2026 QILT Symposium

Professor Merlin Crossley is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) Academic Quality at UNSW, having previously served as DVC Education, and as Dean of Science. 

• Merlin is a Professor in Molecular Biology specialising in CRISPR gene editing to understand and treat human genetic diseases.
• He is a widely published science communicator, contributing regularly on science, education, and policy.
• Merlin holds numerous leadership and advisory roles across scientific and cultural organisations, including positions with the Australian Science Media Centre, The Conversation, UNSW Press, the Garvan Institute, and the Australian Museum.
• His contributions have been recognised with major honours, including the 2020 NSW Premier’s Award for Medical Biological Science and appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2023.

Jasmina Joldić PSM is the Deputy Secretary of the Higher Education, Research and International Group in Australian Government Department of Education. She is an accomplished senior executive and policy expert who has advocated for equity throughout her career. She has over 18 years of experience across the State and Commonwealth governments, as well as the higher education sector.

• Before joining the Department of Education, Ms Joldić was Director-General of Queensland’s Department of Justice and Attorney-General, the first woman from a culturally and linguistically diverse background and first millennial to lead a Queensland Government department.
• She previously served as Associate Director-General, Strategy, Policy and Reform in Queensland Health, where she led the development of visionary system-wide policy including HealthQ32 and contributed to Queensland’s COVID-19 response, earning a Public Service Medal in 2022.
• Her career includes strategic leadership and policy roles across Queensland and Commonwealth Government agencies, including the Department of the Premier and Cabinet; Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning; Department of Community Safety; and the Commonwealth Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
• Ms Joldić received the Griffith University and Griffith Business School Alumnus of the Year awards in 2023.
• She is an Adjunct Professor at Griffith University, and an Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) Practice Fellow.

Dr Angela Baker is the Director, Research + Evaluation + QILT Research + Strategy at the Social Research Centre, which administers the QILT surveys on behalf of the Australian Government. She has over 20 years of experience in market research after working as an evolutionary biologist.

• Angela has held senior roles in market research agencies (Forethought, DBM) specialising in developing sector-specific consulting teams and large quantitative and mixed methods projects, as well as consulting directly with clients to develop strategy and implementation plans.
• Angela also has senior-level experience in large corporates (ME Bank and Qantas Loyalty) heading up customer insights and analytics practices – working across teams to drive data and experimental approaches to develop customer experience solutions, market and customer segmentation, integrated data solutions for targeted marketing, brand and communications strategy and product design and pricing.
• Her work in the social and government sector is built off her deep experience with commercial and corporate clients and includes mixed methods developmental research projects, market segmentation for communications or service design, and evaluation and measurement.
• She has considerable experience in the design of quantitative research using cognitive testing and qualitative techniques to develop robust and focused data collection instruments.

Professor Adam Bridgeman is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) at the University of Sydney overseeing university-wide education and student initiatives.

• Adam is an internationally recognised leader in chemistry education and educational innovation and began his academic career in the UK before joining the University of Sydney.
• At University of Sydney, he held several senior leadership roles across teaching, learning, and educational strategy as Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching) in Faculty of Science, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Educational Innovation),  and Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education)
• He was also a national teaching award recipient and Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow in 2011.
• Adam has a BA Hons (Chemistry) from Oxford, PGCE (Chemistry) from Birmingham, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Inorganic Chemistry) from University of Cambridge.

Professor Doune MacDonald is an academic at the at the University of Sydney in Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Students), and Emeritus Professor at University of Queensland. Her work draws on her expertise in governance, policy, teaching quality, and systems improvement. Biography:

• Doune has over forty years of experience in university teaching, research and leadership, with leadership roles including Head of the School of Human Movement Studies (UQ), Collaborative Research Network Co-ordinator, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching & Learning), and substantive periods as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) (Interim).
• Doune has been a successful researcher with over $2.5 million in research grants through ARC and NHMRC schemes as well several curriculum and sport-related program evaluations for state, national and international initiatives.
• She has published 16 books and more than 200 book chapters and research papers in curriculum, policy (schooling and higher education), and equity.
• Her board work at international, state and schooling levels ensures she remains abreast of general governance issues as well as the priorities of the schooling and higher education sectors.

Professor Philip Oldfield is Head of School at UNSW School of Built Environment and a Professor of Architecture.

• Philip is an award-winning educator with a passion for higher-education teaching, across both architectural studio and science courses. He is recognised as a Scientia Education Fellow at UNSW (2017–2021), and a strong advocate for science communication.
• His research examines how housing, buildings and infrastructure can meet societal needs while reducing environmental impact of built environment to address climate change and achieve net zero outcomes.
• Philip is the sole author of “The Sustainable Tall Building: A Design Primer” (Taylor & Francis, 2019) and leader of over $800k in interdisciplinary, industry-engaged research influencing national methodologies and industry guidance on embodied carbon.
• Philip has a Bachelor of Architecture (First Class) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Architectural Science).

Associate Professor Karin Watson is the Director of Education Excellence in Pro Vice-Chancellor Education Portfolio at UNSW Sydney. She’s also a Scientia Education Academy Fellow, and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, and Director of the UNSW Education Focussed Program and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). 

• Karin’s expertise focuses on the student experience, particularly the role of student feedback literacy and creating a sense of belonging in the first-year educational context.
• Her education leadership experience extends to building capability and learning communities amongst peers in higher education environments through national and international mentorship and leadership programs.
• Karin had worked and studied in London, Cape Town and Sydney and received several international and national awards, citations, accreditation and fellowships for teaching and education excellence.
• She has developed sustainable and scalable professional development programs such as the Learning to Teach Online Project, numerous Open Educational Resources (OER) and initiatives, and have led or project managed several competitive grants and multi-institutional projects such as OnTask.

Professor Richard Buckland is the Director of First Year Experience of UNSW Sydney.

• Richard is a Professor in CyberCrime Cyberwar and Cyberterror at the School of Computer Science and Engineering UNSW, Visiting Professor in Educational Design at the National University of Malaysia UKM, and Grand Challenge Visiting Professor in Cyber Security at Taylors University.
• He is the Director of the UNSW/CommBank Security Engineering Capability partnership -SecEDU, and long-term member of the UNSW Academic Board and the University Academic Quality Committee.
• Richard pioneered the first Australian MOOC, and is co-founder of social education platform OpenLearning.com.
• He was the 2008 Australian and New Zealand Engineering Educator of the Year (Engineers Australia) and the 2013 Australian ICT Educator of the Year (iAwards) as well.
• His research areas lie in Education and Teaching, and in Cyber Security and Security Engineering.
• He has a love for teaching and a deep faith in the potential of all his students, with a passionate belief in the importance of education, of learning, of thinking. He has a particular interest in unconventional students: including gifted and talented students and students with learning difficulties.