Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology, UNSW

Dean, President’s Chair in Education, National Institute of Education, Singapore

Co-Director, Opening Worlds Curriculum

Former Minister of Education, Portugal

Director of Teaching, Athena Learning Trust, England

CEO, Learning First

Deputy Principal, Ballarat & Clarendon College

CEO, AITSL

Secretary, NSW Dept of Education

CEO, AERO

Principal Research Fellow, Learning First

CEO, ACARA

Exec. Director, School Curriculum & Standards, WA

Principal Research Fellow, Learning First

Deputy Secretary, Victorian Dept of Education

CEO, Catholic Schools NSW

CEO, Melbourne Catholic Schools

CEO, Victorian Curriculum & Assessment Authority

Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology, UNSW

John Sweller is an Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of New South Wales. His research is associated with cognitive load theory, an instructional design theory based on our knowledge of how humans learn, think and solve problems. The theory is a contributor to both research and debate on issues associated with human cognition, its links to evolution by natural selection, and the instructional consequences that follow. Based on hundreds of randomized, controlled studies carried out by many investigators from around the globe, the theory has generated a large range of novel instructional procedures.

Dean, President’s Chair in Education, National Institute of Education, Singapore

Professor Low Ee Ling holds the President’s Chair Professor in Education and serves as Dean, Academic and Faculty Affairs at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She is an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at the National University of Singapore and was recognised as a Distinguished FASS alumni in 2025. From 1 December 2025, she was appointed as Honorary Professor at University College London (UCL) and most recently was conferred the Honorary Membership by the Japan Association of College English Teachers (JACET). She is widely recognised for her leadership and scholarship in teacher education, applied linguistics, and educational policy. She is also a governing board member of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO).

Co-Director, Opening Worlds Curriculum

Steve Mastin worked for 20 years in state schools across England, as a head of history and then as a senior curriculum leader across primary and secondary schools.  He is now the co-director of Opening Worlds, a knowledge-rich humanities curriculum taught in hundreds of primary schools in England. Steve has trained teachers for the University of Cambridge and worked with international Ministries of Education in Europe, Asia and the Pacific. He has been a senior examiner for both ancient and modern history and has advised the UK Department for Education on curriculum reform. 

Former Minister of Education, Portugal

Professor Nuno Crato is Research Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, in CEMAPRE/ISEG, University of Lisbon, president of Iniciativa Educação, an organisation dedicated to fostering student education, member of the French government Scientific Council for National Education (CSEN), and visiting senior research scientist at the European Commission Joint Research Centre. Nuno has published extensively on econometrics and statistics and worked on education policy analysis. He was President of the Portuguese Mathematical Society (2004–2010) and director of the International Institute of Forecasters (2016–2020). He has been a vocal voice in educational debates, publishing critical articles and books on education, advocating a structured curriculum, external evaluation of students, and a better content-knowledge training of teachers. From 2011 to 2015, he was the Education and Science Minister of Portugal. Raised mandatory schooling from nine to 12 grade years, introduced English as mandatory subject starting at third grade, reduced the dropout rate from c. 25% to 13.7%, improved retention rates, and Portuguese students achieved the best results ever in international surveys, namely PISA and TIMSS. For his work, he has received prizes from the European Mathematical Society (2003) and the European Union (2007). He was awarded the presidential medals of Commander (2008) and Great-Cross (2015) of Prince Henry, and Great-Cross (2022) of Public Instruction orders.

Director of Teaching, Athena Learning Trust, England

Pritesh Raichura is Director of Teaching & Pastoral at Athena Learning Trust, a group of 6 secondary & 3 primary schools in South West England, UK. Having previously worked as an Assistant Principal, and Head of Science at some of the highest performing schools in the country, Pritesh has a strong track record which includes 100% of his own Year 11s securing grade 9-9s (the highest grade possible) in science GCSE and his department achieving a nationally leading progress 8 score of +2.55. Pritesh’s teaching featured in the online four-part documentary, Great Teaching, Unpacked. He also delivers training to schools around England and has spoken at various national conferences including researchED and CogSciSci.

