Program
The ANZSSA 2026 program brings together thought leadership, practical insights, and meaningful connection across the student services sector over three days.
The program will feature keynote presentations, plenary sessions, concurrent streams, panels, and interactive workshops, highlighting innovative practice, research informed approaches, and real world case studies from across Australia and New Zealand.
Program as of 12/11/2026
Please note program is subject to change.
| 8:00 am | REGISTRATION | Ballroom Foyer | |
| WORKSHOPS 9:00 am – 12:00 pm |
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| ROOM | Ballroom 1 | Ballroom 2 |
| 9:00 am – 10:30 am | WORKSHOP 1 | WORKSHOP 2 |
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Behavioural design for student services and success Why do students miss the email, skip the appointment, or never quite connect with the support available to them? This interactive workshop introduces behavioural design: understanding how people make decisions, the biases that shape them, and practical strategies for nudging better outcomes. In this interactive workshop you’ll pick a real behavioural challenge you’re facing, apply proven strategies from the Make It Toolkit, and leave with a concept ready to develop further and test. |
From Prompts to Practice: AI for Student Service Professionals A hands-on workshop introducing behavioural design and gamification. Use a behavioural design toolkit and canvas to map a service challenge, identify barriers where students disengage or reach crisis point, including where digital tools can support that work without replacing the human touch. |
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| 10:30 am – 11:00 am | MORNING TEA | Ballroom Foyer | |
| 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | WORKSHOP 1 cont. | WORKSHOP 2 cont. |
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Behavioural design for student services and success Why do students miss the email, skip the appointment, or never quite connect with the support available to them? This interactive workshop introduces behavioural design: understanding how people make decisions, the biases that shape them, and practical strategies for nudging better outcomes. In this interactive workshop you’ll pick a real behavioural challenge you’re facing, apply proven strategies from the Make It Toolkit, and leave with a concept ready to develop further and test. |
From Prompts to Practice: AI for Student Service Professionals A hands-on workshop introducing behavioural design and gamification. Use a behavioural design toolkit and canvas to map a service challenge, identify barriers where students disengage or reach crisis point, including where digital tools can support that work without replacing the human touch. |
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| 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | LUNCH | Ballroom Foyer | |
| WORKSHOPS 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm |
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| ROOM | Ballroom 1 | Ballroom 2 |
| 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | WORKSHOP 3 (repeat) | WORKSHOP 4 (repeat) |
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Behavioural design for student services and success Why do students miss the email, skip the appointment, or never quite connect with the support available to them? This interactive workshop introduces behavioural design: understanding how people make decisions, the biases that shape them, and practical strategies for nudging better outcomes. In this interactive workshop you’ll pick a real behavioural challenge you’re facing, apply proven strategies from the Make It Toolkit, and leave with a concept ready to develop further and test. |
From Prompts to Practice: AI for Student Service Professionals A hands-on workshop introducing behavioural design and gamification. Use a behavioural design toolkit and canvas to map a service challenge, identify barriers where students disengage or reach crisis point, including where digital tools can support that work without replacing the human touch. |
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| 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm | AFTERNOON TEA | Ballroom Foyer | |
| 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm | WORKSHOP 3 cont. | WORKSHOP 4 cont. |
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Behavioural design for student services and success Why do students miss the email, skip the appointment, or never quite connect with the support available to them? This interactive workshop introduces behavioural design: understanding how people make decisions, the biases that shape them, and practical strategies for nudging better outcomes. In this interactive workshop you’ll pick a real behavioural challenge you’re facing, apply proven strategies from the Make It Toolkit, and leave with a concept ready to develop further and test. |
From Prompts to Practice: AI for Student Service Professionals A hands-on workshop introducing behavioural design and gamification. Use a behavioural design toolkit and canvas to map a service challenge, identify barriers where students disengage or reach crisis point, including where digital tools can support that work without replacing the human touch. |
