July 2016

Following an international search handled by De Sailly Search, recognised expert and researcher in online and digital learning, Professor Kevin Bell, will join Western Sydney University as its new Pro Vice-Chancellor (Digital Futures). Professor Bell comes to Australia from the United States, where he was Executive Director for Curriculum Development and Deployment at Northeastern University in Boston – a pioneering institution when it comes to online and experiential learning. Professor Bell will take up his new appointment with Western Sydney University on 11 July. His role will facilitate and lead innovation in learning and teaching, support digital technology integration across…

Professor David McAlpine, Macquarie University’s Director of Hearing Research at the Australian Hearing Hub, has been announced as a 2016 Australian Laureate Fellow by the Australian Research Council (ARC). The Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme gives outstanding research leaders the opportunity to tackle some of the most urgent and complex research issues facing Australia and the world. Professor McAlpine will receive $2,468,738 towards research exploring how a sense of space is generated by the auditory brain. “I’m interested in how the brain represents the ‘auditory scene’; the complex wash of sounds that arrives at our two ears, and from which we…

Online and digital learning expert Professor Kevin Bell is set to join Western Sydney University as its new pro vice-chancellor (digital futures). Professor Bell was most recently executive director for curriculum development and deployment at Northeastern University in Boston. He was a senior fellow with the Lowell Institute in Boston, where he led a federally-funded multi-million dollar project that investigated how to engage students, particularly first generation and under represented students, in online STEM education. He will join WSU on July 11. News via The Australian 5 July 2016 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/consulting-the-consultants/news-story/eb368e43ae6278fdbc689ba5a5c79739