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2025 SoLT Conference Program

Honoured Guests

Honoured Guests Honoured Guests
TAFE Queensland Chief Executive Officer 

John has over 30 years’ experience in the Vocational Training Sector. As TAFE Queensland’s Chief Executive Officer, John leads the TAFE Queensland Senior Executive Team and reports directly to the TAFE Queensland Board. Prior to his current CEO role, John was the General Manager of TAFE Queensland SkillsTech, which is Australia’s largest trade and technical specialist training entity. 

TAFE Queensland Board Member

Ms Brigg is an executive leader and independent board member with extensive experience in change management, advocacy and business optimisation. She brings deep expertise on the education sector broadly, and international and online education in particular.

Important information

Getting there

The 2025 SoLT Conference is being held at the TAFE Queensland South Bank campus. Registration is located at 66 on Ernest, Level 2, C Block, TAFE Queensland South Bank (download campus map)

There is limited parking available, if possible, we suggest you catch public transport or park at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

 

What to bring

Don't forget to bring a notepad and pen  if you want to jot down your key learnings from the day. For those wishing to attend the workshops, we also recommend bringing your own laptop and headphones to ensure optimal engagement and participation. 

 

Catering 

The conference is fully catered so all you need to bring along is a reusable water bottle and to keep you hydrated. Morning Tea and Lunch will be held at 66 on Ernest, Level 2, C Block, TAFE Queensland South Bank (download campus map). Afternoon Tea will be held during the afternoon poster session in the Collaboration Space, Level 4, C Block TAFE Queensland. 

Room: C Block Auditorium 


9am: Acknowledgment of Country and Welcome

Master of Ceromonies Dr. Sharon Schembri, Dean, Higher Education, TAFE Queensland

 

9.10am: Official Opening

Presented by John Tucker, CEO TAFE Queensland

 

Room: C Block Auditorium

 

Opening Keynote presentation“ The Curious Educator: Engaging with the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching”

 

Presented by: Dr. Nicole Reinke, University of the Sunshine Coast

The Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SoLT) plays a powerful role in how we think about and ‘do’ education–evidenced by over 8,000 references in scholarly literature over the past four years. But what exactly is SoLT, and why should it be important to you as an educator? This keynote presentation will use storytelling to explore these questions to demonstrate SoLT’s relevance to teaching and share how it can guide reflective practice. SoLT is about curiosity - about you, your students, your teaching, and the ways we all learn. By embracing curiosity, you can foster meaningful change in your classes and contribute to the broader dialogue that supports evidence-based and reflective teaching. SoLT invites all to improve our own practice, and also to share our insights that support and elevate the broader academic community.

Morning Tracks and Workshops

Room: C4306

Track: Empowering tertiary education harmonisation

Track chair: Dr. Helen Naug

Ashley Howard Kerr and Nijel Ratonel
“Harmonising tertiary education through XR and AI: An innovative approach in the Bachelor of Psychological Science”


Craig Poole, Li Na and Patcharawan Ubonloet
“Experience, challenges and opportunities in harmonising Australia's tertiary education system” 

Francisca de Kock
“A tough start: Enrolled nurses' perceptions of clinical placement in residential aged care homes”

Room: C4307

Track: Embracing scholarship and research initiatives

Track chair: Dr. Sharon Schembri  

Dr. Taana Rose
“From reflection to autoethnography”

Dr. Andy Pham, Dr. Ben Allitt, Peter Hubber and Joy Yeardsley
“The use of Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMTPG) to explore teacher change in implementing a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach”

Dr. Jo D’Hage 
“Drawing on mindfulness, focus and task persistence in an age of digital distractions”

Room: C4305

Workshop: Beyond traditional learning: using Notebook in vocational higher education setting

Dr. Shah Neyamat Ullah
This workshop focuses on hands-on training in the use of Generative AI (GenAI) technologies within Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Higher Education (HE) contexts. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of NotebookLM, an AI tool powered by Google’s Gemini model, and explore its diverse multimodal applications. The workshop includes practical, step-by-step examples that demonstrate how to enhance assessment design, generate mind maps for complex topics, and create document briefs, timelines, and presentation slides.

Room: Collaboration Space

Workshop: Leveling up education design with AI

Dominic Crisci 

What if you could reclaim your time and revolutionise your course design with a powerful new partner? If so, this workshop is your launchpad. Join in for a dynamic, deep dive into the practical application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education. This workshop is not another lecture on the theory of AI; it's a hands-on session where you'll move from being a casual user to a savvy architect of AI-driven educational tools. You will learn to expertly prompt LLMs to streamline your workflow and generate high-quality, authentic learning materials—from entire work programs and scaffolded tutorials to robust assessments and rubrics, all the way to bespoke and differentiated resources.

