Dr. Maryam Heidari holds a PhD in Information Systems from Griffith University and has extensive experience teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students across various Australian higher education institutions, as well as publishing in academic journals and conferences. She is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) and a board member of itSMF Australia. Her research focuses on digital service management, Information system and digital transformation. She is passionate about strengthening industry–academia collaboration and actively contributes to academic and professional communities through research, mentoring initiatives, conference presentations, and industry engagement activities.

My experience in education started as a Compliance Manager for Registered Training Organisations (RTO) guiding them through the audit process. I then moved to teaching in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector and I have been at Kaplan Business School since 2013, teaching both undergraduate and masters subjects. I do what I love, seeing people grow and become the best that they can be. I now believe my teaching philosophy is embedded in the value of what my students bring to the learning process. Recognising the importance of this relationship is greater than imparting knowledge, it is about embracing an opportunity to expand and develop oneself in an environment that is safe and supportive, one that helps individuals develop skills that they may not realise they already have. The result, changing lives and growing careers by helping international students develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

Dr Zixiu Guo is a Professor in the School of Information Systems and Technology Management at UNSW Sydney. She is a recognised leader in technology-enhanced education and AI education, known for building high-impact, values-led academic programs and communities at scale. Her work integrates educational innovation, responsible AI, and systems thinking to advance positive societal impact in the age of intelligent technologies. Dr Guo’s research focuses on the design and evaluation of information systems that enhance human experience and minimise harm, using a distinctive values-based, user-centred approach. Her scholarship and leadership are particularly influential in EdTech, AI-enabled learning, and educability-focused curriculum design. At UNSW, she founded Australia’s first cross-faculty AI in Business and Society major and co-founded the UNSW Pedagogy of Kindness network, embedding kindness, inclusion, and human-centred values into curricula, teaching culture, and institutional practice.

George Joukhadar is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Information Systems and Technology Management at the UNSW, Sydney. His teaching and scholarship focus on improving the student learning experience through evidence based learning design, authentic assessment, and industry engaged education. He is particularly interested in how students learn challenging and transformative concepts, and how scaffolding can support deeper understanding and professional readiness. Sustainability is central to his teaching practice, and he co established and co leads the Education for Sustainable Development Community of Practice at UNSW. George has contributed to several institutional initiatives on assessment, feedback, and inclusive teaching across diverse student cohorts.

Melody Li is an Education Focused Lecturer in Animation at the School of Art & Design, Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture at UNSW, Sydney. She is dedicated to education initiatives that foster student teacher partnerships to empower students for community building, personal development, and social impact by adopting design thinking approaches. She explores educational innovations toward the world’s sustainability goals through inter-disciplinary collaborations. She serves on the Sydney ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter committee, supporting students and professionals in computer graphics and interactive techniques.

Dr Gee Chong Ling is a Senior Lecturer in the Education-Focused stream, dedicated to enhancing student learning through innovative teaching practices and curriculum design. With a strong commitment to fostering engagement, Gee champions active learning strategies and collaborative approaches that empower students to take ownership of their education. His work emphasises the integration of technology and evidence-based pedagogy to create inclusive and dynamic learning environments. Gee is passionate about student-staff partnerships, viewing them as a cornerstone for co-creating meaningful educational experiences. He has contributed to numerous initiatives aimed at improving teaching quality and supporting academic development within higher education. Beyond the classroom, Gee actively mentors colleagues and participates in projects that advance educational scholarship. His vision is to cultivate a culture of collaboration, curiosity, and lifelong learning among both students and educators.

Muhamad Maulana is a dedicated education enthusiast and researcher specializing in Educational Assessment and Evaluation. A Master of Arts graduate of the Indonesian International Islamic University (UIII), he is deeply passionate about bridging the gap between traditional religious values and modern higher-education methodologies. Maulana’s interest lies in exploring how spiritual intelligence serves as a foundation for 21st-century competencies, such as critical thinking and innovation. With experience in a background in mixed-methods research and the Rasch model, he advocates for a more inclusive, holistic, and "wasatiyyah" (moderate) approach to student development. He is particularly interested in re-envisioning higher education curricula that nurture both technical skills and ethical grounding. Through his work, Maulana aims to contribute to a transformative educational landscape where religious education and future-ready skills coexist to empower tomorrow’s learners.

