HEDx was founded in 2020 as a central point for higher education innovation and leadership and has established a position as a leading global thought-leader and primary content source for innovation, culture, leadership and strategy for the higher education sector. It provides a unique space for meaningful and impactful debate and action in an environment for exploration and sharing of ideas that is impacting the future of higher education globally.

HEDx is an Australian-led initiative dedicated to transforming higher education through innovation and collaboration. It serves as a platform where university leaders, practitioners, technology companies, and staff and students address the challenges and opportunities for change within the tertiary education sector.

HEDx works in partnership with sector leaders and their institutions to curate and share content about current global best practice and future solutions and innovation to lead a sector conversation and agenda around change.

Key features of HEDx include:

• Leadership Collaboration: HEDx brings together sector leaders to share insights, strategies, and best practices aimed at improving and innovating tertiary education in Australia and beyond.
• Technological Innovation: The initiative focuses on integrating advanced technologies with education. Partnering with tech companies and edtech startups, enhances learning experiences and efficiencies.
• Student-Centric Approach: Emphasising the primacy in importance of students, HEDx aims to improve support services, promote equity, and ensure accessible education for all lifelong learners.
• Events and Conferences: HEDx hosts conferences, workshops, and webinars that unite practitioners and stakeholders. Events facilitate discussions on future-ready education and collaborative solutions.
• Podcasts and Thought Leadership: Through regular podcasts, HEDx stimulates innovative thinking, and shares best practice and narratives that strengthen the social licence of higher education institutions.
• Future Solutions: HEDx is committed to building collaborative future solutions that change higher education for good, ensuring it remains relevant, equitable, and sustainable in a rapidly evolving world.

Martin has more than 40 years of experience in academic and senior leadership roles in universities in Australia and around the world. He has now built on this sector expertise to create deep relationships with university and other sector leaders around the globe and a trusted relationship with all in the sector whilst challenging it to, and helping it embrace change.

Martin Betts is an academic advisor and visiting professor to companies and universities around the world and the author of three books, Changing Higher Education for Good, The New Leadership Agenda and The New Learning Economy and co-author with Year13 of white paper, Upgrading the school to work transition for social and economic impact.

Email: martin@hedx.com.au

James is an arts/events producer, musician and generally a creative facilitator and organiser. He has a passion for creating conversation/ideas forums and has produced a diverse range of public programming events, variously bringing together authors, thought leaders, academics, journalists, scientists, philosophers, artists and musicians.

An active musician himself, he also performs with and co-leads long-running music collective Silver Sircus as well as his solo project Ghostwoods which was recognised with an Australian Music Prize nomination in 2023.

Email: james@hedx.com.au

Janet is the former editor of Education Matters and WhichSchool? Magazines. She has written for national publications, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review, and The Guardian, as well as several Australian universities and organisations. Janet went freelance in 2020, after 15 years working in communications and marketing.

Janet is proud to utilise her education background alongside her writing and creative strategy skills to push the agenda on positive change in the higher education sector for HEDx.

Email: info@hedx.com.au

Alyce has a background spanning fashion, events, marketing, and communications. 

She is passionate about understanding audiences and tailoring branding and communications to meet them where they are. Favouring visual dopamine—design that feels right and taps into colour psychology—she often thinks about how to communicate in inclusive ways, particularly for neurodiverse brains. 

Alyce is currently studying at Australian Catholic University and brings the dual perspective of designer and student to her work. She’s interested in how good design can support clarity, engagement, and connection—particularly in educational and community settings.

Email: alyce@hedx.com.au

Annabel works at the intersection of research, media, and innovation, building the connections that help people and organisations navigate change and create new value. 

Her work spans roles and projects with organisations including Euronews, Bloomberg Media Studios, the University of Amsterdam, Fusion Labs (now part of Deloitte), and the University of Queensland. She has also partnered on long-term communication initiatives with corporate teams at Fujifilm, Philip Morris International and Panasonic Europe. Most recently she ran a pilot exploring how generative AI can better connect research with industry and media at UQ.