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| SESSION 1 | OPENING PLENARY 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm |
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| ROOM: | Grand Ballroom | |
| 4:30 pm – 4:45 pm |
Official opening –Dene Cecci |
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| 4:45 pm – 5:00 pm | Welcome to Country | |
| 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm |
Opening Keynote: Connecting Theme, Place and Purpose
Tiriki Onus- Pro Vice Chancellor (Indigenous) The University of Melbourne
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| 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm | WELCOME RECEPTION | Ballroom Foyer | |
| 7:30 pm | DOSSANZ DINNER (Invite only) | |
♦ Sparks session
| 8:00 am | REGISTRATION | Ballroom Foyer | |||||
| SESSION 2 | PLENARY 9:00 am – 10:30 am |
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| ROOM: | Grand Ballroom | |||||
| 9:00 am – 9:05 am | Conference MC- Dene Cecci -Welcome | |||||
| 9:05 am – 9:15 am |
Welcome to Country Wurundjeri Elder Jason Tweedie and Wurundjeri Man John Terrick Didge player |
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| 9:15 am – 9:30 am |
President’s Welcome Dene Cecci |
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| 9:30 am – 10:30 am |
Keynote: Beyond Accommodation: Neuroinclusion as a Driver of Innovation
Jim Hogan, Activist, Innovator, & Neuroinclusion Pioneer
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| 10:30 am – 11:00 am | MORNING TEA | Ballroom Foyer | |||||
| SESSION 3 | BREAKOUTS 11:00 am – 12:30 pm |
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| CHAIR/S: | Tim Brabazon | Matt Elsum | Megan Pozzi | Vandana Minhas-Taneja | Sally Stott | Ariane Cummins |
| ROOM | Ballroom | Latrobe | Delacombe | Stradbroke | Jolimont | Huntingfield |
| Student welfare and wellbeing | Inclusive and accessible student success | Orientation, transition and belonging | Ethical use of digital tools | Student welfare and wellbeing | Student safety, respectful relationships / gender-based violence prevention and response, and social cohesion | |
| 11:00 am – 11:15 am | Embedding a Whole of Health Continuum – Deakin Student Health and Wellbeing Framework | Supporting Students While Assuring Learning: A Collaborative Approach to Complex Student Circumstances | Chisholm Elevate Program: Embedding Student Success in Course Delivery through Strengths-Based Model | ♦ Co-designing an ethical digital tool to support university students’ learning and wellbeing | Group EMDR for university students: early findings and opportunities for enhancing access and reach | Technology for Scale, Dialogue for Change: The Rights, Relationships and Respect Suite |
| Sue Riches, Deakin University | Rui Webb, University of Tasmania | Kerry Dent, Chisholm Institute | Dr Radhika Tanksale, University of Queensland | Alison (Ally) Hughes, The University of Melbourne | Dr Friederike Gadow, Australian National University | |
| 11:15 am – 11:20 am | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A |
| 11:30 am – 11:45 am | More Talk, More Walk: A Whole-of-University Approach to Student and Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing |
Building ACU Cares: A Proactive, Data-Driven Care Ecosystem for Student Success and Belonging | Technology Where It Helps, Belonging Where It Matters: Personalising the Student Arrival Experience at Scale | ♦ From Disclosure to Support: Piloting AI-Assisted Student Risk Assessment | ♦ Trigger, Emotion, Need: Piloting an Evidence-Based Emotion Regulation App for Universities | Enhancing Impact in Prevention Communication: A Student-Informed Evolution of the Safe and Respected Campaign |
| Anna Farmer, CQUniversity | Dr Belinda Scerri, Dr John Burdick and Ms. Sarah Rose, ACU | Jordan Brushfield, Deakin Residential Services | Fiona Brady, University of Southern Queensland | Camille Semmel, Ahfy | Sahana Sai Narain, La Trobe University | |
| 11:45 am – 11:50 am | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A |
| 12:00 pm – 12:15 pm | From feedback to flourishing: utilising data to create a targeted, collaborative, and uni-wide approach to student wellbeing | ♦ Rethinking Coaching – an Indigenous reframing | Beyond orientation: Scaling belonging through strengths-based onboarding | Beyond the Chatbot: Lessons from an AI Assistant in Student Services | From burnout to breakthrough: reinventing our counselling intake model to protect our people | ♦ Prevention communications meet experiential activation at the ‘Consent Check-In’: a unique collaboration between Australia’s largest independent student-led organisation and gender based violence prevention at the University of Sydney |
| Sarah Boomer, Murdoch University | Jamie Hooper | Dr Alice Betteridge and Associate Professor Tanya Weiler, Adelaide University | Marsha Navolnyeva, University of Melbourne | Jessica McCallum, University of Tasmania | Elizabeth Kuo-Gollan, University of Sydney and Sara Ozturk,USU | |
