Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia
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* HERDSA Connect: International students have come to our universities for decades. Is it time Australia returned the visit?
* Are you curious about where to start with SoTL? – Introducing the HERDSA SOTL Modules
* Nunya business: The costs of AI disclosure in unequal systems (online event)
* CRADLE Seminar Series: 'Designing self-assessment students can actually use'
* Expressions of Interest Invited: JANZSSA Editor-in-Chief
* Seeking Trainers, Educators & Facilitators: Monash Initiative for Rapid Research into Antisemitism (MIRRA)
* Call for submissions to a study looking at curriculum design processes in the contemporary Australian higher education context
* New articles in Higher Education Research and Development
To submit an announcement for this list complete the online form at http://herdsa.org.au/herdsa-notices
A full list of HERDSA Notices is online at http://www.herdsa.org.au/latest-news
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HERDSA Connect: International students have come to our universities for decades. Is it time Australia returned the visit?
Pearl Subban & Hongzhi Zhang, 26 August 2026
Pearl & Hongzhi discuss the importance of international students to Australian universities, while posing the question "What if Australian universities stopped expecting international students to do all the travelling?"
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Are you curious about where to start with SoTL? – Introducing the HERDSA SOTL Modules
Are you curious about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)? Do you want to know more about how SoTL can benefit you and your teaching practice? Great! We have some exciting news for HERDSA Members. As part of your HERDSA membership you now have access to 10 amazing SoTL Modules.
Module 1 – Helps identify the foundational principles of reflective practice and evidence-based teaching in the context of SoTL.
Many of us share the goal of being evidence-based in our personal and professional decisions. This approach leads to informed choices, better results, and greater credibility. But how can we apply this approach to university teaching? The answer is the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL).
In the Module 1 of the newly developed HERDSA SoTL Module you will be invited to take the first step in growing your Scholarship of Teaching and Learning skills! This journey will help you enhance your teaching, develop professionally, and connect with a community dedicated to improving higher education. We’ll introduce you to SoTL—what it is, why it matters, and how it can enhance your teaching practice. We’ll explore key concepts, different types of SoTL inquiries, and real-world examples of how educators use SoTL to make meaningful changes. You’ll also meet a few personas—lecturers in science, marketing, and anatomy, a learning designer, and a curriculum team from the arts. Their stories might feel familiar as they navigate their own SoTL journeys.
By the end of this module, you’ll have a strong foundation in SoTL and practical strategies you can apply right away. You’ll not only enhance your teaching but also contribute to a passionate community that wants to make higher education more effective and inclusive for all learners.
Looking forward to you joining us to dive in and explore SoTL together!
• The updated HERDSA SoTL Modules are free and a significant benefit for HERDSA financial members.
• For current HERDSA members - please access the redeveloped HERDSA SoTL Modules by logging into the MY DASHBOARD link on the HERDSA website.
Further information: Non HERDSA members please enquire at https://forms.office.com/r/qtb6nfxqAd
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Nunya business: The costs of AI disclosure in unequal systems (online event)
Thursday September 3rd, 4pm - 5pm AEST
Transparency and disclosure are often treated as unquestionable principles for responsible and ethical generative AI use. But what happens when disclosure itself carries a cost?
In this webinar, Kelly Webb-Davies challenges the assumption that people should declare their use of GenAI in writing.
Rather than asking simply whether AI use should be disclosed, participants will be asked to consider a different question: what conditions would need to exist before disclosure could genuinely be considered equitable?
Registration and more information here: https://CostOfDisclosure.eventbrite.com.au/?aff=HERDSA
Further information: https://CostOfDisclosure.eventbrite.com.au/?aff=HERDSA
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CRADLE Seminar Series: 'Designing self-assessment students can actually use'
Wednesday 16 September – 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm (AEST)
Self-assessment becomes formative when it is designed into what students do next. Register now for CRADLE's seminar on 16 September to hear A/Prof. Juan Fraile (Universidad Francisco de Vitoria) explore how formative self-assessment can be designed as a practical route into students’ self-regulated learning.
