Featured speakers
Keynote speaker
Professor Mary Wright
Professor of Education Scholarship
Educational Innovation Team| Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education) | University of Sydney, Australia
Dr. Mary C. Wright is currently serving as Professor of Educational Scholarship at Educational Innovation, DVC (Education) at the University of Sydney, Australia. From 2016-2025, Mary served as Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning, Executive Director of the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, and a Professor (Research) in the Department of Sociology, Brown University. Previous to Brown, Mary worked at the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching for 13 years. Her PhD area is Sociology (University of Michigan), and she holds a master’s in higher education administration (University of Michigan) and a BA in sociology (Princeton University).
Mary’s most recent book, Centers for Teaching and Learning: The New Landscape of Higher Education, was published by Johns Hopkins Press in 2023. She is a co-editor of the International Journal for Academic Development (IJAD), the journal of ICED (the International Consortium for Educational Development). Developing High-Impact Course Design Institutes: A Model for Change (Jodan Troisi, Michael Palmer, Mary Wright, Lori Hostetler, & Carol Hurney) was published in 2025 by Routledge.
She is a co-author on the ACE-POD Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Matrix (2017), which created operational standards for CTLs, as well as Defining What Matters (2018), which established guidelines for CTL evaluation. She is also a co-author on the Equity/Excellence Imperative: A 2030 Blueprint for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities.
Featured speakers
Dr Angelito Calma
Dr Angelito Calma is a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education at the Williams Centre for Learning Advancement, Faculty of Business and Economics. He designs and delivers various professional development programs to support business academics, manages the Faculty's assurance of learning in relation to AACSB accreditation, and teaches commerce students at WorkHub, an on-campus internship experience where students solve real-world problems. Angelito has over 20 years of experience teaching management subjects and publishes in higher education and business and management journals. He connects education-focussed academics through the FBE SoTL Network and his recent SoTL research focuses on business students' development of key skills such as critical thinking and problem solving.
Associate Professor Kwang Cham
As an Education Focused Academic, Associate Professor Cham's SoTL research primarily focuses on preparing students for effective clinical practice, with overarching themes including feedback and assessment, inter-professional education and collaborative practice, curriculum design and innovations, and digital technologies. He has also been involved in various projects funded by local and international grants, such as enhancing student engagement through digital 3D technology and promoting healthy aging through interprofessional education.
Professor Sally Male
Professor Sally Male was awarded the 2023 World Federation of Engineering Organizations Medal for Excellence in Engineering Education. As Director of the Teaching and Learning Laboratory in the Faculty of Engineering and IT at the University of Melbourne, Professor Male leads a program of research in engineering and computing education, and higher education, and a program of development and support for engineering educators. Her mission in her research and teaching, is to ensure that students have the best possible opportunities to develop capabilities and attributes to lead successful lives contributing to society. Specifically, Professor Male's research interests are curriculum development, employability, work integrated learning, and gender inclusion.
Associate Professor Grace Thompson
Grace Thompson is an Associate Professor in Music Therapy in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, and a registered music therapist. Grace has worked with disabled children and young people, and their families, for over 20 years within the early childhood and special education sectors. Alongside her music therapy research, Grace is an innovative teacher who has supported educators to develop their teacher presence, teaching presentation skills, and foster inclusive learning spaces. She is a former Senior Academic Fellow with the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, past recipient of the GEM Scott Teaching Fellowship (2022), and is a member of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music College of Reviewers for peer review of teaching.
Professor Karena Waller
Dr Karena Waller is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, the Deputy Program Director of the Bachelor of Biomedicine and was appointed Academic Director, Education-focussed Careers (Office of the Provost) in 2024. Karena joined the Department's academic teaching staff in 2010 after completing 15 years in local and international malaria research. Today, Karena contributes significantly to the subject coordination and teaching and learning of microbiology and foundational biomedical sciences to first, second and third year Bachelor of Biomedicine and Bachelor of Science students. External to the Department, Karena sits on numerous School, Faculty, Institute and University Committees, primarily focusing on teaching and learning, student experience and engagement, and academic governance and program management