CEO, Learning First

Ben is the founding CEO of Learning First and has advised governments in Australia, North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia on systemic approaches to education reform, including curriculum reform and implementation, school improvement, school and system leadership, professional development and training, and data, evaluation and accountability systems.  Ben has published numerous reports that have received international attention and changed policy in a number of systems. This includes international work on curriculum development and curriculum reform, teacher development and  professional development, school leadership and leadership development, and teacher training.  Over the years Ben has served on numerous expert and advisory groups for the Australian government, OECD expert advisory groups for major programs such as PISA and TALIS, international education reviews, State government advisory groups, various organisations and education networks around the world, and for various foundations and not-for-profits. Before founding Learning First, Ben was Director of the School Education Program at the Grattan Institute, Australia’s leading independent policy think tank. He also spent five years at the OECD, where he conducted international research on education policy, system and school improvement, and teacher training and development.  

Deputy Principal, Ballarat & Clarendon SC

Dr Greg Ashman is Deputy Principal at Ballarat Clarendon College. Greg is originally from the UK where he taught in government schools for thirteen years before moving to Ballarat, Australia with his young family. After securing a job at Ballarat Clarendon College, Greg fed a growing fascination with education research by writing a popular blog—now the Filling the Pail Substack newsletter—and several books. He completed a PhD in Instructional Design in 2022 under the supervision of Slava Kalyuga and John Sweller. Greg is the Deputy Principal of Clarendon.

Principal Research Fellow, Learning First

Heather Fearn is a Principal Research Fellow  at Learning First, leading work on curriculum reform at the system and school-level. She was previously Director of Curriculum and Assessment for Ark, a network of English schools serving pupils in areas of high disadvantage. She previously worked for England’s school inspection body, Ofsted, as a Senior His Majesty’s Inspector leading the ‘Curriculum Unit’. This unit was a team of subject specialist inspectors responsible for state of the nation subject reports. She contributed to the development of the most recent national Education Inspection Framework and Initial Teacher Education inspection framework which were developed to provide a stronger inspection focus on curriculum quality. Heather was also responsible for inspector training on curriculum.

Principal Research Fellow, Learning First

Nina Hood recently joined Learning First as a Principal Research Fellow and leads work on teacher and leader training and development. She joins Learning First form The Teachers’ Institute, a charitable trust she co-founded offering school-based teacher education and learning in Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2017, Nina co-founded The Education Hub, a not-for-profit that has the sole mission of bridging the gap between research and classroom practice in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Nina has a wealth of experience as a secondary teacher, University academic, and the founder of two education not-for-profits. She brings particular expertise in knowledge translation, and the development and delivery of resources and professional learning for teachers as well as a track-record in establishing and leading successful educational organisations.

CEO, AITSL

Tim Bullard is CEO of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). Between 2004-2016, Tim held various policy roles for the Department of Premier and Cabinet. Tim joined the Department of Education in 2016 and was appointed as Secretary in 2018. In 2022 Tim was appointed as Secretary of the Department for Education, Children and Young People. Tim oversaw the bringing together of child safety, youth justice, and education into a values-based organisation that provides all children and young people with a bright life and positive future, through being known safe, well and learning. Tim graduated from the University of Tasmania in 1994 with an Arts/Law (Hons) degree. He initially worked as a lawyer in the Office of the Solicitor-General, before transitioning into policy whilst working in the UK.

Secretary, NSW Dept of Education

Murat Dizdar PSM is the Secretary of the NSW Department of Education, which delivers quality education and training services for the people of New South Wales. This includes the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector, government and non-government schools, and the Vocational Education and Training sector. He was awarded the Australia Day Public Service Medal in 2016, an Australian Council of Educational Leaders (ACEL) NSW Fellowship in 2019, an ACEL National Fellowship in 2020 and the Nanga Mai Department of Education and NSW AECG Inc Partnership Award 2021.