Formative self-assessment can be understood as a set of carefully designed learning situations in which students are helped to monitor their understanding, compare their responses against criteria or examples, interpret feedback, identify gaps, and make better decisions about what to do next. In this sense, self-assessment is closely connected to feedback, evaluative judgement and self-regulated learning. Arguing that effective feedback is not simply information transmitted by the teacher, but a process that depends on what learners do with that information, this seminar will shift attention from the amount of feedback teachers provide to the quality of the learning actions that feedback makes possible. The session will present practical examples of classroom activities that can be implemented with or without digital tools, with an emphasis on practical designs that teachers can adapt to their own contexts.
To learn more about how self-assessment, feedback and retrieval practices can be designed to help students become better judges of their own learning, join us at 2.00 pm (AEST) in person at Deakin Downtown or online.
Further information: https://cradle-seminar-self-assessment-students-can-use.eventbrite.com.a...
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Expressions of Interest Invited: JANZSSA Editor-in-Chief
Wednesday 23 September 2026
The Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association (JANZSSA) is inviting Expressions of Interest for the position of JANZSSA Editor-in-Chief.
JANZSSA is seeking an experienced and motivated leader with a strong understanding of student services and student success to lead the next phase of the journal.
Expressions of Interest are open until Wednesday 23 September 2026.
Further information: https://janzssa.scholasticahq.com/post/4089-expressions-of-interest-invi...
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Seeking Trainers, Educators & Facilitators: Monash Initiative for Rapid Research into Antisemitism (MIRRA)
The Monash Initiative for Rapid Research into Antisemitism (MIRRA) at Monash University, is an initiative supported by the Australian Government Department of Education to strengthen institutional responses to antisemitism across the higher education sector.
We're currently inviting expressions of interest from experienced facilitators, educators, trainers and learning professionals to join the MIRRA Approved Trainer Network. This is a paid opportunity to deliver evidence-informed workshops that help Australian universities prevent and respond to antisemitism while fostering more inclusive, respectful learning environments.
Given HERDSA's extensive community of professionals involved in teaching, learning and development across the higher and tertiary education sector, I thought this opportunity may be particularly relevant to members of your network.
We believe it may appeal to academics and professional staff with experience in facilitation, academic development, history, professional learning, adult education, educational leadership, workshop delivery or supporting learning and teaching within tertiary settings.
Successful applicants will complete the MIRRA Train the Trainer program before joining a national network of approved trainers. Trainers are engaged on a flexible, paid basis, with opportunities to deliver workshops according to their availability, allowing the role to complement existing professional commitments.
Thank you for considering our request, and for the important work HERDSA does in supporting professional learning, collaboration and the advancement of teaching and learning across the tertiary education community.
Kind regards,
Julianna
MIRRA Program Team
julianna.dubinsky@monash.edu
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Call for submissions to a study looking at curriculum design processes in the contemporary Australian higher education context
A study looking at curriculum design processes in the contemporary Australian higher education context is underway. Our goal is to better understand (and eventually improve) the process of designing curriculum. We’d be grateful for your participation and support in sharing the invitation to participate with colleagues and peers in your institution or broader networks.
We’re keen to hear from people in all kinds of roles, at both university and non-university providers: learning designers, librarians, alumni engagement officers, folks in marketing and student recruitment, program admins, technical staff, leaders and (of course) teaching academics.
You can access the survey online at https://griffithuw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bq0tjMEHK3xzAmG or feel free to reach out directly for opportunities to contribute via group or individual interviews.
Further information: Julie Robert, j.robert@griffith.edu.au or Peter Kandlbinder, Peter.Kandlbinder@uts.edu.au
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New articles in Higher Education Research and Development
Navigating academic identity: an autoethnographic study of culturally and linguistically diverse teacher educators in Australia, Urmee Chakma, Thi Le Tran & Lilly K. Yazdanpanah, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2717357
Community voices in university-community engagement in Africa, Pfuurai Chimbunde & Byron Brown, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2717355
From tool to trait: AI-use disclosure elevates university students’ evaluations of teachers’ intellectual humility, Heng Li, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2716795
From aspiration to disillusionment: understanding the reconfiguration of Chinese doctoral students’ academic aspirations, Lulu Liu, Xiang Li, Hao Dong & Yifan Wang, https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2716759
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In the spirit of reconciliation HERDSA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australasia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.