UNFED Meetings 2025

📅 Date: Friday, 30 May

⏰ Time: 12:00-1:30pm

📍 Location: Hybrid - Digital Teaching Studio (Bldg. J17, Lvl. 5 Rm. 505) & MS Teams

UNFED hosted by UNSW Engineering

Presented by Prof. Stuart W Prescott, Dr Darson Li, John Paul Posada, Dr Ernest Tse and Mrs Nasrin Danish

This session will explore three forward-thinking approaches to enhancing assessment, teaching, and student engagement across diverse learning environments. Each presentation showcases practical innovations we believe will positively impact our staff and students.

Agenda:

• AI-assisted feedback – Prof. Stuart W Prescott demonstrates how large language models can be used to generate clear, accessible summaries of rubric-based feedback to enhance student understanding.
• Spatial Computing in the DTS (Digital Teaching Studio) – Mr John Paul Posada and Dr Darson Li will run a demonstration of Apple Vision Pro devices and the JigSpace App showing how immersive 3D content can enhance engagement and conceptual learning in both face-to-face and hybrid teaching environments.
• Nexus Oral Assessment Project – Mrs Nasrin Danish and Dr Ernest Tse will showcase their insights from a cross-disciplinary project trialling the use of recordings and assessor training to support oral assessments as authentic alternatives to final exams.

Learn more about the agenda topics and speakers here

📅 Date: Wednesday, 30 April

⏰ Time: 12:00-1:30pm

📍 Location: Online (MS Teams)

Teaching the influence of geography on international relations 

Presented by Professor Clinton Fernandes, School of Humanities and Social Sciences 

IndoPacific studies is a new discipline at UNSW Canberra. As of 2025, there is no such major in any university anywhere. Academics at HASS created the major as an interdisciplinary area studies program. We bring the tools of other disciplines (politics, culture, history, geography) to the study of a geographic area that begins on the East coast of Africa and ends on the West coast of North and South America. It encompasses the islands, oceans, and countries between them. A mastery of the relevant geography is central to the student’s proficiency in IndoPacific studies. This presentation outlines the very first pilot course and its use of innovative geographic education and testing. The teaching tools will be developed and refined for 2026.

Work-Integrated Learning and the Australian Defence Force Academy 

Presented by Dr Adrian Robert Bazbauers, Senior Lecturer in International Public Sector Management, School of Business

The UNSW Canberra School of Business (SBUS) introduced in 2021 an undergraduate work-integrated learning (WIL) core course to its Bachelor of Business. Within this course, a unique dynamic emerges not often seen in WIL programmes. It involves Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) students (i.e., Defence members) undertaking Defence-sponsored workplace projects co-supervised by Defence and SBUS mentors. Typically, WIL students do not pursue work placements with their employers. The unique dynamic of this arrangement allows an opportunity for educators to reconsider WIL design, practice, and evaluation, notably the nature of workplace 'authenticity', the management of relations between multiple stakeholders, and employability outcomes for student graduates. 

From Crime Scene to Classroom: Enhancing Education Through Immersive VR Technology 

Presented by Dr Morphy Dumlao, Lecturer UNSW Canberra School of Science & Graham Hannah, Manager of Immersive Technologies, PVC Education Portfolio 

This presentation delves into the pioneering integration of immersive VR technology into the teaching of explosive investigation at UNSW Canberra, a first for the program. Designed to address resource constraints in accessing real crime scenes, this initiative sought to enhance student learning through innovative, hands-on engagement. A unique cohort participated in a 3-day Intensive Practical Exercise, blending theoretical instruction in the 5th week with VR-based practical application in the 13th week. Collaborative efforts from inception to implementation underscored the transformative potential of VR in education. The outcomes highlight how immersive technology can bridge resource gaps, foster deeper engagement, and elevate understanding in specialised fields, offering valuable insights for the broader education community of practice. 

📅 Date: Wednesday, 19 March

⏰ Time: 2:00-3:00pm

📍 Location: Hybrid (Teaching Commons/ Teams)

The Australian higher education sector has a notably high rate of casual employment compared to other industries, yet casual academics frequently miss out on professional development opportunities. Join us for a session on supporting and engaging our casual staff/Teaching Fellows, where Associate Professor Anne Hewitt, PHEA, from the University of Adelaide, will share her work on Smart Casual. Smart Casual is a funded project led by Anne, which identified and addressed a national need for discipline-specific teacher development resources for sessional teachers. You'll also learn about the initiatives the Faculty of Law & Justice has implemented to support our casual staff/Teaching Fellows.  Participants will have the opportunity to share their own practices from their Faculties or units, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. 

Speaker

Associate Professor Anne Hewitt is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy UK, Anne's research focuses on equitable access to high quality work and education. Within that field, her current projects consider prohibitions of discrimination, the rights of non-traditional workers including student interns, the regulation of higher education and work integrated learning. She was an author of an International Labour Organization (ILO) study on the regulation internships in 13 jurisdictions in 2018, in 2019 she was an organizer of both Australian and international (ILO) symposia considering the regulation of work experience, was an editor and contributor to a significant international analysis of the regulation of work experience, published jointly by Edward Elgar and the ILO in 2021, has authored major reports on the role Australian universities are playing in regulating work experience and considering scholarships for work-integrated learning. Anne is a member of the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group and the Berkeley Centre for Comparative Equality. She is active in promoting law reform to enhance equality, and regularly makes submissions and provides advice regarding the operation and reform of anti-discrimination laws. Learn more about Anne.

