Laura is a dedicated and highly skilled curriculum and learning specialist who leads collaborative teaching, training, and professional learning across a variety of international contexts. Laura focuses on building capability to enhance quality teaching and learning in higher education, and she is a strong advocate for continued professional learning.

Associate Professor Alex Bannigan is a biologist and educator who joined Macquarie University in February 2025 as the Head of Macquarie Academy. She discovered the transformative potential of teacher development when, in her first academic job, she realised that she had never been taught anything about education, and yet was expected to teach – and well! Alex believes very much in the value of peer learning and community for developing inspiring, joyful, and meaningful learning experiences.

Dr Sakinah Alhadad (PhD, SFHEA) is a higher education researcher, educator, and academic leader whose work focuses on the flourishing of people in and through education. Her research brings together critical higher education studies with participatory and design-based approaches, with particular attention to future-focused and justice-oriented inquiry. Alongside her research, Sakinah has led several institutional-level initiatives across teaching, learning, and curriculum, including university-wide programs in educational transformation, curriculum design, and digital learning. Her work is grounded in a commitment to researching with communities and developing methodologies that support collective sense-making, agency, and ethical higher education futures. Professor Ruth Bridgstock ALTF PFHEA is Director of Student Insights and Outcomes at Swinburne University of Technology, where she leads institution-wide educational transformation programs, with an emphasis on personalisation, data, evidence and foresight informed practice, and technology-enabled innovation. Ruth is an internationally recognised researcher exploring topics around education for the future of life and work, educational innovation, and lifelong employability. Her overarching research interests relate to fostering future-capability – that is, how students, educators and educational institutions can learn and adapt to rapid and ongoing digital, social, and environmental changes. Ruth is Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, AAUT Award winner, and Australian National Senior Teaching Fellow.

Dr Natalie Lazaroo is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education and Professional Studies at Griffith University, whose work is committed to justice in all its forms - social, cultural, and ecological. Her work includes collaborations with community organisations and schools, including research on arts partnerships that enhance students’ sense of connectedness and access to meaningful creative learning. Across her teaching, research, and community engagement, Dr Lazaroo’s practice foregrounds justice by addressing inequities in participation, supporting marginalised young people, and exploring how arts‑based approaches can foster more inclusive and socially responsive environments. As co‑director and co‑founder of the Performance + Ecology Research Lab (P+ERL), she contributes to projects that examine how creative practices can support environmental justice and more sustainable cultural futures.

Anthony is a Professional Teaching Fellow at The University of Auckland. Anthony is interested in developing innovative teaching methods to foster students' active participation in their learning, enhancing learning with technology and fostering relational learning in ako (Māori concept where the relationship exists between staff, students, our communities and place). Five key principles guide his teaching philosophy: 1/ for learning to be grounded, learners must engage with relevant theoretical, policy and practical material; 2/ for thinking to be critical, learners must be challenged to think creatively, unconventionally and ‘outside the box’ 3/ for learning to be active, learners must engage as much with the process as with the outcomes of learning; 4/ for learning to be transformative, learners must reflect personally with processes and outcomes of learning to inform their own lives beyond the teaching; 5/ for learning and teaching to be engaging, it should be both challenging and fun.

Lai Zhenyue is a Staff Practice Advisor with the Office of Learning and Teaching at Curtin University Malaysia. In her current role, Lai facilitates professional learning and development initiatives, workshops and communities of practice, designed to enhance academic practice in learning and teaching. As a Senior Fellow of the Advance Higher Education and being part of the Senior Fellows Working Group, she mentors academics in their educational practice and connect educators to promote best practices across the education sector. She is recently inducted into Curtin Academy, a network of educators recognized for advancing excellence, mentorship, and innovation in learning and teaching. Prior to her academic developer role, Lai has been teaching in Singapore and Malaysia for close to 20 years, in Physics and Engineering Mechanics. A passionate educator who advocates active and engaging learning for students, Lai was recognized with numerous teaching excellence awards at institutional, national and international levels.

Professor Liz Beckett is the Academic Lead for Learning, Teaching Quality and Students in the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science at Adelaide University. An Education Specialist, Liz also serves as Chair of the Medical Programs Curriculum Quality Committee within the School of Medicine. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE), Liz brings 20 years of experience in biomedical science education, curriculum leadership, and academic governance. Her work spans course and program design, assessment quality assurance, and the development of evidence-informed teaching practices across health professions education.

Associate Professor Viythia Katharesan is Program Director of the Bachelor of Biomedical and Health Sciences within the College of Health. Viythia has 14 years of teaching experience across 34 courses spanning five undergraduate programs. She has played a central role in the design and implementation of the first year medicine curriculum and is the course coordinator for a large integrated medical course. Viythia has co-supervised Honours and HDR students across a diverse portfolio of projects, ranging from discipline-based research to pedagogical and education-focused studies. She also co-facilitates the Effective and Engaging Teaching Community of Practice, supporting scholarly teaching and professional learning across the College.

Grace Zeng is a Lecturer in the Curtin School of Allied Health, where she leads large‑scale first‑year interprofessional education with a particular focus on curriculum coherence and assessment design. She coordinates CMHL1001 Evidence‑Informed Health Practice, a foundational unit enrolling approximately 1,600 students per year, delivered across multiple campuses and supported by a large teaching team. Her leadership in this space includes designing scaffolded assessment structures, implementing adaptive‑release learning pathways, and integrating educational technologies such as IRIS and SRES to enhance student engagement and personalised feedback. Grace’s scholarship examines how constructive alignment across sequential units supports student learning progression—an area central to her HERDSA 2026 abstract, which investigates students’ perceived alignment between CMHL1000 and CMHL1001 and the impact of assessment coherence on motivation and learning outcomes. Her broader academic portfolio demonstrates sustained excellence in unit coordination, innovative assessment design (including frameworks for ethical student use of generative AI), and leadership of multi‑campus teaching teams of up to 18 tutors across 27 classes. She has also contributed to systematic unit review and continuous improvement processes, ensuring quality, equity, and consistency in large‑cohort teaching. Grace brings a strong commitment to evidence‑informed pedagogy, interprofessional education, and the enhancement of student learning experiences across the health sciences.

Dr Samantha Marangell is Senior Lecturer in Higher Education at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at The University of Melbourne in Australia. Her major research interests comprise the student experience of higher education, university internationalisation, and the intersections of the two.

Prof Mollie Dollinger is the Director of Assessment 2030 at Curtin University. Her research interests include student equity and employability, where she often draws on participatory and/or co-design approaches.

Dr Kay Hammond (she/her) is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Community and Public Health at Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Her research interests include using qualitative methods to explore student and staff experiences leading to development of teaching, learning, and wellbeing. She is an experienced learning advisor, academic integrity officer, and passionate teacher (SFHEA) of academic and digital literacy for undergraduate and postgraduate students. She has won a Vice Chancellor’s Award for online teaching excellence. She recently co-edited the book Navigating tensions and transitions in higher education, published by Routledge. She is exploring how GenAI impacts learning and teaching experiences. In her other life, she is a performing improvisational comedienne.

Dr Sam Newell is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Adelaide University, Australia. Dr Newell’s research specialises in online pedagogy and GenAI in Higher Education. As a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and winner of the APS National Teaching Award, she has established herself as a leader in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Dr Newell has led Australia-wide research on students’ use of GenAI and informed best practice through expert media commentary, and an international book chapter on AI for university educators. This research, alongside her role as Academic Integrity Lead, has shaped institutional policy. Dr Newell’s expertise in online pedagogy centres on creating meaningful connections in digital learning environments. As Chief Investigator on an AdvanceHE Global Impact Grant, she pioneered the use of asynchronous polling to foster online social and teacher presence.

Dr Evelyn Gay (Ph.D.) is a Senior Lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, where she is a member of the Teaching and Learning Centre. She is deeply committed to providing learning support for adult learners. Her work at the Centre involves the development and evaluation of learning support courses and resources to enhance the learners’ educational experience, with a special emphasis on training adult learners to effectively use generative AI to enrich their learning. Dr Gay has a strong interest in harnessing the potential of generative AI in education. Her work centres on integrating innovative technologies into adult learning environments. She is keenly interested in exploring how technology and adult education intersect, particularly in the ways Generative AI can be utilised to personalise and support learning.

Dr Kathryn Jones is the Deputy-Head of School Academic in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland and an education-focused academic. She teaches large undergraduate molecular biology and biochemistry courses and directs the School’s Trans-National Education Programme in Biotechnology and Ecology with Northeast Forest University (China). Kathryn’s scholarship focuses on improving learning at scale through designs that develop students’ metacognition and self‑regulated learning. She investigates how students plan, monitor, and adapt their learning in demanding STEM environments, and how targeted prompts, feedback, and assessment structures can strengthen these capabilities. A second strand of her work explores how creativity can be intentionally taught and assessed in STEM, using authentic problems and reflective activities to support curiosity, ideation, and evaluative judgement. Kathryn’s goal is to build evidence‑informed curriculum and assessment innovations that enhance student outcomes and develop life-long learners.

Dr Reshmi Lahiri-Roy is a Lecturer within the Institute of Education, Arts, and Community at Federation University, Australia. Reshmi obtained her first PhD (English and Cultural Studies, 2005) from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and her second PhD (by publication) in 2026 in Education from Deakin University, Australia. Reshmi also holds two Masters (Gender Studies and Comparative Literature), along with a Diploma in Journalism. Her current research focuses on issues of inclusive education, gender-based violence, and diaspora studies. Reshmi’s career in education encompasses research, teaching and industry engagement across the tertiary education, school, and non-profit sectors. As an interdisciplinary social scientist, Reshmi’s teaching and research interests straddle the disciplines of sociology and education intersecting with cultural studies, innovative methodologies, and literary studies. A commitment to social justice, equity, and inclusion of all forms of diversity drive her teaching and research agendas.

Laura Fairbrother is a dedicated and highly skilled curriculum and learning specialist who leads collaborative teaching, training, and professional learning across a variety of international contexts. Laura focuses on building capability to enhance quality teaching and learning in higher education, and she is a strong advocate for continued professional learning.

Associate Professor Alex Bannigan is a biologist and educator who joined Macquarie University in February 2025 as the Head of Macquarie Academy. She discovered the transformative potential of teacher development when, in her first academic job, she realised that she had never been taught anything about education, and yet was expected to teach – and well! Alex believes very much in the value of peer learning and community for developing inspiring, joyful, and meaningful learning experiences.

Professor Deanne Gannaway is the Academic Lead of the Advancing Teaching portfolio in the Institute of Teaching and Learning Innovation (ITaLI) at the University of Queensland. In this role, Deanne works collaboratively to enhance teaching and learning innovation, teaching practice and recognition of teaching expertise. Her teaching and scholarship focus on continuing professional learning for university teachers and professional education for students; her research collaborations on strategic, evidence-based and innovative projects influencing policy and practice institutionally, nationally and internationally.

Dr. Eunice Ng is the Director of Student Life and Resident Fellow at Ridge View Residential College (RVRC). She joined RVRC as a Fellow since September 2021. She received her Bachelor degree in Accountancy and her PhD in Strategic Management from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Eunice enjoys teaching and researching topics that lie at the intersection of business, society, and the natural environment. Her current research projects explore different pedagogical approaches in sustainability education, such as simulation games, outdoor learning, and global learning. Prior to pursuing her PhD, Eunice was an audit senior at a big four accounting firm, working on audit engagements in the luxury retail, manufacturing, and medical industries.

Associate Professor Stephen Tay obtained his PhD from Imperial College London under the National Research Foundation (Clean Energy) Overseas Scholarship. For contributions to teaching excellence in NUS, Associate Professor Tay was awarded the Annual Teaching Excellence Award for three consecutive years, and subsequently the University Teaching Awards Honour Roll (2024-2028). He currently serves as 1) Associate Director in the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology and 2) Fellow of the Teaching Academy in the National University of Singapore (NUS). He developed the CLEAR (Contextualised Learning via Enquiring, Answering, and Reflecting) approach in teaching, and worked with educators to implement CLEAR across disciplines and institutions locally and overseas to enhance teaching and learning.

Dr Elizabeth (Liz) Goode is a Senior Lecturer in the Academic Portfolio Office and in pathways education at Southern Cross University, Australia. Liz is currently researching the impact of immersive block models on students’ learning and achievement, and assessment and pedagogy in enabling education. She leads the editorial team for an institutional scholarship of learning and teaching paper series via the Social Science Research Network (SSRN). Liz is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including an Outstanding Teaching Award and an Australian Office for Learning and Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning.