The Division of Teaching and Learning (formerly Educational Innovation) is a central team within the DVC (Education and Students) Portfolio at the University of Sydney which collaborates with the University’s staff, affiliates, and networks to support and develop great teaching as the foundation of transformative education.
The team works to champion new approaches in education, and to provide holistic, creative, and proactive support for all aspects of teaching at the University, through:
- leadership to inspire change and innovation, including strategic vision, governance, learning space development, and seeking new opportunities to put innovation into action
- pedagogical guidance, assistance and support, including educational technology, systems, policy, programs, quality assurance, co-creating learning materials and resources with faculty/school partners and students, and designing for diversity
- building relationships, fostering networks, and nurturing communities of practice, including consultation and collaboration with academic and professional staff, faculty/school partners, cross-institutionally, and with students
- professional learning and development for pedagogical practice, including accredited award programs, continuing professional development, and help with award applications
- recognition and awards, including fellowship of Advance HE, education grants, and showcasing innovative practice through events and the Teaching@Sydney online resource
- making available enabling technologies in partnership with ICT, including enterprise educational technologies such as Canvas, SRES, Mentimeter, H5P, Cogniti, and more
The team loves working with collaborators to imagine innovative ways to enhance teaching and learning, and to co-create the practical steps to implement good ideas.
Please look over our programs, services, and events and get in touch!
Our team
The Division of Teaching and Learning team is an enthusiastic and caring team of academics, professional staff, and integrated practitioners, all with diverse skills, experience, and expertise in the field of education.
William Ashraf
Academic Director Student Digital
Professor Ashraf provides leadership for educational support technology, strategy development, delivery, leadership and governance oversight for digital and online learning, including non-award courses and microcredentials. He is also the DVC Education portfolio lead for Digital Sydney.
Aaron Baird
Educational Designer
Aaron has a background in philosophy. He is enthusiastic about working with teaching teams to identify and remove barriers to student engagement in learning.
Kimberly Baskin
Educational Design Manager
Kimberly co-directs the Sydney Educational Fellowship Program, enabling staff to receive recognition for their achievements in higher education. She has a background in education management, academic development and leading strategic education projects.
Pamela Brañas
Educational Designer
Pam is interested in learning design professional communities. She aims to advance collaborative innovation in education through inclusive teaching solutions.
Adam Bridgeman
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)
Adam leads the University’s support for enhancing the learning experience for students through the development of collaborative and interactive teaching styles and the technologies that support and enable them.
Nikki Briones
Educational Design Manager
Nikki has a background in learning and development and specialises in piloting technology initiatives and leading diverse teams to create engaging online courses, including MOOCs and micro-credentials.
Zoe Britton-Harper
Educational Design Support Officer
Andrew Carfax-Foster
Senior Administration Officer
Andrew leverages an eclectic background in the liminal space between visual communication, architectural design, and educational technology to craft digitally authentic learning experiences.
Alex Chapman
Educational Design Manager
Alex enjoys working with colleagues and students to explore how technology can make learning more engaging and inclusive. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience leading digital initiatives to create supportive, connected, and innovative educational environments.
Samantha Clarke
Associate Professor (Education Focussed)
Sam trained as a geologist and now focuses on building educators’ capacity and improving learning experiences through enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as fostering connections through educational technologies.
Kria Coleman
Educational Designer
Kria has a background in Social Science, Education with three decades of teaching experience in a variety of educational settings. She is passionate about innovative approaches to classroom pedagogies, assessment design, and collaborative learning.
Ella Collins-White
Educational Designer
Ella works on designing for diversity and is an award-winning teacher, receiving commendations for cultivating a practice of inclusive and collaborative learning. She draws on these experiences and expertise in rhetoric, writing and communication to inform her design strategies.
Becky Denham
Educational Design Manager
Becky has background in English language teaching, teacher training and international development. She loves working with teachers and students as partners to improve the learning experience for all students.
Gosia Dossegger
Educational Designer
Gosia is experienced in delivering complex end-to-end online learning solutions. She has a collaborative nature and is passionate about creating authentic and impactful designs that help people learn.
