Sana Rafiq

Head of Technology, Lift Schools

Sana Rafiq is the Head of Technology at Lift Schools, a national network of 59 schools. With over 15 years of experience in IT operations and digital transformation, she is responsible for shaping the strategic direction of the trust’s digital infrastructure, systems, and data services. Sana has been with the trust since 2022, previously serving as Head of IT Operations. Throughout her tenure, she has coordinated large-scale infrastructure upgrades, led multi-site domain migrations, and developed framework-aligned training for technical teams. Her expertise spans IT service management, continuous improvement, and the alignment of technology with educational and operational goals.

Being curious but cautious (AI and new technologies)

1 Workshop series three

Exploring the use of AI agents? Trust leaders share their experience

Room: Connect

AI agents are moving quickly from experimentation to practical operational use. This session explores the early decisions trust leaders face when beginning to work with AI agents, including governance, oversight, testing, training and safe piloting. Speakers will share practical lessons from developing and implementing AI agents to support areas such as HR, finance and policy guidance, reflecting on what has worked, what hasn’t and what they would do differently. Discussion will include data readiness, defining boundaries for AI, deciding what information agents should access, and building confidence before wider deployment, offering practical insights to help trusts explore AI agents thoughtfully.