Executive Committee
Elected Executive Committee members oversee ASCILITE with support from a Secretariat service. The Executive is committed to the vision, mission and strategic aims of ASCILITE and the ASCILITE community. We welcome your feedback and ideas via the contacts page, through our social media channels or via the email addresses below.
President
Professor Michael Cowling
RMIT University
Professor Michael Cowling has been a leader in educational technology for over 20 years and was the recipient of the Universities Australia 2020 AAUT Award for Teaching Excellence (Physical Sciences & Related Studies). He is currently a Professor in Computing Technologies in the STEM College at RMIT University, where he serves as Director, Hub for Apple Platform Innovation (HAPI), an Apple-focussed teaching/research space using novel computing platforms to create dynamic new experiences. He is the President (2023 to 2025) of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE), where he is also a Community Fellow, as well as the Vice-President of the Open Access Publishing Association (OAPA). He is also a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE UK). Through his mantra ‘pedagogy before technology’, he fosters thoughtfulness in technology for students, educators and the public.
Vice President
Dr. Elaine Huber
Dr Elaine Huber is an Adjunct Professor at Liverpool John Moores University (UK) and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Sydney Business School. A Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she is a nationally recognised leader in co-design, curriculum innovation and institutional change. With over 30 years of experience in adult education, Elaine brings a deeply student-centred philosophy to her work, underpinned by a commitment to active and collaborative learning. Her leadership has been acknowledged through multiple institutional and sector-level awards, including a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Leadership and Mentoring. She has led major strategic initiatives—including the Connected Learning at Scale (CLaS) program at the University of Sydney—supporting high-quality learning experiences in large-enrolment business education.
Elaine has been a member of ASCILITE since 2010 and has been on the Executive since Dec 2020. Elaine Co-Leads two portfolios, TELAS and Women in Academic Leadership. She was a member of the conference organising committee in 2012, has been a mentor on the AMP and is also a member of the TELEdvisors SIG, the Business Education SIG and the Learning Design SIG. She values such networking opportunities for the learning, sharing and collaboration opportunities they can provide. Elaine has also won an ASCILITE best Full paper (2022), best concise paper (2017) and best poster (2012) awards. Elaine was an integral part of the committee that worked with ASCILITE’s Past President and Treasurer to finalise the conceptualisation of the TELAS framework and has co-led its operationalisation.
Elaine’s research spans co-design, educational evaluation, women’s leadership, online assessment, and digital pedagogies. She has presented at over 30 conferences, both international and national, has given many invited talks and Keynotes and has authored over 40 peer reviewed publications. As a passionate advocate for gender equity, she is also an alumna of Homeward Bound, a global leadership initiative for women with a background in STEMM.
Through her educational consultancy, Elaine continues to support institutions and academic leaders in building inclusive, future-focused learning environments. She also coaches academics and third space practitioners in finding their voice and reaching their potential.
Treasurer
Dr Sandra Barker
University of South Australia
Sandy is a Senior Lecturer and Digital Learning Leader in the School of Management at the UniSA Business School, having joined the school in 1998. As the Digital Learning Leader she takes responsibility for working with academic colleagues to ensure a high standard of digital resources for all students studying courses from the School of Management. As a lecturer Sandy is involved in teaching and curriculum development for undergraduate students in both Australia and Hong Kong, as well as coordinating course work placements for final year undergraduates.
Sandy has a PhD (Business), Graduate Diploma in Education Studies (Digital Learning), Graduate Certificate in Education (University Teaching), and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Chemistry). Her PhD investigated the management of end-user computing and end-user development of small-scale information systems. In education, Sandy has a research interests in experiential learning with a focus on work placements, graduate qualities/enterprise skills, learning analytics, flipped and blended learning, business simulations and role play. All courses that she teaches have an experiential component with associated authentic assessment to ensure students are ready for the professional world as soon as they graduate.
Sandy’s affiliation with ASCILITE commenced at the 2002 Auckland conference when she first became a member. She has been a campus representative for many years, was Convenor for the 2016 ASCILITE conference and on the organising committee of the 2003 ASCILITE conference held in Adelaide. Her interest in the use of technology in teaching and learning has been sparked by her involvement in the ASCILITE community having attended all but one conference since 2002 and this has culminated in her completion of the inaugural cohort of the Grad Dip (Digital Learning). As a recent attendee to the Spring into Excellence Research School, Sandy intends to increase her research into TEL and would like to continue to be involved in this excellent initiative.
