Participants from 17 countries attending 2nd International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Conference 2013

Miri – 3 December 2013 – 150 participants from 17 countries are expected to attend the 2nd International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Conference 2013 organised by Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) at Parkcity Everly Hotel Miri from 9 to 10 December 2013.

The participants include those from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Brunei besides Malaysia.

Themed ‘Engaging Innovative Pedagogical Practice and Research in Higher Education’, the conference will elaborate on innovative pedagogical practice and research in higher education, transnational education and internationalisation, blending authenticity with online learning, assessment and feedback, work-integrated learning and ‘classrooms without walls’.

Among those presenting at the conference are opening speaker Professor Jill Downie, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Education of Curtin University; and keynote speakers Professor Ronald Barnett from the Institute of Education, University of London, and Professor Betty Leask, Executive Director of Learning and Teaching at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.

Professor Downie, who will speak on transforming learning at Curtin, was appointed to the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Education in July 2012. She held the position of Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Health Sciences from 2007 to 2012.

She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is an established national and international researcher with numerous grants, publications and conference presentations, including keynote addresses, to her name.

In her role current role, Professor Downie is responsible for Transforming Learning @ Curtin strategy, the quality assurance processes of teaching and learning across the university: Curtin Teaching and Learning, which includes Learning Design, Learning Engagement, Assessment and Quality Learning, Uniready, Curtin Online, Open Universities Australia, course quality, awards and grants; Curtin Learning Institute; Student Central; Student Support Services, which includes the Curtin Stadium, Counselling, Health Services and the Learning Centre; Ethics Equity and Social Justice; the Library; and the Centre for Aboriginal Studies.

Meanwhile, Professor Barnett will present on the topic ‘Imagining the University – Towards an ecological higher education’. Professor Barnett, an Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, is a well-known figure on the conceptual and theoretical understanding of the university and higher education. He has published over 200 papers and 21 books, several of which are award-winning and translated into other languages.

Presenting a keynote paper entitled ‘Internationalisation of the Curriculum,’ Professor Leask has researched and published extensively on teaching, learning and internationalisation in higher education. She has led and participated in five nationally funded research projects on teaching and learning.

The conference will also feature Professor Khairi Obaid Al-Zubaidi from University Technology Malaysia (UTM), International Campus. Professor Khairi is the current editor of the Arab World English journal.

For more event information, visit the conference website at www.curtin.edu.my/tl2013/. Alternatively, one can call the Conference Secretary at +6 085-443 939 or e-mail secretariat.hetl@curtin.edu.my.

Professor Jill Downie, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Education of Curtin University.

Professor Ronald Barnett from the Institute of Education, University of London.

Professor Betty Leask, Executive Director of Learning and Teaching at La Trobe University, Melbourne.