Innovation doesn't start with technology — it starts with culture. In this session, we explore the principles that drive Amazon's culture of innovation, from "Day One" thinking to Working Backwards from the customer, and shows how these ideas apply far beyond the tech industry. Drawing on real higher education case studies, we share how institutions across Australia and around the world are putting AI into practice today, as a practical tool that is already reducing manual effort, enabling smarter decision-making, and freeing staff to focus on work that matters. Examples include AI-powered platforms that transform hours of content creation into automated workflows, data unification projects that eliminate repetitive manual processing, and intelligent learning tools designed with human oversight at the center.

Elly Juniper, Head of Education APAC, Amazon Web Services