Joy Jenkins works in micro-credential development within Learning and Teaching Futures in the Office of Education, Strategy and Quality at CQUniversity. Her career spans more than 20 years across student and academic support, learning and teaching, with the last 5 years focused on the VET/HE and micro-credential interface. She works with a highly skilled team of senior educational developers and learning designers to produce hyper-flexible, industry-aligned and curriculum relevant micro-credentials for both internal and external stakeholders. Her role involves project managing micro-credential development, working in partnership with academics, professional staff, and external industry stakeholders to support learning opportunities. Operating in the third space, Joy guides proposers through the micro-credential development process, ensuring alignment with institutional strategies and frameworks, while navigating the practical challenges of governance, enrolment, recognition, and pathways. She is passionate about teaching and learning innovation, and improving how universities support diverse learner journeys through lifelong learning.

Jennifer Perkins is the Education Excellence & Innovation Manager and a Doctoral Candidate in Education at UNSW’s Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture. With over two decades of teaching and educational leadership experience in the US and Australia, she holds a Master’s in Educational Leadership as well as multiple credentials in education. In her role at UNSW, she drives education strategy, overseeing program design, Work Integrated Learning, and lifelong learning. She focuses on embedding innovation, pedagogical excellence and student-centred outcomes across the Faculty. Her research explores sense of belonging and pedagogy in higher education, and she is passionate about innovation, collaboration, and enhancing the student experience.

Giedre's expertise is in transdisciplinary education. In her research, she investigates how university education can be transformed to advance more sustainable and socially just futures. In particular, Giedre explores how different perspectives and relationships across boundaries can be creatively leveraged to create 'third spaces' - spaces where difference, experimentation, and co-creation are embraced to stimulate mutual learning, new ways of thinking, and creativity. As a Senior Lecturer and TD Electives Program Director, Giedre is responsible for equipping all University of Technology Sydney (UTS) students with transdisciplinary change-making capabilities. Giedre is a recipient of the 2022 UTS VC’s Medal for Research-Teaching Integration, and multiple national, international and institutional teaching awards.

Rosemary has established key international corporate sustainability initiatives in Australia including the UN Global Compact (UNGC) Australian network for business and the Global Reporting Initiative over the last decade, leading UTS to sign onto the UNGC and its Australian Network, as well as supporting the SDGs in UNGC partnership projects. Her research examines corporate sustainability and corporate governance. She has convened national multi-stakeholder “directors forums”, fostering sustainable industry practices. Rosemary is an award-winning teacher - recipient of the Vice-Chancellor' Teaching Award in 2025 and UTS Teaching Citation in December 2021. Currently lecturing on undergraduate and postgraduate programs in management, positive psychology, sustainability and corporate governance at UTS Business School.

Rebecca holds a teaching‑focused position within the Pathways and Participation stream, specialising in pre‑university enabling programs and drawing on a professional background in both science and senior secondary education. Her work with pre‑university cohorts has reinforced her view that, while preparing students for the academic demands of undergraduate study is essential, educators also play a critical role in challenging deficit assumptions about who is suited to university. By cultivating inclusive learning environments and supporting the development of student confidence, she aims to promote broader participation and sustained success in higher education. Alongside her tertiary teaching experience, Rebecca has worked in school settings in tutoring and curriculum support roles and has completed teaching placements in secondary schools, particularly within Adelaide’s northern suburbs. She currently facilitates workshops for the 'University Makes a Difference' program, funded through the Commonwealth Government’s Higher Education Continuity Guarantee. This outreach initiative partners with non‑mainstream schools to help students explore post‑school learning opportunities and, where appropriate, pursue alternative pathways to SACE completion.