CEO, ACARA

Stehen Gniel is CEO of ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority). Stephen  joined ACARA in November 2023, bringing to ACARA a wealth of knowledge, expertise and experience in education having held senior leadership roles in both Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory in early childhood, schools and post school portfolios with both policy and operational priorities. Stephen is also the immediate past national president and chair of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders, a position he held for six years between 2016 and 2022.

CEO, AERO

Dr Jenny Donovan is the inaugural CEO of the Australian Education Research Organisation. Prior to this role, she established and led the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE) as Executive Director for 8 years. Dr Donovan began her career as a high school teacher in Sydney’s western suburbs. She has worked in a number of education roles in operational and policy areas, including some years as Deputy Director of a not-for-profit education assessment agency at the University of New South Wales. In 2023, she was a member of Professor Mark Scott’s Teacher Education Expert Panel which delivered recommendations for reform to Initial Teacher Education that were accepted by Australia’s Education Ministers. As a result, an evidence-based core curriculum will be implemented in all initial teacher education. In 2024, Jenny was appointed as an Adjunct Associate Professor at La Trobe University’s School of Education. Jenny holds a Bachelor of Arts with a Diploma of Education from Macquarie University, an MA (Hons) from UNSW and a PhD in history from the University of Sydney.

Exec. Director, School Curriculum & Standards, WA

Juanita Healy is Executive Director, School Curriculum and Standards and is responsible for leading the development of curriculum, assessment and standards to support student achievement across Western Australia, including offshore international schools approved to implement the Western Australian Curriculum. Formerly a teacher, she has extensive Kindergarten to Year 12 leadership experience across regional and metropolitan schools, and executive roles in the Department of Education, Western Australia and the School Curriculum and Standards Authority. Juanita holds a Master of Education, serves on the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority Board, and chairs the Australasian Curriculum, Assessment and Certification Authorities’ vocational education and training committee.

Deputy Secretary, VIC Dept of Education

Dr David Howes is the Deputy Secretary, Schools and Regional Services. Immediately prior to this, he was Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). David began his career as a teacher in the western suburbs of Melbourne, where he worked for ten years as a teacher and in a range of school leadership roles. He has since held a number of positions, both in Victoria and overseas, including working as an educational adviser to the Royal Government of Cambodia between 2003 and 2006. David holds a BA (Hons), Dip Ed, MEd and PhD degrees from the University of Melbourne and an Executive Masters of Public Administration from Monash University.

CEO, Catholic Schools NSW

Dallas McInerney is the Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Schools NSW Ltd, the System Authority for the State’s 550 Catholic Schools. He is a cabinet appointee to the Board of the NSW Education Standards Authority, which oversees statewide school assessment and curriculum policy. Dallas previously held senior roles in the private sector and in Government. He is an alumnus of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Young Leaders Programme with delegations through Asia; prior to this, he interned for H.E Kofi Annan, Secretary – General of the United Nations in New York. He holds Masters degrees from the Universities of Sydney and Oxford.

CEO, VCAA

Andrew Smith is CEO of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Andrew is an accomplished strategic leader with proven track record in delivering large-scale reforming complex multi-stakeholder contexts.  Andrew’s leadership is marked by his ability to engender trust, build capability and pursue opportunities to innovate. Prior to joining the VCAA as CEO in June 2025. Andrew has been CEO of Education Services Australia, Vice President (Engagement) at Swinburne University of Technology and a teacher in Victorian government schools.

CEO, Melbourne Catholic Schools

Dr Edward Simons was appointed Executive Director of Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) in March 2023. MACS is one of the most prominent Catholic education systems in the world and is responsible for the governance and operation of more than 300 schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne, employing almost 20,000 staff, who educate 120,000 students.  Edward’s deep understanding, commitment and passion for education has been built over 25 years working in the sector both in the United Kingdom and Australia, and includes roles as a classroom teacher, principal and various senior and executive roles in education and government. Edward has a Doctorate of Education and Masters in Educational Management and is also a graduate of Harvard Business School.