About the speakers
Learn more about the speakers at It-vest Symposium: Generative AI and the Future of Computing Education.
The event will be held the 17th of August to the 18th of August.
Dr Paul Denny is a Professor in the School of Computer Science at the University of Auckland and an ACM Distinguished Member. His research interests include developing and evaluating tools for supporting collaborative learning, improving outcomes for novice programmers, exploring how students engage with online learning environments from both computing education and HCI perspectives, and investigating how generative AI is impacting how and what is taught in computing classrooms. He has recently co-led multiple initiatives on this latter topic, including an ITiCSE working group, NeurIPS workshop and Dagstuhl seminar. Paul previously served as Chair of the Australasian ACM SIGCSE Chapter, and his published work has been recognised with 16 Best Paper or Paper Impact Awards including ACM SIGCSE's "Test of Time" Award. He has been recognised for contributions to teaching both nationally and internationally, receiving New Zealand’s National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award, the Computing Research and Education (CoRE) Association of Australasia Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching, and the QS Reimagine Education Overall Award.
Leo Porter is a Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at UC San Diego. He is best known for his research on the impact of Peer Instruction in computing courses, the development of the Basic Data Structures Concept Inventory, and integrating GenAI into the CS curriculum. He co-wrote the first book on integrating LLMs into the instruction of programming with Daniel Zingaro. He has received seven Best Paper Awards, an ICER Lasting Impact Award, the SIGCSE 50th Anniversary Top Ten Symposium Papers of All Time Award, and the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award at UC San Diego. He co-Directs the GenAI in CS Education Consortium, aimed at helping faculty and institutions integrate GenAI into the CS Curriculum.
Natalie Kiesler is Professor for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at the Faculty of Computer Science at Nuremberg Tech, Germany. Her research focuses on computing education, with particular interests in programming competency, learning environments, feedback, and the impact of generative AI on teaching and learning. Her current work also explores open science practices, universal design, and how to support neurodiverse learners in computing. Natalie is actively involved in the international computing education community through leadership roles in organizations such as SIGCSE and affiliated events, and her contributions have been recognized with awards for both excellent research and teaching.
Juho Leinonen is an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) and an Academy Research Fellow at Aalto University, Finland. He has previously worked at The University of Auckland and the University of Helsinki, where he completed his PhD in 2019. His research focuses on how educational technology and AI can be used to support learners and instructors, with particular interests in learning analytics, generative AI in programming education, and learnersourcing. His work has been recognized with multiple best paper awards at leading conferences, including SIGCSE TS, ICER, ACE, UKICER, and Koli Calling. He has served as Program Co-Chair for Koli Calling, Working Group Co-Chair for SIGCSE Virtual, and Submission Co-Chair for ICER.
David H. Smith IV is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Virginia Tech whose research sits at the intersection of Computing Education and Human-Computer Interaction. He earned his PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2025. His work focuses on how people learn programming and how tools like automated feedback, assessment systems, and generative AI can better support that learning at scale, especially for novice programmers.
Hieke Keuning is an assistant professor at Utrecht University (UU), the Netherlands. She has extensive experience in teaching computer science and software engineering topics. At UU, she is a member of the 'Software Technology for Learning and Teaching' research group. Her research focuses on computing education, with the overall goal to support students in learning programming with high-quality tools and (automated) feedback. In addition, she studies the implications and use of generative AI in computing education.
Andrew Luxton-Reilly is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is the Associate Dean Learning and Teaching in the Faculty of Science. He has extensive experience teaching early programming courses. His research interests include programming style, assessment, tools that support learning, and the impact of generative AI on education.
Dr. James Prather is a Professor of Computer Science at Abilene Christian University, in Abilene, Texas, USA, where he has taught since 2010. His research sits at the intersection of human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, and computer science education. Recent work includes studying novice interactions with generative AI, creating new validated instruments to measure generative AI beliefs and usage, and leading large international working groups on the impact of generative AI on computer science instruction. Dr. Prather has won multiple teaching, research, and paper awards in the past six years and recently served as the Program Chair for the SIGCSE Technical Symposium, the world's largest conference on Computer Science Education research.
Brent Reeves is a Professor at Abilene Christian University. Disappointed with his own terrible designs, Brent quit a Fortune 50 job to study UI and AI. Then he got distracted with Realtime consulting for a few years before finally joining ACU to teach Computer Science and Information Systems. Interests include LLMs in Education, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Makerlab Creative Design.
This page was last updated on May 12, 2026.