Disruption Through Connections
16 - 17 June 2026
Hosted at The University of Technology Sydney
We’re excited to announce the first HEDx conference for 2026 – Disruption Through Connections, hosted by University of Technology Sydney. Higher education stands at a crossroads. In 2026, the pace of change is accelerating and the sector faces a defining question: how do we create University 2.0 and learning that is truly fit for the future?
Join national and global leaders as we rethink, redesign and renew the promise we make to every future learner. This conference is a call to courage, collaboration and reinvention — and it starts with you. To remain globally relevant and socially responsible, universities must move beyond incremental change and embrace bold transformation. HEDx exists to help catalyse that change and support the evolution of higher education for good.
Disruption Through Connections brings together visionary leaders, educators, employers, innovators and—critically—students to co-design the future of learning. Student voices will shape every conversation, ensuring the solutions we create are not only for learners, but with them.
PROGRAM INFO + DATES
Mon 15 June 2026 (2-7pm) – Sydney Tech Central Tour
Join a curated walking tour through Sydney’s Tech Central precinct, from UTS to the University of Sydney, concluding with a reception. Discover a global innovation hub connecting industry with 160,000 students and 150+ research institutes, including CSIRO’s Data61, Techstars and the Australian Centre for Robotics.
Free Registration / Limited to 100 places
Tue 16 June (10am-6pm) + Wed 17 June 2026 (9am-6pm)
Our two day conference program featuring keynote talks, panel discussions, intimate conversations and interactive workshops hosted at UTS.Earlybird Tickets (25% discounted) available until 21 April 2026
Why attend?
- Hear from national and international thought leaders
- Participate in collaborative discussions and workshops
- Explore new models of learning, leadership and partnership
- Contribute to student-centred solutions for the future of higher education
- Co-design individual and collective, accountable actions to take away and work on
Keynote speaker presentations
Dan Greenstein – The Collaboration Paradox
KC Chua – University For Industry: A new model for connected future-ready learning
Pierpaolo Limone – Disrupting the Global Model
Scott Pulsipher – Innovating in Higher Education: Let The Future Drive!
Conference themes
Connecting people and systems
Tackling student poverty, well-being, and staff mental health demands a fundamental redesign of the academic experience — one that embeds genuine flexibility and puts learners at its centre. It also requires institutions to critically review their operating models, embracing emerging technologies and shared or merged back-office functions to redirect resources toward learning.
Connecting pathways to learning
To rebuild public trust, institutions must actively demonstrate their social value by co-designing regional economic futures, expanding lifelong learning pathways, and fostering cross-sector collaboration — including stronger alignment between VET, TAFE, and higher education. This means championing tertiary harmonisation, promoting shared data standards and capability records, and measuring worth through service to society rather than rankings.
Connecting with students and employers
In the AI age, top-down curriculum design must give way to a partnership model where educators act as mentors, co-creating relevant, practical learning experiences alongside students and industry. This means embedding work-integrated learning across all degrees and treating students as active partners in shaping their own education — “nothing about us, without us.”
Connecting with AI and technology
Online education leadership has evolved beyond the on-campus versus online debate, with the focus now on designing seamless, high-quality experiences across all modalities and dismantling the stigma around online learning. As AI disruption accelerates and omni-channel experiences become the norm, institutions must draw on global best practice from the US, UK, Italy and Singapore to innovate and keep pace with emerging disruptors.
Connecting with global partners
Navigating growth and change demands adopting urgency as a core operating principle — creating protected spaces for innovation, raising institutional risk tolerance, and dismantling legacy systems that no longer serve modern learners. Through global collaboration with HEDx’s partner’s AI-powered innovation sandboxes, leaders can share experiences, drive meaningful disruption, and secure the ambitious growth that lies ahead.
