Keynote Speakers

Professor James Arvanitakis (PhD) the Pro Vice Chancellor (Engagement) at Western Sydney University. He is also a lecturer in the Humanities and a member of Western Sydney University’s Institute for Cultural and Society, having recently spent 12 months at the University of Wyoming as the Milward L Simpson Fulbright Fellow. In 2015, James founded The Academy at Western Sydney University – an Honours College – that received an Australian Financial Review Higher Education Excellence Award (2016). In 2016, he established Western’s Graduate Research School and was the Pro Vice Chancellor (Research and Graduate Studies) 2018-20. James is internationally recognised for his innovative teaching, receiving the Prime Minister’s University Teacher of the Year Award (2012) and names an Eminent Researcher by the Australia India Education Council (2015). James is an Honorary Fellow at the Australian India Institute since 2016. He has over 100 publications and his latest book is Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in India and Australia (2019). He is a regular media commentator often seen on the Drum and News24.

Prof. Betty Leask is an Emeritus Professor in the Internationalisation of Higher Education at La Trobe University Australia, a Research Fellow at the Centre for International Higher Education (CIHE) at Boston College US and an Honorary Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Italy. She is also Editor-in Chief of the Journal of Studies in International Education, the leading journal in the field. Betty is well known internationally as a researcher and thought leader on internationalisation of the curriculum and higher education. Her work bridges theory and practice in unique ways. Betty developed the first research-based framework for internationalization of the curriculum in 2010 as part of a large Australian Government funded Fellowship. The framework is used by universities across the world to inform their approach to internationalization of the curriculum, campus and community. Betty has a broad range of experience in universities over more than 20 years, most recently as PVC Teaching & Learning and Acting DVC Academic at La Trobe University. She has been a Senior Australian Teaching Fellow since 2010. Her research interests include internationalisation of the curriculum, teaching and learning, the internationalisation of higher education for society and institutional leadership of internationalization. In 2015 Betty was awarded the IEAA Excellence Award for Distinguished Contribution to International Education and in 2016 the European Association for International Education (EAIE) Tony Adams Award for Excellence in Research. Email: leaskb@bc.edu b.leask@latrobe.edu.au Website: www.ioc.global Twitter: @BettyLeask Linked in: www.linkedin.com/in/betty-leask

Rob Lawrence is the founder of Prospect Research and Marketing. His desire to find creative outcomes and informed intelligence heralded the start of a research reputation which is now known around the world. His understanding of education market dynamics, demand and drivers has been developed over three decades and is one of the foremost authorities on all-things international education globally. His work and ongoing commitment to the sector were acknowledged at the 2014 AIEC Conference where Rob was awarded the highly prestigious IEAA Award for Distinguished Contribution to International Education. He is a passionate advocate of international education and an all-round good guy.

Dirk Mulder is the Principal of MulderPR, a strategy and marketing communications consultancy that aims to support organisations with their needs in these areas. Prior to Dirk setting up this consultancy he has had extensive experience in International Education and Service Management. He has extensive experience within the University sector holding Director positions in international education at the University of South Australia, Curtin University and Murdoch University. His views are regularly published in the media and can been seen in Campus Morning Mail and other education focused news outlets.