Annabel is currently focused on how AI is reshaping communication — and how humans and AI tools and agents can work together to shape the future of engagement.

Email: annabel@hedx.com.au

HEDx Associates

HEDx Associates are respected collaborators recognised for their influence, guidance, and contributions to our mission of Changing Higher Education for Good. They work with us across events, podcasts, publications, and projects—bringing valuable connections, leading sessions, co-authoring thought leadership, and fostering partnerships. HEDx Associates play a strategic part in shaping ideas, creating impact, and strengthening our network of members and partners across the sector.

Dedicated to leading strategic initiatives that ensure student success from pre-admission through to graduation and employment. Her role involves overseeing programs and policies that support academic achievement, student belonging and well-being, career readiness, and foster a holistic approach to student success.

She is the current President of the Australian Sociological Association, the inaugural Chair of the Social Justice Network, where her work focuses on advancing equity and social justice in higher education. Alphia is currently involved in ongoing research that focuses on higher education, risk society, religion, digital sociology, and methodologies.

Kelly is a Professor of Higher Education and the Academic Lead—Student Experience and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Queensland, an Australian Teaching Fellow, and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Kelly has dedicated her career to education. She has led and contributed to multi-institutional projects—including the recent Students and AI project—and her work has informed national policy, institutional strategy, and curriculum design across disciplines. She cares most about creating the conditions that shape everyday learning interactions between students and teachers, which has driven her decade-long commitment to engaging students as partners in shaping higher education. Her body of scholarship focuses on student voice, partnership, and teaching impact, including writing differently about teaching and learning.

Noah is Head of Global Strategy and Partnerships and Senior Advisor to the Provost at Duke University, where he leads initiatives shaping academic innovation, global engagement, and the future of higher education.

He is the founder of the Future Universities Alliance, a global learning network connecting start-up, emerging, and established institutions to co-create new models of learning and expand access to high-quality education worldwide. With a career spanning leadership roles across Duke University, Duke Kunshan University, the Minerva Project and major international innovation initiatives, Noah’s work focuses on reimagining universities for a rapidly changing world through collaboration, experimentation and global partnership.

Martin brings a wealth of diverse experience from leadership roles across higher education and the corporate sector.  Currently the Executive Director, Student Experience at the University of Adelaide, he originally trained as a commercial pilot and has previously served as Chief Information Officer for a major New Zealand company, leading complex post-merger integration.  His career has spanned Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, shaped by relentless curiosity, adaptability, and ingenuity.

Alongside his role contributing to the establishment of the new Adelaide University, Martin is proud to serve as President of the Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM).  He is passionate about developing people, building rewarding partnerships, and championing bold, creative thinking about what’s possible—for individuals, teams, and the sector.

Professor Paul Harpur OAM is a globally recognised academic leader and changemaker with a distinguished career spanning law, human rights, and inclusive innovation in higher education. 

As a Professor in Law at the University of Queensland, an ARC Future Fellow, chair of the UQ Disability Inclusion Group and Director of the UQ Disability Collaboratory, Paul has championed initiatives that embed belonging, accessibility, and interdisciplinary collaboration at the heart of institutional strategy. 

Paul is a trusted advisor to governments, industry, and the global academy, and currently serves as a member of the Higher Education Standards Panel – a statutory body under the TEQSA Act.

Professor Selena Barlett is a globally recognised neuroscientist and educator whose work sits at the intersection of brain science, education, and innovation in education.

As a Professor of Neuroscience, Selena leads interdisciplinary research translating advances in neuroscience and neuroplasticity into practical insights for the future of learning and wellbeing. Her work supports educators and universities to create learning environments that use the latest neuroscience research to improve connection, adaptability, and human potential in an era of rapid technological and social change.

As a HEDx Associate, Selena contributes a neuroscience-informed perspective to reimagining higher education, bridging research, practice, and system-level innovation to support sustainable, inclusive, and future-ready education.