Conference Speakers
Prof Helen Bartlett
Vice-Chancellor | President
University of the Sunshine Coast
Professor KC Chua
President
Singapore Institute of Technology
Aaron Driver
Chief AI Officer
University of New England
A/Prof Tim Fawns
Education Academy
Monash
Keith Hawkes
VP, Asia Pacific
Ellucian
Jasmine Johnston
Student
Deakin University
Siyan Li
CEO
CinLearn Education
Professor Danny Liu
Educational Technologies
University of Sydney
Jennifer Lowe
Student
University of Newcastle
Heather Margrison
Student
Adelaide University
Professor Chris Moran
Vice-Chancellor
University of New England
Helen Partridge
DVC Education
University of Wollongong
Dr Alana Piper
Deputy Vice Chancellor, External Engagement & Partnerships
UTS
Prof Pascale Quester
Vice-Chancellor
Swinburne University of Technology
Grant Robertson
Vice-Chancellor
University of Otago
Professor Aleks Subic
VC and CEO
Torrens University Australia
Nils de Vries
Principal Solutions Architect
Amazon Web Services
Martin Betts
CEO
HEDx
Lou Conway
CEO
Country Universities Centre
Gazzal Duggal
Student Co-Convenor, Student Voice Australasia Steering Committee | International Bachelor of Nursing Student
University of Southern Queensland
Katie Ford
Industry Executive - HE
Microsoft
Prof Michael Henderson
Digital Futures and Higher Ed
Monash
Phil Laufenberg
Pro VC | Chief AI Officer
La Trobe University
Weihong Liang
President
International Students Representative Council of Australia
Prof Pierpaolo Limone
Rector
University of Pegaso
Professor Rose Luckin
AI Thought Leader
EDUCATE Ventures Research
Professor Lucy Marshall
DVC (Community and Leadership)
University of Sydney
Lea Patterson
President
Pilbara
Charlsey Pearce
CEO
MortarCAPS Data Standard
Madison Piper
Student
The University of Queensland
Prof Robynne Quiggin AO
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Leadership And Engagement)
UTS
Ben Roden-Cohen
Student
The University of Queensland
Professor Bill Shorten
Vice-Chancellor | President
University of Canberra
Professor Shân Wareing
Vice-Chancellor and CEO
Middlesex University
Dr Kirsten Brown
Design Innovation Manager
CSR
Nicola Cresp
Chief Global Growth Officer
OES
Jami Emerson
AI Specialist
UTS
Kayla Gates
Nurse | Researcher
UTS
Dr Maria Ishkova
Lecturer | Students as partners advisory board member
University of Sydney
Prof Suzanne Le Mire
PVC (Student Experience)
UQ
Professor Michelle Lincoln
DVC
University of Canberra
Prof Guy Littlefair
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
The University of Western Australia
Professor Kelly Matthews
Professor of Higher Education
UQ
A/Prof Jan McLean
Director, Teaching Learning and Curriculum Unit
UTS
Prof Dominique Parrish
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Torrens University Australia
Michael Perry
Regional Vice President
Salesforce
Alphia Possamai-Inesedy
Professor and PVC
Western Sydney University
Tim Rayner
Founder
Superesque
Prof Edward Santow
Director, Policy & Governance, Human Tech Institute
UTS
Gemma Smart
Student
University of Sydney
Prof Rorden Wilkinson
DVC Academic and Registrar
Macquarie University
Prof Simon Buckingham Shum
Connected Intelligence Centre
UTS
Jon Davey
CEO
OES
Prof Theo Farrell
Vice-Chancellor | President
La Trobe University
Dan Greenstein
Chief of Industry Transformation
Ellucian Technologies
Sam Jacob
CEO
Collarts
Roger Lee
GM Global Higher Education Marketing
Adobe
Bruce Lines
VP of University Integration
Adelaide University
Professor Max Lu
President and VC
University of Wollongong Australia
Professor Paul Mazzerole
Vice-Chancellor and President
University of Southern Queensland
Margot McNeill
CEO
Canberra Institue of Technology
Professor Andrew Parfitt
Vice-Chancellor
University of Technology Sydney
Noah Pickus
Head of Global Strategy and Partnerships
Duke University
Scott Pulsipher
President
Western Governors University
Prof Kylie Readman
DVC Academic and Vice President
UTS
Kerstin Schofer, Director
Global and Digital Education Innovation
University of Technology Sydney
Sasha Thackaberry-Voinovich
Founder and President
Newstate University
Prof George Williams
Vice-Chancellor | President
Western Sydney University
”“The event is really amazing. The energy in the room is really strong, the presentations have been fantastic, I've met wonderful people and I've come away with ten new ideas and new ways of looking at the issues in higher education."
Professor Ann KirshnerAdvisor at ASU and UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
”It's great to be a part of HEDx. It's a massive community of practice where we can share our ideas, share our thinking, we can be inspired by the thinking and ideas of others and hopefully some of our ideas can inspire our colleagues to think differently about how they are working and they are thinking"
Professor Simon BiggsVC, James Cook University
”Our economy needs a deeply skilled workforce that can only be delivered with strong pathways from TAFE to Universities and Universities to TAFE. AI and green technologies are shifting the economic foundations and consequently the challenges for all educational institutions. "
Sharan burrowChair, Bendigo Kangan Institute
Our Members
Our Partners
With the support of