Jen Fletcher
Senior Lecturer
Jessica Frawley
Associate Professor of Academic Development and Leadership
Jessica’s teaching and research focus on enhancing educational practice, curriculum innovation, and technology integration in higher education.
Tim Harland
Learning Media Producer
Tim enjoys the challenge of creating high-quality educational media and loves collaborating with a diverse range of professional and academic staff from across the university.
Jennie Hill
Senior Administrative Officer
Jennie has a wide-ranging background from equine science to fine art and has now turned her attention to all things admin and enjoys providing support to the team.
Kirsty Holmes
Educational Designer
Kirsty has a background in journalism with a keen interest in co-designing educational media for blended learning environments and meaningful use of technology in education.
Leon Huang
Educational Designer
Leon specialises in Learning Management System administration and likes to problem solve, design and develop engaging learning experiences with technologies.
Sarah Humphreys
Educational Design Manager
Sarah is a passionate advocate for inclusive education and loves to explore alternative ways for diverse learners to reach the same end goal. She applies a Universal Design for Learning mindset to everything that she does.
Jon Hunter
Manager, Educational Media
Jon is passionate about film making, electronic art, music and audio production. He enjoys collaborating with staff and exploring ways to enhance the media we use to support teaching.
Eszter Kalman
Associate Professor (Education Focussed)
Eszter has a background in neuroscientist and focuses on building Communities of Practice for educators, enabling technology-enhanced learning, and growing fellows through the AdvanceHE program.
Sharon Kitching
Educational Designer
Sharon is interested in how people understand the interface between learning and technologies.
Marianna Koulias
Senior Manager
With a background in learning space and online course design and development, Marianna leads educational technology delivery and support for the team.
Karolina Kulczynska-Le Breton
Manager, Post Bachelor Programs and Partnerships
Karolina has a background ranging from languages and linguistics to higher education and business management. As part of the EI team, she manages the suite of PG Online programs in collaboration with an external partner, 2U.
Monique Laura
Educational Designer
Monique has a background as a French teacher and support academics to deliver better learning experiences for all students through learning technologies.
Danny Liu
Professor of Educational Technologies
Danny is a molecular biologist by training, programmer by night, researcher and academic developer by day, and educator at heart.
Anna Nguyen
Educational Designer
Anna has a background in Information Technology, Education, and Law. She is interested in creating educational content, policy compliance and catering to diversity in the generative AI era.
Brodie Nielsen
Senior Program Officer
Brodie is passionate about all things students, whether it be equity or incorporating student voice into teaching and learning. He currently manages the Division of Teaching and Learning’s student partners and provides project support to our Transition program.
Samantha Poulos
Educational Designer
Drawing on their expertise in feminist literary theory and experience as a tertiary educator, Samantha works on the Designing for Diversity project and aims to develop creative, inclusive, and safe spaces for all.
Rosemary Saul
Educational Designer
Rosie has a background in trade publishing editing. She is an advocate for universal accessibility and inclusivity in both online and offline learning spaces.
Roman Tantiongco
Educational Designer
Roman has a background in librarianship. He is passionate about information/digital literacy skills and learning space design.
Alix Thoeming
Educational Design Manager
Alix, a former theoretical archaeologist, is managing editor of Teaching@Sydney and a co-director of the Sydney Educational Fellowship Program.
Ruth Weeks
Senior Manager
Ruth has a background in English language teaching and teacher training and now leads the learning design team.
alessandra wollaston
Educational Designer
alessandra is a creative thinker who loves to collaborate on ideas and action for transformative education. alessandra’s background includes art direction/design, facilitation, NFP governance, and teaching.
Mary Wright
Professor of Educational Scholarship
Professor Mary Wright focuses on the Horizon Educator programme and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Her full bio can be found here.
Pippa Yeoman
Senior Lecturer (Learning Spaces)
Pippa works at the intersection of instructional and architectural design, shaping Sydney’s educational infrastructure—from initial design to effective use and management—empowering teachers to deliver transformational learning experiences for all students.