degree
Dylan Maxwell Gandiwa is currently doing his undergrad in Information Systems at University of Cape Town with the intention of becoming an academic or consultant in Business Intelligence and help small communities and businesses compete in a monopolistic world.
He enjoys reading, a very active lifestyle and travelling to see how different communities live and interact with one another and enjoy religious and spiritual discussions.
Read his Astonishment report Astonishment Report
Sphesihle Mchunu is a South African researcher and recent MPhil in Justice and Transformation candidate from the University of Cape Town. Her interests are shaped by how knowledge is produced, legitimised and translated into climate and just energy transition policy in Africa. Particularly through a decolonial and justice-oriented approach. She is also interested in South African higher education transformation and decolonial thought. She previously studied at the University of KwaZulu Natal where she garnered much of her interest in questions of identity and belonging within the broader South African higher education system.
Read her Astonishment report The Quiet Curriculum of ‘Unbelonging’: Decolonisation of Higher Education in South Africa and the Road Ahead
Tunisia
Hiba Haj Mahmoud is a first-year doctoral researcher at ISITCom, University of Sousse, Tunisia. She holds a Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence (2025).
Her research focuses on adaptive assessment and AI in collaborative learning environments.
Read her Astonishment report When Assessment Becomes a Lived Experience
Rabeb Sayadi is a Master’s student in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics at ISITCOM, University of Sousse, Tunisia, where she is affiliated with the Prince Lab research group.
She is passionate about AI and emerging technologies, and their potential to transform education and knowledge access. She aspires to pursue a career as an AI researcher.
Read her Astonishment report OER, Between Promise and Practice in the Global Knowledge Ecosystem
Zeineb Ben Azzouz is a Tunisian PhD student at the University of Sousse. Her research focuses on adaptive assessment, generative AI, gamification, instructional design, and open educational resources. She is passionate about innovation in education.
Read her Astonishment report Personalization Everywhere Except in Education
Uruguay
Juan Manuel Bentancor is a final-year undergraduate student studying for a degree in History at the Universidad de la República, Uruguay. He is interested in education, university outreach and the links between knowledge and territory.
He participates in educational initiatives and seeks to contribute to a critical understanding of social and cultural reality.
Read his Astonishment report Assessment in the Humanities: Between Reflection and Marks
Lucía Lanza is studying Human Biology at the Universidad de la República del Uruguay.
She enjoys going for walks in the fresh air with her dog and watching sunsets. Her interests include topics related to the brain, learning and access to education.
Read her Astonishment report: What Influences our Learning?
Agustina Mignaco is studying Communication and Media Engineering at the Universidad de la República, Uruguay. She is interested in public education, digital accessibility and the relationship between technology and society.
She aims to further her studies in advertising and open educational resources. She analyses the impact of public policies on inclusion. She enjoys reading, designing and developing projects related to open education
Read her Astonishment report Public Education and Open Educational Resources in Uruguay: Access, Challenges and Recent Developments
