Featured speakers
Keynote speaker
Associate Professor Popi Sotiriadou
Associate Professor Popi Sotiriadou (PFHEA) is an internationally recognised scholar in assessment innovation, academic integrity and interactive oral (IO) assessment design at Griffith University. Her work focuses on translating research into scalable, equitable and authentic assessment practices across disciplines and institutional contexts. She has led national and international projects on IO assessments, employability-focused assessment and technology-enhanced learning, and supports educators across institutions nationally and internationally in implementing IOs.
Popi is a recipient of the Australian Award for University Teaching (2022) and the Australian Financial Review Teaching & Learning Excellence Award (2023) and was a finalist for the Tracey Bretag Award for Academic Integrity. She has advised institutions and regulators internationally and is listed as an expert with TEQSA.
Featured speakers
Associate Professor Erica Brady
Erica Brady is an Education Focused Associate Professor in Marketing at Monash University. Currently the Course Director for the Bachelor of Business Administration at Monash University, she previously spent 10 years as the Director of Education in the Department of Marketing. In these roles she focused on enabling academics to develop their skills and knowledge in education practice and the design and development of organisational systems and processes that remove barriers to innovation. Throughout her career Erica has been responsible for teaching thousands of students, ranging in scope from large 500+ undergraduate units through to boutique Honours and specialised Masters courses. She has received an Australian Award for University Teaching (2025), a Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Innovation (2024), Dean’s Awards for Teaching (2012, 2020, 2023), a Vice-Chancellors Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (2013) and a Dean’s Commendation for PRME Education Excellence (2017). Her SoTL research explores assessment at three tiers; educational systems, program design and teaching practice.
Dr Thomas Corbin
Dr Thomas Corbin is a Research Fellow at Deakin University's Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE), where he leads research on generative AI, assessment, and feedback in higher education. Originally a philosopher by training, Thomas focuses on some of the most urgent practical challenges facing universities today. His influential papers, including "Talk is Cheap" and "The Wicked Problem of AI and Assessment", continue to shape international debate on assessment in the age of AI. He also does research on Cicadas but will attempt to avoid dwelling on this in conversation.
Dr Daniel Czech
Dr Daniel Czech is an education focused Senior Lecturer within the School of BioSciences at The University of Melbourne. Daniel supports learning and teaching within the Master of Biotechnology and the Bachelor of Science programs. Daniel is a specialist in biomedical science, teaching and education scholarship. His teaching practice is founded upon evidence-based teaching and constructivist learning philosophy. Daniel's professional expertise extends to redefining industry involvement in higher education, reflecting his passion for enhancing student employability.
Professor Beth Driscoll
Beth Driscoll is Professor in Publishing and Communications and Deputy Dean (Academic) in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. As Deputy Dean (Academic), she has responsibility for the strategic direction, oversight and implementation of the Arts Faculty's learning and teaching across undergraduate and graduate programs. In her discipline of publishing studies, her research focuses on contemporary book cultures and practices of reading, and the global publishing industry. Her most recent book is "What Readers Do: Aesthetic and Moral Practices of a Post-Digital Age" (Bloomsbury Academic, 2024) and her current research includes leading the Community Publishing in Regional Australia project, funded through an ARC Linkage grant.
Professor Katja Holtta-Otto
Dr. Katja Holtta-Otto is a Professor of Engineering Design and the Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. She works in design theory and methodology with specific emphasis on interdisciplinary topics linked to engineering design. She is an expert in interdisciplinary design education. She recently led the development of a FEIT wide core subject Interdisciplinary Design for Engineers, a project-based subject merging engineering design and professional skills. This team-taught large subject adopted Interactive Oral Assessment as part of the overall assessment. Dr. Holtta-Otto completed her doctorate at the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland (2005). She has worked as a Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, USA; Professor in Engineering Product Development at the Singapore University of Technology and Design; and most recently as a professor of product development at the Aalto University, Finland.