| 12:15 pm – 12:20 pm | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q & A | Q&A | Q&A |
| 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm | LUNCH | Ballroom Foyer | |||||
| 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm | ANZSSA AGM | Delacombe Room | |||||
| SESSION 4 | PLENARY 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm |
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| ROOM: | GRAND BALLROOM | |||||
| 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm |
The Next Chapter for Higher Education
Dr Stephen Duckett AM, Health Economist, Policy Advisor and, Australian Tertiary Education Commission
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| 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm | AFTERNOON TEA | Foyer | |||||
| SESSION 5 | BREAKOUTS 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm |
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| CHAIR/S: | Jodie Zada | Fiona McAuliffe | Linda Adnyana | Natalie Oostergo | Sarah Rose | Tom Schmidt |
| ROOM | Ballroom | Latrobe | Delacombe | Stradbroke | Jolimont | Huntingfield |
| Student welfare and wellbeing | Inclusive and accessible student success | Orientation, transition and belonging | Ethical use of digital tools | Orientation, transition and belonging | Student safety, respectful relationships / gender-based violence prevention and response, and social cohesion | |
| 3:00 pm – 3:15 pm | Building capability: A whole university approach to supporting student mental health and wellbeing | From Accommodation to Inclusion: Reimagining Disability Support Through a University-Wide Review of Academic Adjustments | International Student Connect: Designing belonging through a tailored international student journey | Before AI Enters the Counselling Room: Privacy, Ethics, and Practice Lessons from Two Universities’ Journeys with AI Clinical Documentation | ♦ Future-Proofing Orientation: What Comes Next for Transition and Belonging | ♦ A co-designed approach to preventing online harm and addressing the effects of the ‘manosphere’ |
| Emma Boyne, University of Western Australia and Bec Natalizio headspace National |
Dr Gabriela Di Perna, PhD, The University of Western Australia | Fiona Greig, Deakin University | Bianca Ciavarella, Monash University | |||
| 3:15 pm – 3:20 pm | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | ||
| 3:30 pm – 3:45 pm | Providing Accessible Primary Care to University Students. An Organisational Ethnography. | Enabling Inclusive and Accessible Student Success through a Wraparound Coaching Model | From digital engagement to building belonging: Connecting international students through Discover Adelaide and Global Mates | ♦ Leading with Compassion: A Guide to Disclosures for Students, Leaders & Staff | ||
| Iris Q Gu, Monash University | Shreejana Niraula and Joel Walker, Western Sydney University The College | Hannah Bijl and Dr Andrés Villamizar, Adelaide University | Jeremy Weinstock, La Trobe University & Laura Mulherin, RMIT University | Annika Clayton | ||
| 3:45 pm – 3:50 pm | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | |
| 4:00 pm – 4:15 pm | Expanding Access to Student Health Care: A Scalable Nurse Practitioner Model in University Settings | Literally turning the tables: A Human Centred Reverse Career Fair for Students with Disability and Equity Backgrounds * | Human-Centred Wellbeing in the Digital Age: A University Colleges and Residential Life Counselling Initiative at The University of Melbourne | From Awareness to Action: The Role of Empowered Self Defence in Higher Education | ||
| Sue Riches, Deakin University | Cameron Yorke, RMIT University | Wenjia Hu, The University of Melbourne | Liz Cavalli and Rachel Liong-Rasi,ANZSSA Orientation and Transition Community of Practice | Jace Cannon-Brookes & Dr Sophie Reid, Birchtree Foundation | ||
| 4:15 pm – 4:20 pm | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | |
| 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm | CONFERENCE DINNER | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Olympic Room | |||||
♦ Sparks session
| 8:00 am | REGISTRATION | Ballroom Foyer | |||||
| SESSION 6 | PLENARY 8:45 am – 10:00 am |
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| ROOM: | Grand Ballroom | |||||
| 8:45 am – 8:55 am | Welcome -Dene Cecci | |||||
| 8:55 am – 9:50 am |
Student panel: Technology where it helps, humanity where it matters Hear directly from four student leaders on the conference theme, and how they see technology help and hinder the student experience, and the uniquely human moments that they value most for their communities. Praneel Gupta- The University of Auckland. Chaired by Vandana Minhas-Taneja (University of Auckland) and Tim Brabazon (University of Melbourne) |
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| 9:50 am – 10:00 am | JANZSSA presentation Caroline Rueckert |
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| 10:00 am – 10:30 am | MORNING TEA | Ballroom Foyer | |||||
| SESSION 7 | BREAKOUTS 10:30 am – 12:00 pm |
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| CHAIR/S: | Russell Campbell | Ella Alba | Linda Adnyana | Sarah Rose | Caroline Rueckert | Emma Boyne |
