Evidence-Based Decision-Making In The Age Of AI
In partnership with Queensland Futures Institute | Delivered by UniSC
Dr Puneet Vatsa
Senior Lecturer Business Analytics, UniSC
Chris Dirckze
Partner Banking and Finance, Gadens
Lara Cresser
Partner, Technology, Media and Intellectual Property
Michael Owens
Partner, Technology, Media and Intellectual Property
Mandeep Sandhu
Director Digital Strategy, Transformation and Execution, ArcVere
What you will gain
This course moves beyond the technical aspects of AI, focusing on how evidence, data and human judgement can work together to support better decisions.
You will gain:
- A practical understanding of the foundations of evidence-based decision-making
- A clearer understanding of how AI can support human judgement as a prediction tool
- Practical approaches to recognising and reducing bias and noise in decision-making
- A framework for applying evidence, judgement and impact evaluation in your work.
Why prioritise evidence-based decision-making in 2026
AI is changing how organisations access, analyse and interpret information, making it increasingly important to understand how technology and human judgement can work together.
Strong evidence-based decision-making helps organisations make better use of emerging tools while maintaining the critical human judgement needed to set goals, weigh trade-offs and understand context.
Who should attend
- Directors, Managers, and Team Leaders who make decisions that guide projects, programs or organisational direction.
- Professionals looking to build confidence in using data and evidence in their work across departments and sectors, including healthcare, infrastructure, resources, tourism, education and community services.
Key insights from research and industry
This course is grounded in evidence-based decision-making research and informed by cross-industry case studies. It explores the opportunities and limitations of AI as organisations increasingly incorporate it into their decision-making processes.
Why it matters:
- AI can identify patterns, relationships and make predictions, but cannot replace human judgement.
- Different sources of evidence, including data, practitioners, stakeholders, literature and AI, can provide valuable inputs to decision-making.
- Cognitive biases and noise can influence how people interpret information and make decisions.
- Understanding causation, including the difference between correlations, interventions and counterfactuals, is critical when evaluating evidence.
- Effective decision-making requires both the right evidence and the capability to interpret and apply it in context.
Why learn with UniSC
UniSC combines academic research with practical, applied learning to explore how evidence-based approaches can support better decision-making in a changing environment. This course connects theory with real-world examples and practical frameworks that participants can apply in their roles.
Time Commitment
This is a 1-day course held in the Brisbane CBD.
Cost
Individual Price: $1,200 (Inc GST)
Please note spaces are limited - only 20 seats available per session. Small group delivery is intentional, enabling deeper interaction, practical application, and a diverse mix of perspectives.
Workshop Presenters
Dr Puneet Vatsa | Senior Lecturer, Business Analytics, UniSC
Dr. Puneet Vatsa holds a PhD in Economics and has worked in business intelligence and analytics for globally renowned companies, including The Walt Disney Company and Royal Dutch Shell. He teaches Business Analytics, Financial Analytics, and Evidence-Based Decision Making, and has authored more than 75 peer-reviewed papers. He serves on the editorial board of the American Business Review and as associate editor at Agribusiness and the Journal of Financial Economic Policy.
Puneet draws on both theory and practice to tackle complex problems and helps learners build the skills and judgement to make sound, evidence-based decisions.
Chris Dirckze | Partner Banking & Finance, Gadens
Chris Dirckze is a Partner in Gadens’ Banking & Finance team, based in Brisbane. With more than 26 years of experience across private practice and international markets, he is recognised for delivering commercially focused advice on complex financing transactions. Clients value his practical approach, strong commercial acumen and ability to drive transactions through to successful completion.
Chris advises domestic and international banks, non-bank lenders, sponsors, family offices, property funds, developers and corporate borrowers on a wide range of banking and finance matters. His practice spans project finance, corporate funding, mining and resources, real estate finance and infrastructure transactions, he regularly acts on syndicated, club and bilateral facilities.
Chris has previously been in senior roles in-house with Brookfield Multiplex and credit risk and loan markets roles at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. He also spent four years in private practice in London. This combination of private practice, banking and international experience gives Chris a unique perspective on how transactions are assessed, structured and executed from all sides, enabling him to provide strategic, commercially grounded advice that aligns with his clients’ business objectives.
Lara Cresser | Partner, Technology, Media and Intellectual Property
Lara Cresser is a Partner in Gadens’ Technology, Media and Intellectual Property team. She offers deep expertise in online content and technology law, corporate litigation, dispute resolution and intellectual property. Based in Brisbane, Lara advises multinational organisations, government agencies, universities, innovators and global technology platforms across Australia and internationally on leading global technology, and social media platforms on intermediary liability, online safety, defamation, privacy, consumer issues and broader technology regulation.
Lara assists clients with navigating rapidly evolving regulatory frameworks while managing legal, commercial and reputational risk.
She frequently assists clients with the development, protection, management and enforcement of intellectual property rights, confidential information and competition and consumer law matters. She is also a recognised thought leader who regularly presents at industry conferences and academic forums on topics including misinformation, automated decision-making, online regulation, artificial intelligence and copyright in the arts. Her combination of technical expertise, litigation experience and commercial insight makes her a trusted adviser to organisations operating in increasingly complex digital and regulatory environments.
Michael Owens | Partner, Technology, Media and Intellectual Property
Michael Owens is a Partner at Gadens with more than three decades of experience advising Australian and international organisations on complex legal, regulatory and commercial issues. Renowned for delivering swift, practical and strategically focused advice, Michael is regularly engaged on high stakes matters where clients require clear direction through complex legal and commercial challenges. He advises both public and private sector organisations across a diverse range of industries, including technology, manufacturing, finance, property development, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, aged care, creative arts and tourism.
Michael’s practice spans technology, intellectual property and complex disputes. He is recognised as a trusted adviser to leading global technology companies on regulatory compliance, defamation, electoral law and cross-border enforcement. He also has extensive intellectual property expertise, advising clients on patent and trademark enforcement, portfolio management and complex copyright disputes.
In addition to his advisory work, Michael is an experienced litigator who represents clients in complex, multi-party disputes, regulatory investigations and urgent injunction proceedings. He regularly appears in significant, high-profile matters before the Federal Court and Supreme Court, and advises on forensic investigations and e-discovery in competition law matters. Michael regularly presents at industry and academic forums, contributing to thought leadership in his areas of practice. He is also a regular contributor to industry and academic forums, sharing insights on technology, intellectual property and regulatory developments.
Mandeep Sandhu | Director, Digital Strategy, Transformation and Execution, ArcVere
Mandeep Sandhu is a management and strategy consultant with 20 years of experience across technology transformation and operational consulting. Mandeep has been running an independent practice for the past five years, and works with executive teams on enterprise AI strategy, policy and enablement to take capability from position and governance through to controlled deployment.