Stefan Bauschard

Stefan Bauschard is an internationally recognized debate educator and AI education leader whose career bridges over three decades of innovation in argumentation, pedagogy, and technology. As the founder of DebateUS and the Debate Director at NAVI Education, he is pioneering the integration of debate-based learning with artificial intelligence literacy, helping students worldwide develop the critical thinking, creativity, and ethical reasoning skills essential for the AI age.

A lifelong debater and coach, Bauschard has taught thousands of students across middle school, high school, and college in Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Public Forum debate. 

His work has shaped national and international debate ecosystems, supporting more than 25,000 students through partnerships in China, Korea, Japan, Morocco, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, and the United States.  He has coached championship teams, directed major tournaments, and designed cross-cultural initiatives that brought debate into new educational contexts. 

Bauschard’s leadership earned him some of the highest honors in the debate community, including the American Debate Association Community Service Award, the Keele Award, the Bronx Science Service Award, and induction into the Tournament of Champions Hall of Fame for Service.

As education entered the AI era, Bauschard became one of its most forward-thinking voices. Through NAVI Education, he has created programs such as AI & Entrepreneurship and AI & Debate, blending project-based learning with the analytical rigor of forensics. He co-authored Humanity Amplified: Understanding the AI World and Augmenting Our Students’ Intelligence with Human Deep Learning (with Sabba Quidwai) and serves as Co-Editor of the Study Hall/MIT Technology Review AI Literacy Project, helping shape global conversations about AI and learning. His writing and speaking—featured in Higher Education Digest, Getting Smart, and at events such as Sequoia Con, OESIS, and the National Communication Association’s AI Collaboratory—explore how debate and dialogue can build “AI pluralism,” ensuring diverse, ethical, and human-centered development of intelligent systems.

Bauschard also founded DebateUS.org, a platform serving more than 15,000 users with evidence, curriculum, and online coaching, and he co-created the Global AI Debates, connecting students worldwide to discuss the ethical and societal implications of artificial intelligence. He has collaborated with organizations including Oxford University Press, Code.org, and Designing Schools to develop frameworks and guidance for AI integration in K–12 and higher education.