About
I am an interdisciplinary researcher working at the intersection of digital media, education, and artificial intelligence. My research explores how digital platforms, AI systems, adaptive learning, and educational technologies shape participation, agency, and communication in digitally mediated environments, with a particular interest in higher education.
Since joining the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University in 2021, I have contributed to research and innovation projects examining AI-supported learning, adaptive learning, learner support, accessibility, and responsible educational innovation. My work combines media studies, educational technology, and communication, bringing together mixed-methods and design-based research to understand how emerging technologies can support more inclusive, personalised, and equitable learning. I am particularly interested in the relationship between technology, human agency, and educational transformation.
Biography
Felipe Tessarolo is an interdisciplinary researcher whose work explores how digital platforms, artificial intelligence, adaptive learning, and educational technologies shape participation, agency, and communication in digitally mediated environments. He is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE (SFHEA), recognising his contributions to teaching, educational leadership, and inclusive practice. His research sits at the intersection of media studies, educational technology, communication, and digital society, with particular interests in AI-supported learning, adaptive learning, learner support, accessibility, and responsible educational innovation.
Since joining the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University in 2021, Felipe has contributed to interdisciplinary research and evaluation projects examining generative AI, adaptive learning, learning analytics, digital learning, accessibility, learner support, and educational innovation. His work has included projects such as the Institutional AI Digital Assistant (AIDA), the Erasmus+ ADMIT project, OpenEssay, OpenReal, Accessible by Design, Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Training (AILT), and research exploring student transition and AI-supported learner support.
His research combines qualitative, mixed-methods, and design-based approaches, contributing to peer-reviewed publications, international conferences, institutional reports, and evidence-informed recommendations that support the responsible adoption of emerging technologies in higher education.
Prior to joining The Open University, Felipe spent more than a decade as a university lecturer, programme leader, and Head of Department in Brazil. He led curriculum development, founded and coordinated research laboratories, supervised undergraduate and postgraduate research, and developed industry-engaged initiatives connecting communication, digital media, and higher education. This experience continues to inform his research through a strong interest in how digital technologies shape participation, learning, and educational practice.
Felipe is currently completing a PhD in Media Studies at the University of Westminster. His doctoral research examines participation and agency in digitally mediated environments, exploring how online platforms shape political communication, discourse, and civic engagement. Alongside his doctoral work, he contributes to university-wide groups relating to accessibility, inclusive learning, and educational innovation, including SeGA, the Cross-Faculty Accessibility Working Group (CFAWG), and the Accessibility Referrals Panel (ARP).
Publications
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
Awards
Best Research Paper Award – EDEN 2025
Awarded at the EDEN Bologna Annual Conference “Shaping the Future of Education in the Age of AI”, hosted by the University of Bologna, for the paper “GenAI as an Educational Gatekeeper: Balancing Personalisation and Standardisation in Higher Education”, co-authored with Chris Edwards, Duygu Bektik and Denise Whitelock.
Best Research Paper Award – EDEN 2026
Awarded at the EDEN Porto Annual Conference “Before the First Prompt: Understanding Students’ Pre‑Use Perceptions of an AI Digital Assistant in Higher Education", authored by Chris Edwards, Denise Whitelock, Felipe Tessarolo, Duygu Bektik, Emily Coughlan, Christothea Herodotou and Thomas Ullmann
Candidate - Best Paper Research Award - EDEN 2024
The paper “An Institutional AI Digital Assistant: What Do Distance Learners Expect and Value?”, co-authored with Bart Rienties, Christothea Herodotou, John Domingue, Subby Duttaroy and Denise Whitelock, was a candidate for the Best Research Paper Award at the EDEN 2024 Annual Conference, held in Graz, Austria.
Candidate – Best Research Paper Award - EDEN 2024 Research Workshop & PhD Masterclass, Timișoara)
The paper “Comparing Practical Use and Perceptions of GenAI in Higher Education with Current Published Insights”, co-authored with Chris Edwards, Duygu Bektik and Denise Whitelock, was a candidate for the Best Research Paper Award at the EDEN 2024 Research Workshop & PhD Masterclass, held at Politehnica University Timișoara, Romania.
Techne AHRC Doctoral Scholarship
Techne supports outstanding students pursuing the ‘craft’ of research through innovative, interdisciplinary and creative approaches across the range of the arts and humanities