Official programme

Phil Baty is a leading international authority on university performance and strategy, with more than 22 years of experience in global higher education, including a decade as editor of the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings and its derivative analyses. He is an award-winning journalist, a sought-after speaker and commentator, and the creator of the THE World Academic Summits.

John Ross joined Times Higher Education in February 2018. He was previously higher education and science correspondent with The Australian newspaper. He has twice won the National Press Club’s higher education journalist of the year award, most recently in 2018, and has been shortlisted five times. He holds a communications degree from what is now University of Technology Sydney.

Prior to her current role, Catriona Jackson served as Universities Australia’s deputy chief executive officer and gave evidence to parliamentary inquiries, briefed key decision makers and lobbied the government. She is a former CEO of Science & Technology Australia and has served as director of communication and external liaison in the office of the vice-chancellor at Australian National University, and as a senior journalist and ministerial adviser. She chairs the advisory board for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale Biophotonics, and co-founded the National Research Alliance within the Australian Academy of Science.

Professor Klomp joined CQUniversity Australia in 2019 from the University of Canberra where he was deputy vice-chancellor (academic) and, before that, dean of the Faculty of Science at Charles Sturt University. He has a particular interest in student engagement in learning, excellence in teaching, and research with impact. He has a teaching excellence award, has been nominated for awards in the promotion of science, and was a science correspondent for ABC radio for more than a decade. He is also recognised internationally for his research in applied ecology and environmental science.

Andrew Norton has worked as a policy adviser to the vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne and as a research fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies. He has written widely on higher education, and in the late 1990s was higher education adviser to then federal education minister, David Kemp. With Dr Kemp, he conducted a federal government review of the higher education demand-driven funding system, with its report published in April 2014.

Professor Ellis’ research interests focus on e-learning, assessment feedback, management and analytics, and academic integrity. She has a particular research interest in contract cheating. She is a principal of the Higher Education Academy, which awarded her a National Teaching Fellowship in 2010.

James Thorley established the regional business for Turnitin in 2016, and has since expanded it into new regions in APAC. With more than 14 years’ experience in the education technology sector, he is an expert in developing and implementing strategies that enable technology to meet the needs of higher education institutions. Prior to establishing Turnitin’s Direct APAC business, he was director of international sales for Asia, Africa and Middle East at Turnitin. He leads and motivates multinational teams to implement strategies, maximise opportunities and exceed targets.

Zainab Malik joined THE in June 2018 as head of consultancy, providing advisory services to support higher education institutions’ strategic development. Before taking up her current role, Ms Malik served as research director at the British Council’s Education Intelligence, advising institutions and government entities on global higher education.

Tania Rhodes‐Taylor joined the University of Sydney in February 2017 as vice‐principal (external relations). In addition to coordinating the university’s engagement with industry, she has direct responsibility for the Marketing and Communications Professional Service Unit, the university’s Museums and Cultural Engagement team, and government relations. She previously served as director of marketing and communications at Queen Mary University of London.

Marco Schultheis’ portfolio of responsibilities includes strategic planning, strategic projects portfolio management, market and institutional research and business intelligence and analysis. Dr Schultheis began his career with an electronic funds transfer design and manufacturing firm. Now with more than 20 years of experience in the field of strategic planning and management, he has worked in a variety of roles at Curtin University, including as a sessional academic teaching in the fields of market research and sports marketing. He has also served as director of marketing and alumni, as a member of the University’s Council and as non-executive director on the board of YMCA Perth.

Peter Varghese AO was secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia before taking on his current post. Other senior appointments have included High Commissioner to India and to Malaysia, director-general of the Office of National Assessments, and senior adviser to the Prime Minister of Australia. He wrote the India Economic Strategy to 2035 report, commissioned by the Australian Prime Minister. He is on the international governing board of the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and the governing board of Nalanda University in India.

Phil Baty is a leading international authority on university performance and strategy, with more than 22 years of experience in global higher education, including a decade as editor of the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings and its derivative analyses. He is an award-winning journalist, a sought-after speaker and commentator, and the creator of the THE World Academic Summits.

Duncan Ivison is a professor of political philosophy and deputy vice-chancellor (research) at the University of Sydney. Prior to his current role, he served as the institution’s dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and head of the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, having previously held appointments at the universities of Toronto and York. He is also a fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities.

Tony Peacock is the chief executive officer of the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Association. The CRC Programme is the Australian flagship programme bringing together industry, researchers and academia to work together on applied research. Prior to his current role, he was chief executive officer of two CRCs and one of Australia’s peak Rural Research and Development Corporations. He is a Eureka prizewinner for science communication and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Professor Plewa is interim director of the ECIC, professor of marketing and stakeholder engagement and a research member of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing at the University of Adelaide. She combines her academic and industry experience to specialise in the interaction and value co-creation across organisations and individuals, with an emphasis on university-business collaboration. Her research in the context of university-business engagement has led to appointments on the South Australian Science Council (2015-18) and the University Industry Innovation Network Australia Chapter as inaugural co-chair (2017 ongoing), among others.

Luke Sheehy took up his current role in June 2019. Previously, he was a senior policy adviser to the minister for tertiary education and shadow minister for education and training. He has held a number of other executive roles in the tertiary education and business community, including education innovation and strategy consultant for the Asian Development Bank, a member of the board of directors at the National Institute of Circus Arts, and director of collaboration and partnerships and adviser on government relations at Swinburne University.

Phil Baty is a leading international authority on university performance and strategy, with more than 22 years of experience in global higher education, including a decade as editor of the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings and its derivative analyses. He is an award-winning journalist, a sought-after speaker and commentator, and the creator of the THE World Academic Summits.

Phil Baty is a leading international authority on university performance and strategy, with more than 22 years of experience in global higher education, including a decade as editor of the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings and its derivative analyses. He is an award-winning journalist, a sought-after speaker and commentator, and the creator of the THE World Academic Summits.