When: Wednesday 19 February 
Time: 10:00-11:30am
Delivery: Online only: MS Teams

PVCE is keen to share some of the programs and projects available which support learning and teaching at UNSW. In this UNFED session, we will hear from representatives from the Innovation and Education Pillars who will provide updates on key strategic initiatives positioned to support teaching academics, as well as education support staff, to enhance the student experience. Topics such as Teaching with AI, what Professional Development Programs are available, what's happening with the Academic Success Monitor and more, will be explored.

Education Programs for all

The Academic Development team offers a wide range of professional development programs, events and initiatives to support the development of teaching excellence for UNSW education staff. In this session you will learn about these programs.

Speaker

Angie Nazim is an Academic Developer in the Academic Development team in the PVC Education. She has over two decades of experience in teaching, teacher training, curriculum design, and professional development. Passionate about empowering educators, she thrives on helping them explore and apply strategies to enhance student learning. Angie is dedicated to fostering reflective, evidence-based teaching practices through ongoing support for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in higher education.

Meet the new UNSW academic journey companion, Academic Success Monitor (ASM)

Discover the award-winning ASM, an AI-powered educational data analytics solution developed by UNSW to systematically identify students at academic risk and enable automated, targeted and timely support interventions at scale. In this session we will present how ASM leverages educational data, machine learning risk prediction, and generative AI to provide actionable insights for tracking student engagement and performance, ensuring early identification of students needing additional support.

Speakers

Walter Tejada Estay has been a Project Manager within PVCE Innovation since April 2021. He has led initiatives that enhance learning and teaching effectiveness, support delivery, and the educational experiences of UNSW students and staff. His current work focuses on bringing design and system thinking together with project management in the delivery of strategic educational data analytics solutions aligned with educational frameworks. More specifically, his efforts are invested in provisioning the award-winning Academic Success Monitor institution wide. Walter also loves family camping, playing drums, mountain biking and cooking with fire.

Ayri De Luna is a Change Manager within PVCE Innovation, driving close collaboration across UNSW to tailor implementation plans and activities for the staged roll-out of the Academic Success Monitor. Her work focuses on ongoing consultations with academics, Faculty leadership, professional staff and students to ensure the roll-out is embedded seamlessly into other prioritised streams of work and that our people are at the heart of our communications, engagement and training. Historically, she is a specialist with consulting experience at Deloitte and Capgemini, leading large-scale organisational transformations, within the Higher Education, Financial Services, Energy & Utilities and FMCG Industries. Ayri also enjoys pilates, reading, singing and hiking.

AI in Education

In this session, the AI in Education team will take you through some of the innovative resources created in 2024 to enhance AI-enabled teaching and learning at UNSW. Our AI initiatives include an AI literacy framework for staff, self-paced modules and practical tools, designed to support staff and students in navigating the evolving landscape of generative AI.

Speaker

Emily Chandler is a Senior Education Designer within PVCE Educational Innovation. Her research background is in media and gender studies. Since joining PVCE in 2018, she has worked on stakeholder engagement and change management as well as consulting on accessibility and equity across a range of projects. As a member of the AI in Education team, Emily maintains and updates the AI Teaching Gateway site and regularly communicates about AI news, developments and opportunities via the AI in Education at UNSW email digest.

EdTech Hub, ETS Services and Scout

Join us for an engaging session on how the Education Technology Support team is driving efficiencies and improving the teaching and learning experience at UNSW. Learn about our latest enhancements, including the Scout T1 pilot and Onboarding chatbot, improvements to issue reporting and outages, streamlined admin processes, and other key updates.

Speaker

Prad Duraisamy brings over a decade of experience to his role as Manager of ETS within PVCE. Throughout his 12-year tenure at UNSW, Prad has been instrumental in facilitating the integration of digital tools within the teaching community, enhancing pedagogical practices and instructional methodologies. Over the past five years, Prad has assumed the leadership of a dynamic team of Educational Technologists, spearheading initiatives aimed at enhancing the teaching and learning experiences of both faculty and students at UNSW. Under his guidance, the team is steadfastly committed to optimising educational processes and workflows.

Updates from the Student Success Team

Student Success teams support learning. This presentation will provide an overview of the PASS Program (Peer Assisted Study Sessions), Equitable Learning Services, Academic Skills and English Support team - how they work with students and staff. Charlotte is really keen to engage with you about how we can work together to better support staff and students in the learning support space and what possible collaborations there could be.

Speaker

Charlotte Long is the Head of Student Success in the Education Pillar in PVCE, working with Academic Skills, the English Language Support team and Equitable Learning Services. Charlotte has 20 years of experience in higher education, advocating for and supporting the student experience. Charlotte is committed to putting students first and collaborating and learning from students and colleagues.