| ROOM | Jolimont | Latrobe | Stradbroke | Delacombe | Huntingfield | Ballroom |
| Student welfare and wellbeing | Inclusive and accessible student success | Orientation, transition and belonging | Ethical use of digital tools/ Student welfare and wellbeing | Student leadership, partnership and voice | Student welfare and wellbeing | |
| 10:30 am – 10:45 am |
♦ Bringing Wellbeing Support Closer: Improving Access for Students at our City North campus Through a Targeted Wellbeing Hub
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♦ Creating Belonging for Neurodivergent Students Through Group-Based Peer Connection | Connection Doesn’t Just Happen: Designing Belonging in an Online School | DASH to Success: Combining Learning Analytics and Proactive Advising to Support Whole of University Student Success | From Feedback to Partnership: Co-designing a University-Wide Student Voice Framework to Strengthen Student Success | The Living Room: A Relational, Low-Barrier Model for Student Wellbeing and Belonging |
| Megan McCabe, RMIT University | Dr Patrick McLaren and Mio Ihashi, Monash University | Amrita Moss, FisherONE Online Education | Natalie Oostergo, University of Southern Queensland | Colin Hewat, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington | Dr Kylie Austin and Dawn Reid, Edith Cowan University | |
| 10:45 am – 10:50 am | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A |
| 11:00 am – 11:15 am | ♦ Strengthening Belonging as a Protective Factor for Student Wellbeing | ♦ Focus Hive: Building Belonging, Accountability and Academic Success Through Structured Study Communities |
♦ Belonging in their pocket: Using social media to extend the Wellbeing Hub beyond its four physical walls
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Navigating ADHD Together – Key learnings and insights supporting ADHD students | ♦ Beyond consultation: embedding student voice in digital transformation | A Recipe for Student Success: Addressing food insecurity, financial need, and social isolation via Campus Canteens |
| Chelsea Deckert, Adelaide University | Rachel Fegan and Jacq Ang, Swinburne University of Technology | Grace Johnstone, University of Waikato | Dr Bridget Moller, The University of Melbourne | Trish Behan and Tim Geaney, The University of Sydney | ||
| 11:15 am – 11:20 am | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | |
| 11:30 am – 11:45 am | ♦ What do we do with our Chaplains – Awkward add on, or underutilised resource – a case study | Breaking Barriers, Building Connections: Partnership and Outreach Strategies that Support Student Retention at Unitec’s School of Trades and Services | ♦ Finding friends, building confidence and belonging: insights from three years of the Narrm Scholars Pre-Orientation Camp | Development and discussion of the Navigating Autistic Student Life group | Planting Seeds for Success: An Integrated University Food Project | |
| Tom Schmidt, Griffith University | Helena Finau-Hakalo and Nya Pitovao, Unitec Institute of Technology | Matt Elsum, Inoka Amarasekara, Matthew Franklin and Martina Casolini, The University of Melbourne | Dr Bridget Moller, The University of Melbourne | Krista Maglen, Australian Catholic University | Tim Brabazon, The University of Melbourne, Mx Nat Batger and Mr Ramel Kunda | |
| 11:45 am – 11:50 am | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q & A | Q&A |
| 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | LUNCH & POSTER PRESENTATIONS | Ballroom Foyer | |||||
| SESSION 8 | BREAKOUTS 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm |
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| CHAIR/S: | Jodie Zada | Belinda Scerri | Megan Pozzi | Sally Stott | Vandana Minhas-Taneja | Tim Brabazon |
| ROOM | Ballroom | Latrobe | Delacombe | Jolimont | Huntingfield | Stradbroke |
| Student welfare and wellbeing | Inclusive and accessible student success | Orientation, transition and belonging | Student welfare and wellbeing | Student leadership, partnership and voice | Student safety, respectful relationships / gender-based violence prevention and response, and social cohesion | |
| 1:00 pm – 1:15 pm | Sharper Minds online: Effects of self-paced mental health modules on university students’ mental health literacy, peer support, and self-care behaviours |
Connecting the Student Journey: A Relationship-Centred Model for Equity Student Success
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From Diploma to PhD: What students say about support at university | Bridging silos: a collaborative model between professional services, academics, and students to address vaping use among tertiary students | ♦ Redesign through codesign – a lived experience approach to ADHD support | Behind Closed Doors: Responding to Gender Based Violence in Student Accommodation |
| Dr Rong Han, The University of Queensland | Dr Rena Bokosmaty, University of Sydney | Dr Cameron Lydster, Bond University | Susan Kotwas, Monash University | Hayley Keane, Lizeth Rodriguez and Scarlet Gregory, Deakin University | Matthew Marshall and Alison Logan, University of Tasmania | |
| 1:15 pm – 1:20 pm | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A |