Dr Eva Tzschaschel is an Associate Lecturer in the School of Psychological Sciences at Macquarie University and Course Director for the Bachelor of Psychology (Open Universities Australia). She teaches across multiple delivery modes, including on-campus, online synchronous, and fully asynchronous cohorts. Eva recently completed her PhD investigating body posture perception and holds a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). She has been recognised with a Students' Choice Teaching Award and is passionate about developing evidence-based, inclusive pedagogies that support diverse learners. Her teaching and research interests include personality psychology, social perception, decolonising curriculum through Indigenous frameworks, and large-scale online education delivery. Eva brings extensive prior leadership experience from running her own health care practice before transitioning to academia, and is committed to making psychology education accessible, engaging, and culturally responsive.

* Dr Giedre Kligyte – Senior Lecturer, TD Electives Program Director, Transdisciplinary School Giedre's expertise is in transdisciplinary education. In her research, she investigates how university education can be transformed to advance more sustainable and socially just futures. In particular, Giedre explores how different perspectives and relationships across boundaries can be creatively leveraged to create 'third spaces' - spaces where difference, experimentation, and co-creation are embraced to stimulate mutual learning, new ways of thinking, and creativity. As a Senior Lecturer and TD Electives Program Director, Giedre is responsible for equipping all University of Technology Sydney (UTS) students with transdisciplinary change-making capabilities. Giedre is a recipient of the 2022 UTS VC’s Medal for Research-Teaching Integration, and multiple national, international and institutional teaching awards.

Adam Ruch is a Lecturer in Digital and Social Media at Curtin University. His research interests include game studies, digital culture, and higher education pedagogy. He has taught in a range of institutions including vocational colleges, in the American community college system, and in fully online environments.

Donna is a Lecturer from the School of Health Sciences at the University of New South Wales. Within her role, she teaches in phase 2 and manages Exercise Science Practicum in phase 3 of the Exercise Science degree. Donna is also an ESSA Accredited Exercise Scientist and Sports Scientist awarded with a PhD in 2020 from UTS. She combines her 10 years of industry experience in professional football to applied research in exercise physiology, assessment and injury epidemiology. Additionally, she has 10 years of experience in teaching higher education students in exercise and sports science.

Daniela is a registered occupational therapist, academic and researcher. She currently works as the Nexus Fellow at the School of Health Sciences, in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at UNSW Sydney. Her areas of interest and expertise are around mentoring, innovation, programmatic assessment, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She is a Fellow of Advance Higher Education (FHEA) and an Associate Fellow of the Australian & New Zealand Association of Health Professional Educators (AFANZAHPE).

Patsie is the Director, Nexus Program, Director Emerita and a Scientia Education Fellow, UNSW Scientia Education Academy, Education Focussed Academic, Professor in Pathology, and co-leads the Digital and Immersive Education Research Group within the School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney. Recognised nationally and internationally as a medical research scientist, leading teacher and innovative education researcher/practitioner, she has infused her extensive medical research experience into the classroom at UNSW Sydney to research integrated learning, facilitate student reflective practice and professional skills development. Patsie is an invited international AAEEBL Board member and committee member of ePortfolios Australia. Patsie is an executive leader of the newly established HERDSA Education Focussed Academic SIG.

Dr Lynda Hughes is a Senior Lecturer and Program Director of the Bachelor of Nursing in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Griffith University. She completed her PhD in 2020 on “failure to fail” in clinical assessment and has since developed a strong education‑focused research profile centred on quality graduate outcomes and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Her emerging research program spans students‑as‑partners, consumer involvement in curriculum design, and interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance learning and clinical preparedness. Dr Hughes contributes to national benchmarking initiatives aimed at strengthening the quality and consistency of clinical placements and program design. She has secured competitive grant funding to investigate key issues in nursing education and workforce development, reflecting her growing influence in shaping evidence‑informed educational practice. Her work continues to contribute to improved learning experiences, stronger partnerships, and high‑quality workforce outcomes across the nursing profession.