Sandy brings to the ASCILITE Executive her considerable teaching experience with the intention of raising the profile of ASCILITE and its excellent initiatives. She hopes to work with the executive to achieve a mutual sharing of knowledge and experience across the borders through webinars and shared resources for international scholars in the field. In addition she hopes to maintain the enthusiasm that she experiences within the ASCILITE community and promote this with colleagues, in particular the research and conference aspects of the community.
Committee
Lisa Bugden
University of New England
Lisa Bugden, a Senior Learning Designer at the University of New England (UNE). Throughout Lisa’s time at UNE, she has worked in a variety schools and faculties, from law, sciences and education. She has led the development of short courses, supported sustainable course design, and facilitated professional development opportunities with UNE staff. Lisa enjoys partnering with teaching staff to brainstorm, discuss, create and implement all things teaching and learning. In working as a Learning Designer, Lisa’s aim is to be grounded and relational in her approach – prioritising both the student and teaching experience.
As an ASCILITE executive member she would like to seek opportunities to support and encourage other professional staff in Higher Education in their career journey, such as learning designers, educational technologists and other third space professionals. As such Lisa is looking forward to contributing a professional staff perspective to the executive committee.
Associate Professor Thom Cochrane
The University of Melbourne
Thomas is an Associate Professor of Technology Enhanced Learning in Higher Education in the Melbourne CSHE, MGSE, within the University of Melbourne. Previously, he was an Academic Advisor and Senior Lecturer in educational Technology at Auckland University of Technology’s Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLAT).
Thom has been an active member of ASCILITE since 2003 and ALT since 2009. In 2011 Thomas received an ASCILITE Fellow award. Thomas is also one of the first SCMALT holders – Senior Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology (2018).
Thomas is also an AJET Associate Editor, and an editorial board member of RLT, BJET, and IJMBL and special issue guest editor of AJET and RLT. He is the coordinator of the ASCILITE Mobile Learning Special Interest Group. He is a regular reviewer for a number of educational technology journals including: CAE, BJET, AJET, CHB, IJMBL, JCHE, UAIS, and TLT, and received a top 1% reviewer on Publons in 2018.
In 2017 Thomas established the SOTEL Research Cluster, facilitating a research hub for Design Based Research and the inaugural annual SOTEL Symposium.
In 2017 he was a member of the team winning the AUT Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence, Teaching Innovation Award. He also established the CMALT cMOOC to support CMALT accreditation internationally.
His research interests include mobile learning, social media in education, communities of practice, and the scholarship of technology enhanced learning (SOTEL). His PHD thesis was titled: “Mobilizing Learning: Transforming pedagogy with mobile web 2.0”. Thomas has managed and implemented over 50 mobile learning projects, with a focus upon mlearning as a catalyst to enable student-generated content and student-generated learning contexts, bridging formal and informal learning environments. He was co-lead of the AKO Aotearoa funded 2-year national project NPF14LMD Learners and Mobile Devices. Thomas has a peer-reviewed research portfolio spanning 49 journal articles, 31 book chapters, and over 140 conference proceedings. He received best paper awards at ASCILITE 2009, ALT-C 2011, ALT-C 2012.
He has been invited to keynote at several international educational technology conferences including: 2012 Australian Moodle Moot, 2012 m-Libraries conference in the UK, the launch of UWS massive iPad project in February 2013, 2014 IBSA VET Practitioners Conference in Melbourne, and was an invited speaker at EdMedia2014 (Tampere, Finland). He was an Educator In Residence at the Disruptive Media Learning Lab, Coventry University in 2015 and 2017. Thomas was an invited keynote at University of Western Australia’s Mlearning Summit in September 2016.
You will find more on Thom’s background here.
Karine Cosgrove
Griffith University
Karine Cosgrove is a Learning and Teaching Curriculum Consultant at Griffith University and has worked as an education designer in higher education institutions for over a decade, advising and providing high-level leadership on pedagogical practice, and digital to transform and develop academic capabilities, and approaches to teaching and learning. Karine is particularly passionate about online and blended learning, and leads and advocates change to drive student learning, through the implementation of technology, evidence informed pedagogy, and continuous professional development of academics.
With Karine’s experience as a Learning Designer and Third Space educator, she seeks to advocate for professional staff and Third Space members, bringing their voice and agency to the forefront. Karine brings a fresh perspective and new ideas to the table, and leverages her leadership and collaboration skills, alongside her educational expertise, to drive meaningful outcomes for the ASCILITE committee and its broader goals.
