Using AI to prioritise connection: an interview with Timothy Dillan

A former software engineer, Timothy wanted to work in a field where he could see the human impact of his work on other people, and transitioned into teaching at the international school Sekolah Cendekia Harapan in Indonesia. During his journey, he discovered that the most useful AI tools handle administrative tasks so that teachers can spend more time on the things that no algorithm can replicate: authentic mentorship.

Timothy explains that by using AI to reduce unnecessary burdens, he is actively dismantling the dichotomy between technology and the humanities. He is setting out to prove that in an increasingly digital world, the most innovative classrooms are the ones that prioritise connection above all else.

We spoke to Timothy to understand the human-centric philosophy behind his technological innovations. 

From coding to classroom teaching

Timothy’s journey began in Indonesia’s startup world. Despite his technical success as a software engineer, he experienced what he calls an "existential dread". He was fixing bugs and creating features, yet he felt disconnected from the people those features were intended to help.

"I had this need to understand how technology can actually be impactful for others...that was satisfied by being a software engineer and then becoming a teacher," he explains.

When he moved into the classroom to teach International GCSE and A Level Computer Science at Sekolah Cendekia Harapan, he didn't leave his technical toolkit behind. Instead, he found that the principles of software engineering, such as breaking complex problems into digestible, logical steps, were the exact skills needed to help students navigate their own learning. The lack of purpose he felt as a developer was filled by the real, tangible moments of personal growth that he witnessed as a teacher. At the same time, he discovered his tech skills were most useful when applied to solving the tangible problems faced by his new school.

Timothy says: “As the school's chief of data and AI, I spend a lot of time chatting with my students and my co-workers to understand where their pain points are. I'm motivated by how I can use the knowledge from my degrees to develop tools and platforms that actually solve real problems.”

How automating admin has given teachers more time to mentor students

One of Timothy’s recent projects has been developing an assessment tool that uses AI to take a preliminary look at student essays, before the teacher reviews. "AI does the first pass to help teachers accelerate the process of marking, but teachers still have the final say," he notes. The goal was to eliminate the manual labour of initial assessment. Rather than replacing the teacher, the AI feedback complements the human insight and review.

By offloading the administrative heavy lifting to AI, teachers at his school reclaimed the time for high-value mentorship: advising students on their future pathways, mentoring them through emotional challenges and providing the nuanced, one-to-one feedback that an algorithm could never replicate.

“I’m lucky enough to work in a small tech-forward school with a supportive leadership team that gives us time and space to develop ideas,” notes Timothy.

The school also supports innovation through ideathons where staff gather to suggest solutions to problems and critique each other’s ideas in a supportive, non-condescending environment. Daily greeting circles reinforce this culture by providing a space for teachers to share knowledge and reflections. These interactions facilitate what Timothy describes as "frugal innovation" turning constraints into creativity.

Innovation needs whole-school collaboration

The idea of collaboration and conversation around problem solving and technology isn’t confined simply to the staff body - it extends to the students and their parents too.

The rollout of the AI marking tool gave Timothy and his colleagues the perfect lesson in user-centred design. Initially, students resisted the tool because they felt a loss of the human element they associated with their teacher's feedback.

Timothy realised that implementing new technology in schools requires more than just code; it also needs radical transparency and communication.

"Technology can't just be implemented according to the ideal we see for it," he explains. "We need to be able to see it from students', teachers’ and parents’ perspective, to understand how it might be received."

By demystifying the assessment technology - showing students and parents that the AI was merely a tool for speed, while the teacher remained the final authority - the resistance disappeared. Students could see the value in the speed and efficiency of the AI feedback when they knew it wasn’t jeopardising their connection with their teacher. “Students value offline communication and one-to-one feedback between them and their teacher. That human connection is still very important,” reflects Timothy.

Leveraging his background in computing, he also helped tech-wary parents better understand AI and its role in their children's education. By breaking down the technology and lifting the lid on how it works, Timothy says, parents and students can move from a state of suspicion to one of clarity and agency.

“When you understand what AI does, you start treating it as a tool that can accelerate your learning process and help you in your day-to-day,” he says, “you don't treat it as something that is going to take your job or as an existential crisis.”

Dismantling the dichotomy between technology and the humanities

Timothy’s work is a direct challenge to the tendency that he sees to categorise schools as either ‘tech-focused’ or ‘humanities-focused’.

"In the world right now there's this kind of division or dichotomy of 'let's separate technology from the liberal arts and the humanities’ and that AI shouldn't be implemented in things that involve humans, like education," he argues, "and I think that's wrong because, for me, the point of technology is actually to help us become more human, to do the things that actually matter more."

He envisions a future where this division no longer applies. His next project at the school, a personalised AI tutor, is designed to extend learning beyond the school bell, helping students who want to accelerate their learning or who need extra support after hours. It is an extension of his belief that education is a lifelong, fluid process, not one confined to a classroom or a single teacher's availability.

Ultimately, Timothy’s success in being named the 2026 International School Innovator of the Year global winner in the Pearson International School Teacher Awards underpins his idea that technology is simply the fuel, while human connection remains the engine of education. He is humble about the recognition, thanking his school leadership, students, colleagues and the school community. Drawing on an Indonesian expression, he also credits Pearson for recognising education's “heroes without medals” through the awards.

Beyond his school, Timothy is extending his approach throughout Bali, conducting workshops for over 300 educators to help them view AI as a collaborative partner in their teaching practices. For those looking to innovate, his guidance is simple: do not fear the digital tide. Embrace it, demystify it and use it to clear away the clutter that stands between you and your students.

He argues that when teachers use AI to handle the "backward-looking" tasks, they free themselves to focus on the future-looking ones instead. As he puts it: "My goal is simple: I use AI to reduce that administrative workload so teachers have the space to do what machines can't; mentor students and help them build their futures."

About the Pearson International School Teacher Awards

Read more about the Pearson International School Teacher Awards and see this year's winners.