Turning 3 Months Into 3 Hours: AI-Driven Education Data with Paul Atfield, Education Outcomes Fund

The FE News team chats with Paul Atfield, Data and AI Lead from the Education Outcomes Fund (EOF) at WISE 12 in Doha.  Paul leads the Data, Analytics, and AI work of the Education Outcomes Fund.

Paul Atfield explains how the Education Outcomes Fund is using AI to solve real problems in education data, transforming time-consuming processes into scalable infrastructure that improves over time. In this interview from WISE 12, in Doha, Qatar, Paul shares practical insights on their “AI of things” approach, how they reduced costing data processing from months to hours, and why building the right infrastructure matters for the long term, rather than for quick wins.

Paul discusses how EOF is using Large Language Models (LLMs) to develop new processes for costing in education settings, reducing processes that previously took 3 months of processing time with a large team to just hours with their new system using Data and the bespoke LLM created by EOF. He also discusses how new and existing education projects can be evaluated using LLMs and Data.

The Education Outcomes Fund (EOF) is a global initiative transforming how education and skills are financed and delivered. EOF is an independent trust fund under the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

This is a really interesting interview on not just saving admin time, but also on setting up systems to help you quickly analysise your processes and look at costs and cost savings.

Check out this video interview with Paul below: