Academic Leadership Forum
Hosted by Blackboard and Western Sydney University
Academic Leadership Forum
Tuesday, August 20th
8:30am-5:00pm | Forum Program and Site Visit
5:00pm-10:00pm | Boat Cruise and Dinner
Academic Leadership Forum
About the event
We are once again hosting the fourth annual Blackboard Academic Leadership Forum and we look forward to welcoming University leaders from across Australia & New Zealand as well as members from the Blackboard senior executive team.
Hosted in conjunction with Western Sydney University, this one-day forum provides opportunities for sector leaders to delve into current and future challenges and educational trends impacting universities in the Asia Pacific region. The theme of this year’s forum is ‘Education as a Business'.
This invitation-only event will include presentations and panel sessions designed to encourage open discussion. We also will be including a site visit of the new Western Sydney University City Campus, the Peter Shergold Building.
We hope you can join us on Tuesday 20 August, 2019 at Western Sydney University, Parramatta South campus from 8:30am to 5:00pm.
The day will be followed by a private boat cruise with drinks and canapés back to Sydney with dinner at Quay Restaurant.
For more information or to RSVP, please contact Rochelle Vincent, Head of Marketing, Asia Pacific (rochelle.vincent@blackboard.com).
Our Partner
As a world-class university, Western Sydney University prides itself on challenging the traditional notion of what a university should be and is globally recognised for its research strengths and innovations in teaching. We are deeply embedded in the community and region we serve, which is Australia’s fastest growing economy and the focus of the nation’s largest infrastructure projects.
Western Sydney University is dedicated to ensuring our students – 65 per cent of whom are the first in their family to attend university – enjoy the best and most dynamic learning experience possible. From our award-winning tech-infused vertical campuses in key locations, to the forward-focused reworking of our teaching methodologies, Western Sydney University is preparing students for the future.
Recent rankings show it is working, companies rate our graduates number one in NSW and second in Australia for overall employer satisfaction. The University is one of the world’s top 500 universities in the prestigious Shanghai Ranking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities, and in the top two per cent of universities in the world by the QS World University Rankings. These rankings continue to ensure we attract high quality students from over 70 countries to our campuses here in Australia.
We are also a research leader, achieving global impact, supported by 80 per cent of our research in the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessment named as "world standard" or above.
We have a network of sites across Greater Western Sydney and beyond – including 10 teaching campuses, many embedded in CBD locations. Celebrating our 30th anniversary in 2019, Western Sydney University has grown to more than 48,000 students, 3,000 staff, and a strong cohort – both locally and globally – of more than 180,000 alumni.
We are proud to be included amongst the world’s most innovative and vibrant universities that push boundaries and set new standards in higher education.
Agenda
7:15
Depart Rydges World Square
Transfer to Western Sydney University South Campus
8:15 - 8:30
Registration and arrival tea & coffee
8:30 - 8:40
8:40 - 9:00
Welcome Address by Host Institution
Speaker: Professor Scott Holmes / Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor / Western Sydney University
9:00 - 9:40
[Presentation] Our Kodak moment - Customers, KPI’s and other corruptible concepts
Speakers: Professor Kevin Bell / Pro Vice-Chancellor (Digital Futures) / Western Sydney University;
Michael Burgess / Chief Student
Experience Officer / Western Sydney University
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the “Academic” - pedagogy, course content development, delivery and analytics, and “Corporate” - student experience; admissions, transition success, student support, worlds have to work synergistically and are actually well equipped to do just that if we can move beyond our Single Lens Reflex world.
Kevin Bell, WSU Pro Vice-Chancellor Digital Futures, and Michael Burgess, WSU Chief Student Experience Officer, will present on the developing world of higher education and some of the systems, projects and thinking that are currently driving change at Western Sydney University.
They will argue, with each other and the audience, that without these transitions, Higher Education runs the risk of fading as a life-choice for future career seekers and, without change, that we will see them rapidly (and soon) move towards customer-centric, tailored, just in time, personalised, relevant education.
A lively debate is expected.
9:40 - 10:25
[Presentation] Education as a business: Implications for universities
Speaker: Professor Kerri-Lee Krause (PhD) / Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) / LaTrobe University
Higher education institutions are increasingly challenged to perform several roles simultaneously – from provision of transformative educational experiences and outcomes in partnership with students and industry, to engaging with digital disruption, to competing on the world’s stage in discovery of new knowledge and so much more. All this, in an environment of policy uncertainty, declining public investment in higher education and the imperative to maintain and assure quality and standards in a competitive globalised knowledge economy. In such an environment, university leaders have no option but to engage in dual transformation, ambidextrously transforming their core business while contemplating what future transformations might be required to create tomorrow.
This presentation will draw on contemporary organisational change research to challenge participants to engage in ‘day after tomorrow’ thinking as we pose three fundamental questions:
10:25 - 10:55
Morning Tea
10:55 - 11:35
[Presentation] The Era of Intelligence
Speaker: Professor Jill Downie / Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) / Curtin University
AI has become pervasive in daily lives, giving rise to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), and is bringing human history to a new era where humans need to live and work together with AI. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are beginning to alter education tools and institutions and changing what the future might look like in education.
This keynote will address the following:
- In which ways will AI revolutionize the delivery and management of education and learning?
- How can we use AI and machine learning to analyse learning patterns and optimise learning processes with a view to improving learning outcomes?
- How can we ensure learners are equipped as graduates for the future workforce?
11:35 - 13:05
[Workshop] Exploring 5 Scenarios for the Future of Education
Speaker: Maria Spies / Co-Found and Managing Director / HolonIQ
While not always visible to the naked eye, fundamental shifts are happening in the education sector globally. Will the innovations we’re making in our own contexts keep up with what’s needed in the world of 2030? Indeed, will our current education models remain relevant into the future?
This interactive keynote will address the following:- What are the global forces shaping the future of education?
- How will the rapidly changing world of work impact how we learn?
- What might education look like in 2030?
This presentation will explore 5 Scenarios for the Future of Education and unpack the global drivers that are currently shaping the education landscape. The presentation will ‘deep dive’ into the key drivers, examining new models that are emerging, along with case studies that exemplify these trends. The audience will have an opportunity to engage with the 5 Scenarios and consider implications for their work. A keynote address will be followed by a plenary group activity to explore the implications of future scenarios.
13:05 - 14:05
Lunch
14:05 - 14:50
[Presentation] Human and Artificial Cognition - The role of higher education in an automating world
Speaker: Professor George Siemens / Director, Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning / University of South Australia
The social, technological, and economic change pressures facing society are forecast to significantly impact higher education. To date, these pressures have resulted in increased calls for accountability, added numerous new hardware and software platforms to the university’s repertoire of teaching, and increased calls for reductions in the overall cost of a university degree. In response, universities have pursued a range of initiatives ranging from MOOCs to bootcamps, to corporate lifelong learning. On the horizon, a new challenge is emerging in the form of artificial intelligence. Pundits, critics, and supporters are debating how AI impacts society and the human condition. For educators and university leaders, this presents vital questions around how to anticipate and plan for learning needs where humans and artificial cognition will work together in the production of knowledge.
This presentation will provide an overview of cognitive processes and where AI can be anticipated to have it’s greatest impact in the university and the types of future skills and mindsets that graduates will need to succeed in complex, ambiguous, and chaotic future knowledge environments.
14:50 - 15:20
15:20 - 15:25
Closing remarks
15:25 - 15:45
Afternoon Tea
15:50
Depart Western Sydney University South Campus
16:00
Arrive Western Sydney University City Campus Tour of Campus
16:45
Leave WSU City Campus
17:05
Arrive Homebush Wharf
17:10 - 18:40
Private Charter Boat
19:00
Dinner at Quay Restaurant
Speakers
Jill Downie
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
Curtin University
Professor Jill Downie was appointed to the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic in July 2012. From 2007 – 2012 Jill was Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Health Sciences and also Professor of Nursing at Curtin University. She is the Education representative on the Australian National Commission of UNESCO and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Professor Downie is an established national and international researcher with numerous grants, publications and conference presentations, including keynote addresses. In her role as DVC Academic, Jill strategically leads teaching and learning across the University and the Student Experience. This includes the Library and Student Success, Counselling and Health Services, the Curtin Stadium, Sports strategy, Employability, Leadership and Careers and Housing. Curtin Connect brings all these areas together with Student Services from Admissions though the continuum to Graduation. Equity and Diversity and the Centre for Aboriginal Studies are also important aspects of the Portfolio.