Dr Justine Maldon
Edith Cowan University
Dr Justine Maldon (SFHEA) is a Senior Learning Adviser at the Centre for Learning and Teaching at Edith Cowan University. She holds a PhD in English, Communication and Cultural Studies from the University of Western Australia and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE, UK). With more than 15 years’ experience in higher education, she brings a strongly student-centred approach that champions active, collaborative and inclusive learning.
Justine’s career spans teaching, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and academic leadership. She has served as Acting Manager of Learning Support at ECU and held academic roles at the University of Western Australia and the University of Notre Dame Australia. Her expertise in designing interactive and student-centred curricula was recognised with a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Enhancing Student Learning for her First Year Experience initiatives. Her scholarship explores inclusive curriculum design, digital literacies and the student transition experience.
Her current work focuses on empowering both students and staff to navigate complex educational landscapes, including the responsible integration of emerging technologies such as generative AI. She leads initiatives that build capability, foster collaboration and strengthen learning and teaching practice across disciplines. She is committed to advancing inclusive, high-quality learning experiences in an era of rapid technological and pedagogical change.
An ASCILITE member since 2020, Justine was awarded Best Concise Paper in 2023 and regularly presents at ASCILITE conferences. As an ASCILITE Executive member, she contributes to a range of portfolios, including Women in Professional Leadership (WiPL), the Community Mentoring Program, APUBs, Contextualising Horizons and Member Feedback. Through this role, she helps shape national conversations on leadership, mentoring and technology-enhanced learning.
Dr Vickel Narayan
Massey University, NZ
Vickel Narayan is a Senior Lecturer (Digital Learning) at Massey University. Vickel has held similar roles in the last 10 years at four large higher education institutes in New Zealand and Australia and has over 15 years of experience in education. He completed his PhD (Education) from the University of Murdoch in Perth, in 2017. Vickel is an active researcher in the scholarship of teaching and learning domain (SoTL), particularly designing for learning, staff development and the scholarship of technology enhanced learning (SoTEL). He has a keen interest in social media and mixed mobile virtuality (MMR) and how they could be used for developing authentic and student-determined teaching and learning experiences. Vickel is particularly interested in exploring contemporary mobile and social media tools and pedagogies for creating, nurturing and maintaining virtual communities, and social connectedness, fostering social constructivism and enabling authentic learning and heutagogy. He is interested in design-based research and its implications on learning, teaching, and design.
Vickel is an active researcher in the scholarship of technology-enhanced learning domain and has published over 80 research articles that include 14 journal publications, 2 journal editorials, 14 booked chapters, over 50 conference contributions including one best paper award, three learning and teaching excellence awards and two study awards. He is the co-lead editor for the Pacific Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning (PJTEL), associate editor for the AJET Journal and reviews for several internationally ranked journals in the domain, such as BJET, Computers & Education and Computers in Human Behavior. You can view Vickel’s researcher profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6833-706X
Associate Professor Amanda White
University of Technology Sydney
Amanda is an Education Focused Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney’s Business School, with over 20 years of experience in higher education. She has a strong background in leveraging technology to enhance student learning, including content creation, social media, inclusive design and the use of pedagogical AI agents. Amanda brings expertise in financial management, mentoring, social media and event organisation to the ASCILITE board. Her contribution to tertiary education has been recognised through accolades such as the Australian Teaching Excellence Award (AAUT) and a Medal in the Order of Australia (OAM). You can find Amanda’s work to support student learning on social media on Instagram and LinkedIn under Amanda Loves To Audit.
Pennie White
Deakin University
Pennie White is a passionate educator and researcher with leadership expertise in professional learning, innovative curriculum development, literacy, digital technology, and inclusive practice. Pennie has over twenty-five years’ experience in teaching, coaching, researching and leading innovative education initiatives in cross-sector partnerships involving schools, higher education, government, and industry. Her research expertise in the field of education includes professional learning, innovative pedagogy, digital technology and inclusion.
Pennie is also an active contributor to the Deakin University Accessibility Champions 2022-2024 who were recognised with Teaching and Learning Award from ADCET each year. In 2023, Pennie was admitted as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
In 2024 Pennie has been part of the newly formed Deakin Learning Analytics Champions, exploring and promoting the potential uses of the new dashboard with Unit Chairs.
