Dr Michael Johnston has been a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative since early 2022. He has published numerous reports for the Initiative, on topics including modern learning environments, initial teacher education, AI in education, and industry training. Michael is a cognitive psychologist by training. He has taught in Australian and New Zealand Universities in Schools of Psychology and Education. He was Senior Statistician at NZQA during the 2000s, where he led technical aspects of assessment reform. In his final academic role, he was Associate Dean (Academic) in the Faculty of Education at Victoria University of Wellington. In 2024, he chaired a Ministerial Advisory Group. He is a member of the Curriculum Coherence Group and the National Qualifications Technical Advisory Group.