HERDSA (Vic) + WIL Australia (Vic/Tas) Snapshots 2025

HERDSA (Vic) & WIL Australia (Vic/Tas) Snapshots 2025

The Victorian Branches of HERDSA and Vic/TAS WIL Australia (ACEN) showcase selected highlights presented at the HERDSA Conference [Perth | July 2025] and ACEN Conference [Sydney | October 2024]

Featuring panel discussion

Topic: Funding Pedagogy, Regulating Disruption

This panel confronts the central paradox of modern higher education. While disruptive technologies offer revolutionary new models for pedagogy and Work-Integrated Learning (WIL), this innovation often outpaces the slow-moving frameworks for regulation and funding. We ask our experts to walk the tightrope: How do we innovate at speed without falling behind Industry? Can we develop agile policy and sustainable funding models that support, rather than stifle, the tech-driven transformation our universities need to survive and thrive?

Cost: Free

Chair (Moderator)

Associate Professor Michael O'Connor

Western Sydney University

Michael is an Associate Professor at Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Melbourne, a doctorate in regenerative medicine from the University of Sydney, and has led both academic and industry research commercialisation projects. As a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, he has made significant contributions to improving higher degree research programs through WIL-based employability skills training and whole-of-institution data analytics. He is also currently the Master by Research course coordinator at Western Sydney. His WIL-related research includes leading an externally funded research program using data analytics for evidence-based curriculum review and renewal. Michael also advocates for quality and inclusive WIL, including through his current role as President of Work-Integrated Learning Australia.

Panellists

Professor Ruth Bridgstock

Swinburne University of Technology

Professor Ruth Bridgstock ALTF PFHEA is Director of Student Insights and Outcomes at Swinburne University of Technology, where she leads institution-wide transformation through personalisation, data-informed practice, and technology-enabled innovation. She recently guided Swinburne to achieve Moonshot 1 of its Horizon 2025 strategic plan every learner gets a work experience by embedding a fully scaffolded progression of work integrated learning across all undergraduate courses. This work led to the university receiving the 2024 Australian Financial Review Higher Education Award for Employability, and Ruth being recognised with the 2024 ATEM Award for Excellence in Leadership. Ruth is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Australian National Senior Teaching Fellow. Her research has been cited more than 7,000 times, with key publications including Higher Education and the Future of Graduate Employability (Edward Elgar) and Creative Graduate Pathways (Routledge).

Professor Margaret Bearman

Deakin University

Margaret Bearman is a Professor within the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE), Deakin University. She holds a first class honours degree in computer science and a PhD in medical education. Margaret’s interests are broad ranging and include: assessment in university education, feedback in healthcare contexts, learning for a world with artificial intelligence. She is predominantly a qualitative researcher but is methodologically diverse with experiences in: post-qualitative research, participatory or co-design approaches, formal analyses of the literature, and ethnography/observational studies.

Professor Puspha Sinnayah

Victoria University + HERDSA

Professor Puspha Sinnayah received her PhD in neuroscience from the Howard Florey Institute in 1999, where she studied the brain renin angiotensin system as a neurosignalling mechanism in fluid balance under the supervision of Prof. Michael McKinley. She then spent a decade (1999–2009) in the United States conducting postdoctoral research on neural mechanisms regulating appetite and cardiovascular homeostasis with Prof. Robin Davisson and Prof. Michael Cowley.

Currently a Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Research Training with the First Year College at Victoria University and a Research Fellow with the Institute for Health and Sport (IHES), she specialises in physiology education, curriculum innovation, and active learning pedagogy. Her teaching has been recognised nationally, receiving a 2018 Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT) citation for improving engagement in first-year bioscience and a 2020 AAUT team award for innovation in curriculum design aligned with VU’s Block Model.

Her work has led to the development of a flipped learning approach in anatomy and physiology, incorporating H5P interactive content, vodcasts, and inquiry-based learning. This has enhanced student engagement and success, particularly among diverse and underrepresented cohorts.

She leads initiatives such as the Head Start physiology bridging program and a collaborative peer observation learning model to support both students and academic staff. Her contributions were further recognised with the Michael Roberts Award, celebrating excellence in anatomy and physiology education.

Dr Faith Valencia-Forrester

Charles Sturt University + WIL Australia

Dr Faith Valencia-Forrester is an educator, researcher, and creative with a passion for transforming learning into a force for social justice, inclusion, and equity. With a background in media and qualifications in Arts, Law, Business, and a PhD focused on inclusive, university-led work-integrated learning (WIL), Faith brings an interdisciplinary approach to designing impactful educational experiences.

Her work reimagines WIL as more than just preparation for employment—positioning it as a catalyst for transformative learning experiences leading to real-world change. Faith leads innovative programs that embed students in community and industry settings, where their learning directly contributes to addressing disadvantage and creating social impact. She has developed nationally recognised models for inclusive WIL and advocates for a “fourth space” in education: a collaborative zone where students, academics, and partners co-create knowledge and solutions.

Faith is committed to building meaningful partnerships that enhance student employability, strengthen community outcomes, and reshape the role of higher education in society.