Kevin Bell
Pro Vice-Chancellor, Digital Futures
Western Sydney University
Professor Kevin Bell comes from Newcastle in the UK, taking his B.Sc. in Analysis of Science and Technology from Manchester University before spending two significant periods of his professional career overseas. After nine years in Japan where he taught English in Kishiwada High School and at a private language school in Osaka, he moved to the United States in 1999, initially to take his Master of Arts in Teaching at Marlboro College in Vermont.
Post-graduation, Professor Bell’s dot.com work segued into academic leadership roles, most recently at Northeastern University in Boston where he headed the Online Experiential Learning group and served four years as Executive Director and Senior Fellow for the Lowell Institute Innovation Incubator (Li3). The Institute was funded with a $4M “First in the World” federal grant with his research on intrinsic motivation of under-represented minority groups in STEM programs central to the application.
Prior to Northeastern University, Professor Bell was at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) where as Chief Academic Officer he was integral in the scaling of the largest not-for-profit online operation in the US. At SNHU he was the academic lead on the first federally approved Competency-based, Direct Assessment degree; College for America.
He received his doctorate University of Pennsylvania in 2014 with research into gameful design and student engagement in online courses. His recent book: Game On! - Gamification, Gameful Design, and the Rise of the Gamer Educator arguably overuses variants on the word “Game” a lot, but is otherwise a riveting read.
Kerri-Lee Krause
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
La Trobe University
Professor Kerri-Lee Krause (PhD) is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Professor of Higher Education at La Trobe University. She is an experienced senior executive who is acknowledged nationally and internationally for her contributions to higher education research, policy and practice. Current national leadership roles include Deputy Chair of the Australian Higher Education Standards Panel and Chair of the Universities Australia DVC Academic Committee. She also holds several Board directorships.
At La Trobe University, she provides strategic leadership to enhance the quality of learning, teaching and the student experience along with a focus on academic staff career development and promotion. Her Portfolio includes La Trobe International and the academic business innovation team. As a Fellow of the international Society for Research in Higher Education she is internationally recognised for her research on the contemporary undergraduate student experience and implications for quality and standards.
Kathy Vieira
Chief Portfolio Officer
Blackboard
As Chief Portfolio Officer, Kathy Vieira is responsible for the execution of Blackboard’s portfolio strategy. In this role, she oversees key functions including business line leadership, product and partner management, and marketing. She also leads the Blackboard Student Services team, the corporate division that brings marketing and enrollment services, virtualized contact center support, One Stop and other solutions designed to support the student lifecycle at institutions nationwide.
Prior to her current role, Kathy served as Blackboard’s Vice President of Portfolio Strategy and Management. She also served on the Business Department team as Vice President of Partner Enablement and as Vice President of Partnerships in Blackboard’s consulting organization. Kathy joined Blackboard in 2006 through the acquisition of WebCT.
Kathy has an extensive background in information technology and education and has spent many years in leadership roles in the high-tech industry. Her background includes a role as Information Systems Manager for World Wide Development and Learning and as CIO for Sales and Marketing at a large computer hardware company. In addition, she served as Director of Hosting and Global Support Services at an internet security company providing certificate authority to defense and banking industries around the globe.
Kathy holds a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Computer Science and Biology. She is also a graduate of the Society of Information Management, Leadership Development Institute, Regional Learning Forum.
Yves Dehouck
Vice President of Asia Pacific
Blackboard
Yves Dehouck is the Vice President at Blackboard since late 2013, responsible for the overall business in Asia Pacific.
Yves is a seasoned 27-year veteran in the IT industry, spearheading successful sales, marketing & business development programs across the Asia Pacific with a demonstrated track record in the penetration of new accounts as well as leveraging on existing business to consistently exceed sales budgets.