Afternoon Tracks and Workshops

Room: C4306

Track: Embracing educational justice, integrity and inclusivity

Track chair: Dr. Christian Kopp 

Associate Professor Thanh Pham
“Strategies to enhance learning engagement of learners from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds in VET”

Dr. Anitza Geneve
"Bridging the gender gap in technology-related programs: Barriers, agency and strategies for equity” 

Dr. Indunil Jayatilake
“Integrating sustainability into civil engineering curriculum”

Room: C4307

Track: Embracing teaching and learning innovations with AI

Track chair: Dr. Jarrod Trevathan

Ola Pak and Alaina Jones
“Generative AI in the creative process: A literature review”

Dr. Shah Neyamat Ullah et al.
“Generative Artificial Intelligence podcasts: Delivering educational content creatively”

Dr. Jarrod Trevathan and Rob Bruce
Integrating AI agents across a curriculum: Lessons from application systems

Room: C4305

Workshop: Prompting AI for game design

Dr. Ken Newman

In this workshop, we are going to try using AI models to develop a game around the theme of “Australian Colonial Settlement”. We’ll work through the traditional game development phases, research and ideation, developing a game design document, concept art, developing game assets. We’ll look at platforms, ChatGPT, Midjourney, Meshy, and Meta Horizons. Along the way we’ll see the kind of prompts that yield the best results and where the strengths and limitations currently lie in using AI in Game Development. Let’s see if we get something out of this workshop that is worth taking through to publication.

Room: Collaboration Space

Workshop: From tacit knowledge to teaching tool: Assessment rubric design to facilitate learning

Dr. Rachel Campbell and
Dr. Scott Bridges 
This hands-on, practical workshop invites educators from vocational and higher education to bridge the gap between what we know and what we assess. Together, we’ll explore how to transform tacit knowledge into clear, structured rubrics that support student learning and empower confident teaching. Whether aligning with industry standards in VET or scaffolding academic inquiry in HE, well-designed rubrics make expectations visible, promote fairness and consistency, and enable rich, constructive feedback. Participants will leave with tools, templates, and tangible ideas ready for implementation in their own classrooms.

Poster Sessions and Official Close

Vote for your favorite poster now! Voting for your favorite poster will close at 3pm on the 3rd of July. 

 

Poster 1: Reframing creativity as a tool for resilience

By Corinne Trang 

Poster 2: Using Generative AI to design out student use of Generative AI in reflective assessments 

By Tom James 

Poster 3: Reviving the Brisbane River

By Emmanuel Riviere   

Poster 4: Beyond the 10% law: genetic engineering, IMTA & plant based diets

By Ryan Avsec

Poster 5: Urban sprawl

By Nick Fielding  

Poster 6: Impacts off livestock farming on the environment

By Juan Palacio Acosta 

Poster 7: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

By Bruna Vieira 

Poster 8: The effects Of deforestation

By Ratu Atirieli Tuivanuavou 

Poster 9: The impact of fast fashion

By Dayana Angelica Nino Gongora 

Poster 10: Bushfire’s effects on our ecosystem

By Nkubito Micho Innocent 

Poster 11: Smart food waste management: RFID-based engineering solutions for Queensland

By Ethan Song 

Poster 12: Climate change impact on coral bleaching

By Sayed Husain Alalawi 

Poster 13: Urban heat island effect and sustainable solutions  

By Shaneel Sharma 

Poster 14: Construction & demolition waste

By Luisa Fernanda Diaz Duarte 

Poster 15: Crumbling foundation: The devastating impact of acid rain on infrastructures

By Jiaur Rahman 

Poster 16: Quenching thirst: The role of desalination in combating water scarcity: pure solutions for a thirsty world

Gwyneth Adrielle Abuyen Palacio 

Poster 17: Humanity and its environmental impact

By Ibinabo Humphrey 

Poster 18: Permafrost thaw: The unseen threat to our climate

By Muhammad Ahmed 

Poster 19: Urban sprawl

By Christine Kotange 

Poster 20: Water scarcity: We are running out

By Andreas Nilsson 

Poster 21: Urban heat island

By Damia Borges Galli 

Poster 22: Blue carbon ecosystems: nature-based solutions for climate action

By Lorena Tovar Suarez 

Poster 23: Microplastic pollution: Systems to mitigate the impact on the environment

By Natalia Ibanez Hernandez 

Poster 24: Agriculture in the everchanging sub-Saharan Africa

By Saaliha Durrani 

Poster 25: Sustainable homes

By Cynthia Alves 

Room: Collaboration Room, C Block Level 4

Closing Keynote Presentation“SoTL: Finding your place and leaving your legacy”

Presented by: Associate Professor Alice Brown, University of Southern Queensland 

Are you passionate about your teaching, or refining your teaching practice? Do you have a strong record of excellent teaching but have wondered how to ‘record’, ‘share’ or ‘extend your teaching legacy’?  If so, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (commonly referred to as SoTL) should sit comfortably in your wheelhouse. This presentation briefly revisits interpretations of SoTL, proceeded by a strong rationale for the value of SoTL. Brown invites the audience to reflect on their current work, successes, innovations, wonderings, or perhaps even challenges with regards to their teaching and student learning, before asking the audience to consider ‘their place’, ‘how they might leave their legacy’, or a potential focus for engaging in SoTL. This presentation celebrates the wealth of experience and excellence that vocation and higher education educators bring, and the insights that educators can share from the engagement and findings from SoTL projects. Brown challenges traditional interpretations of SoTL, and in doing so opens the scope and potential of SoTL for all where the focus is on collective knowledge and capacity, as well as research that can contribute to strengthening teaching and student learning contextually across the sector.

Room: Collaboration Room, C Block Level 4

Announced by: Nicole Brigg, TAFE Queensland Board Member

  • Presentation of Best Paper
  • Presentation of Best Poster
  • Official Close of conference