Professor Mark Brown

Director, National Institute for Digital Learning, Dublin City University

Professor Mark Brown is Ireland’s first Chair in Digital Learning and Director of the National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL).

Mark has over 30-years experience of working in Higher Education and has played key leadership roles in the development, implementation and evaluation of several major university-wide digital learning and teaching initiatives. Before taking up his current position, Mark was Director of the National Centre for Teaching and Learning at Massey University, New Zealand. His is a recipient of a National Award for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching and remains a member of the New Zealand Academy of Tertiary Teaching Excellence. He is an EDEN Fellow and was recognised in 2017 by the Commonwealth of Learning (CoL) as a world leader in Open, Online and Distance Learning. In 2019, Mark was Chair of the ICDE World Conference on Online Learning, which DCU hosted in Dublin. Mark is an active researcher, has a strong publication record and contributes to a number of leading international bodies working in the area.

Since arriving at Dublin City University in 2014, Mark has led the development of DCU Connected, the original conception of Loop, and the implementation of the University of Sanctuary scholarship programme for online students. He currently co-leads the global strategic partnership with FutureLearn, which has evolved to include development of credit-bearing micro-credentials. In 2020, Mark served on the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group developing a common European Framework for Micro-credentials. In 2021, he led a team undertaking a major state-of-the-art literature for the European Commission on the growth of micro-credentials and currently maintains the Micro-credential Observatory.

Professor Sally Kift PFHEA

Sally Kift, who was first in her family to go to university, has been a trusted and visible presence in Australian higher education for over 30 years. She has worked in academic roles from lecturer to Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic (DVCA), and she has negotiated high level outcomes for her discipline, as a Law Discipline Scholar, for students-in-transition, through her seminal development of Transition Pedagogy, and for the tertiary sector, as lead DVCA negotiator on the landmark agreement between Universities Australia and Professions Australia for a Joint Statement of Principles for Professional Accreditation.

Sally has delivered almost 150 keynotes, and more than 250 other invited presentations and workshops, on topics of contemporary national and international relevance to higher education. She is an acclaimed educator, a national Teaching Award winner, a national Program Award winner, an Australian Senior Teaching Fellow, and a cogent advocate for social inclusion and student success. In 2017, Sally received a Career Achievement Award from the federal Minister for Education for her sustained contribution to Australian higher education.

Sally brings to her practice authenticity, credibility, deep sector knowledge and networks, thought leadership, and keen insight into what works for the contemporary student experience. Her value-add as a strategist and change agent, by virtue of her extensive pedagogical research and scholarship, has led to tangible, whole-of-institution, enhancements, in which students are placed at the heart of the institution’s educational ecosystem.