Dr Manisha Thakkar is an educator and researcher in the field of health science for over 15 years. She has implemented various learning interventions to improve student engagement and learning outcomes across multiple organisations she has worked thus far. Her major focus has been on EBP skills, employability skills and graduate outcomes, technology enhanced and interactive curriculum. Her current research is looking at improving tacit clinical reasoning skills of novice health practitioners and learners through developing a novel framework that integrates cognitive, intuitive, and analytical aspects of the reasoning and thinking process with a future goal of embedding this framework across health science curricula and creating digital interactive course materials aligned to this framework.

Professor Jill Lawrence is Head of School of the Humanities and Communication at UniSQ. Her research interests include the higher education context, student engagement, the first year experience and communities of practice.

Dr. Jac Leung is a Lecturer in the Division of Integrative Systems and Design at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He has attained Doctor of Education from The University of Hong Kong while his bachelor's and master's degree are in Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Engineering. His doctoral studies focused on the effective use of educational technologies and blended learning pedagogies to motivate students in engineering subjects. Jac has led and taught in experiential learning programmes and courses for students with diverse backgrounds for over 10 years. He is dedicated to promoting ‘learning-by-doing’ practices via his research and teaching. His other teaching and research interests include design-based learning, EdTech, design thinking, AI literacy, and development of transferrable skills.

Dr Lewes Peddell is a highly regarded mathematics and music education lecturer at Southern Cross University, known for his focus on both teaching and research. Dr Peddell’s research explores how the identity of mathematics teachers can be enhanced through professional learning communities with outcomes including improved student learning and increased teacher retention. He recently completed a successful three-year research project with the Mathematical Association of New South Wales, focused on these research areas. The project’s impact includes the emergence of a nationwide network of communities for mathematics teachers. Dr Peddell has presented at various conferences, including the Australian Association for Mathematics Teachers and the Queensland Association for Mathematics Teachers and was awarded for his thought-provoking contribution at the University’s teaching and learning symposium.