| 1:30 pm – 1:45 pm | From Uncertainty to Action: Developing an Evidence-Informed Framework for Academic Responses to Student Distress | Australian Health Promoting Universities Network: Embedding Health Promotion Across Higher Education | Strengths in the first six weeks: evidence from Australia, New Zealand and beyond | Online mental health training: providing accessible mental health support for self and others | Designing for Impact: The Evolution of the Kitea Impact Programme | Understanding Student Safety Through Lived Experience: An International Student’s Fieldwork Perspective |
| Paula Diab and Rhiannon Grime, Western Sydney University | Chelsea Deckert, Adelaide University | Anne Lingafelter, Gallup | Dr Bridget Moller, The University of Melbourne | Andrew Tui and Rozina Khan, Victoria University of Wellington | Laura Rouhan and Nhi Vo, Federation University | |
| 1:45 pm – 1:50 pm | Q&A | Q&A | Q & A | Q&A | Q&A | Q&A |
| 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm | AFTERNOON TEA | Ballroom Foyer | |||||
| SESSION 9 | CLOSING PLENARY 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm |
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| ROOM: | Grand Ballroom | |||||
| 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm |
From insight to action: personalising the student experience at scale
Students increasingly expect their university experience to recognise their individual needs, circumstances and aspirations. The opportunity for universities is significant: institutions with mature personalisation capabilities report student outcomes up to four times better, particularly in wellbeing, engagement and perceived value. As personalisation matures, the gap between leading institutions and those still taking a fragmented approach is widening. Moving from isolated initiatives to institution-wide impact requires the capability to recognise need earlier, reduce friction and coordinate support across the student journey. Drawing on KPMG’s global research and perspectives from Australian and New Zealand universities, Cameron Fuller and Naren Sanghrajka will explore where personalisation can make the greatest difference to student success, the moments that matter most, and the leadership, operating model, data and technology foundations needed to translate ambition into action at scale. KPMG – Cameron Fuller – Partner, National Lead, Student Digital Transformation and Naren Sanghrajka – Director, Student Success Lead, Education
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| 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Conference close | |||||
| Poster Number | Poster Title | Name |
| 1 | From Targeted Support to Institutional Inclusion: Developing a Culturally Responsive Framework for International Student Success | Sawsan Freij |
| 2 | Embedding relational support for Swinburne University Vocational Education and Training (VET) apprentices in increasingly data-driven and digital environments | Sarah Wootten, Bassel Saab and Geoff Little |
| 3 | Start Strong: Building the Foundations for Student Success | Mariana Berak, Tracy Hall, Kathryn Wallace and Serena Seah |
| 4 | Caring for Carers of Tomorrow: Can ACT foster resilience in VET Care Economy Students? | Vidya Yeleswarapu and Sakshi Kaushal |
| 5 | Turning Up the Warmth: A Student Energy Hardship Support Initiative That Keeps on Giving | Paige Jarman |
| 6 | From Connection to Completion: The Educational Benefits of Indigenous Cultural Engagement | Bianca-Jaye Mazzuchelli & Nikki Magdwick |
| 7 | Goodnight, Poor Sleep – A brief peer led sleep intervention | Emma Boyne |
| 8 | Student Peer-to-Peer Mentoring: An Essential Strategy for Student Success and Retention in the Tertiary Sector. | Helena Finau-Hakalo |
| 9 | Out of practice: Rehearsing Peer Mental Health Skills with LLMs | Julie Pedersen |
| 10 | Embedding Safety and Support: The Monash Respect Adviser Network | Tess Wilkens |
| 11 | Starting Out: Putting it all together – a whole-of-university framework for transition, belonging, and student success | Fiona Greig |
| 12 | “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” A good news story from a small scale project piloted to support under-represented students in STEM | Malcolm Thomas |
| 13 | Students Funding Students: Coordinated Cost-of-Living Support through a Digital Referral Model | Belinda Scerri |
| 14 | Visual Literacy: An Interdisciplinary Assessment Design to Enhance Student Engagement | John Angeles |
| 15 | Developing evidence-based academic skills resources to support students’ independent learning with GenAI | Alice Robinson |
| 16 | Technology extends, creativity connects: Co-creating the campus experience with students. | Molly Braddon |
| 17 | Using Video Submissions to Authenticate Personal Attributes and Student Voice when Recruiting Student Wellbeing Ambassadors | Kylie Blascetta |
| 18 | Technology Where It Helps, Humanity Where It Matters: Using Admissions Insights to Create More Human Student Support | Kooshna Gupta |
| 19 | Implementing an ADHD Diagnostic and Management Pathway in a University Health Centre: A Model for Improving Student Wellbeing and Academic Succes | Joanne Knight |
Copyright 2026