Prior to joining Blackboard, Yves worked in senior positions for ANSYS, Autodesk, and Parametric Technology, responsible for direct and channel sales in the Asia Pacific and Middle East region.
Maria Spies
Founder and Managing Director
HolonIQ
Maria is a Founder and Managing Director of HolonIQ, the leading provider of global education market intelligence. Through a machine learning platform and global network of partners and analysts, HolonIQ helps governments, institutions, firms and investors answer strategic questions across four key areas – global trends, risks and opportunities; market landscape; emerging models and advanced technologies; competitor intelligence.
Prior to HolonIQ, Maria led digital learning futures for a $40m corporate venture fund investing in education innovation and EdTech. In this role, Maria worked with EdTech start-ups and founders around the world to support their growth and led research projects about the future of learning, such as Global EdTech Landscape and Higher Education Digital Transformation.
Maria has worked in public and private higher education for over 20 years in Asia and Australia specializing in technology-led transformation of education business models and approaches to teaching and learning. Maria has built and led global teams, driving innovation in curriculum, teaching and the student experience in over 50 countries.
George Siemens
Professor and Director
Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning Teaching Innovation Unit at University of South Australia
George Siemens researches, technology, networks, analytics, and openness in education. Dr. Siemens is Professor and Executive Director of the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab at University of Texas, Arlington. He co-leads the development of the Center for Change and Complexity in Learning (C3L) at University of South Australia. He has delivered keynote addresses in more than 35 countries on the influence of technology and media on education, organizations, and society. His work has been profiled in provincial, national, and international newspapers (including NY Times), radio, and television. He has served as PI or Co-PI on grants funded by NSF, SSHRC (Canada), Intel, Boeing, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Soros Foundation. He has received numerous awards, including honorary doctorates from Universidad de San Martín de Porres and Fraser Valley University for his pioneering work in learning, technology, and networks. He holds an honorary professorship with University of Edinburgh.
Dr. Siemens is a founding President of the Society for Learning Analytics Research. He has advised government agencies Australia, European Union, Canada and United States, as well as numerous international universities, on digital learning and utilizing learning analytics for assessing and evaluating productivity gains in the education sector and improving learner results. In 2008, he pioneered massive open online courses (sometimes referred to as MOOCs). He blogs at http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/ and on Twitter: @gsiemens.
Scott Holmes
Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor
Public Policy at The Whitlam Institute at Western Sydney University
Professor Scott Holmes is the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and a Professor of Public Policy at The Whitlam Institute at Western Sydney University.
Professor Holmes holds an honorary Professorship in Business at the University of Queensland and at the University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Prior to his role as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Western, Professor Holmes was the Founding Dean of Graduate Studies and Pro-Vice Chancellor Research at the University of Newcastle.
Professor Holmes is the author of seven books and over 60 articles, and is an active researcher alongside his role as a senior academic manager. His latest book was published in 2018, Small Business Exposed: The Tribes that Drive Economies, with Dr Michael Schaper.
Michael Burgess
Chief Student Experience Officer
Western Sydney University
Michael Burgess joined Western Sydney University in February 2016 as the Chief Student Experience Officer and brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in complex consumer environments. Michael is a creative innovator with extensive experience in business strategy, customer experience, marketing communications, digital strategy, brand development and data analytics.
From 2008-2015 he was the General Manager, Marketing at Weight Watchers Australia & New Zealand and between 2005-2008, Head of Corporate Strategy at NRMA Motoring and Services, initially starting as Head of Marketing in 2001. These roles provided Michael with invaluable insights into the marketing sector and business leadership.
Michael joined the University at a critical time, when the core goal underpinning the University’s Securing Success 2015-2020 Strategic Plan is to be a distinctively student-centred University. Michael is championing this goal and providing the vision and leadership to transform and enhance our students’ experience. Drive Economies, with Dr Michael Schaper.
Event Location
Parramatta South Campus
Female Orphan School (Building EZ)
Western Sydney University,
Cnr Victoria Road and James Ruse Drive,
Rydalmere