Developing students’ analytical and problem-solving skills at scale is a persistent challenge in higher education, intensified as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes education and industry. While these capabilities are central to graduate employability, they must be developed in authentic, contextualised ways. Excel, widely used across disciplines and industries for data analysis and decision-making, remains a core skill sought by employers and also provides an effective platform for developing analytical reasoning and problem-solving when embedded in real-world contexts.However, traditional Excel teaching often focuses on isolated functions and technical proficiency, with limited connection to authentic problems or consideration of diverse learner needs. Similarly, many analytical skill development initiatives lack realistic contexts and flexible learning pathways, limiting students’ ability to apply and transfer problem-solving skills across courses, disciplines, and professional settings. This presentation introduces the Excelerate Program, a scalable, cross-disciplinary model developed to address these challenges through contextualised Excel-based learning. Excelerate combines modular online learning resources with an integrated assessment framework emphasising role-based, gamified, and problem-based learning. It embeds structured practice, peer learning, and feedback cycles, and teaches students how to engage productively with AI tools once foundational analytical skills are established. The presentation shows how the Excelerate Program has been adopted across more than ten undergraduate and postgraduate courses, benefiting over 5,000 students across programs in Australia, the United States, and Africa, and empowering educators to embed authentic employability skill development at scale while supporting transferable, analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

Authors:
Kevin Liu, The University of New South Wales, Australia

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Kevin Liu is the Associate Dean (Undergraduate) at the UNSW Business School, overseeing undergraduate programs within the Business and managing the academic journey and student experiences of approximately 10,000 students. Prior to this, Kevin led the Undergraduate Actuarial Studies Program at UNSW as the Program Director for a decade, growing and sustaining the program to be the world's largest and leading undergraduate actuarial program, recognised nationally and globally. Kevin has been instrumental in the development of a wide range of academic programs, majors, and courses for undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional students. He has also pioneered and led many program-wide curriculum and pedagogical innovations. His contributions to educational innovation and leadership in transforming business education have been recognised with multiple institutional, national, and international awards. Before entering academia in 2011, Kevin worked at the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), specialising in superannuation and retirement income policy.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-liu-45724a72

See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule

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