Academia's Digital Voice: A Conversation on 21st Century Higher Education provides critical information on an area that needs particular attention given the rapid introduction and immersion into digital technologies that took place during the pandemic, including quality assurance and assessment. Sections discuss the rapid changes called into question as student mobility, pedagogical readiness of academics, technological readiness of institutions, student readiness to adopt online learning, the value of higher education, the value of distance learning, and the changing role of administration and faculty were thrust upon institutions.
The unprecedented speed of international lockdowns caused by the pandemic necessitated HEIs to make rapid changes in both teaching and assessment approaches. The quality of these and sacrosanctity of the academic voice has long been the central tenet of higher education. While history is replete with challenges to this, the current, rapid shift to online education may represent the greatest threat and opportunity so far.
Professor Upasana Singh is the Academic Leader and Associate Professor in Information Systems and Technology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Victorian Institute of Technology, Australia. With a Ph.D. from the University of South Africa and over 15 years of teaching experience, she specializes in IT-related subjects and Educational Technologies. Professor Singh has an extensive publication record, including books, journal articles, and conference papers, contributing significantly to digital teaching, learning, and assessment. As Chair of the digiTAL2K conference, she promotes global collaboration in educational technologies. Her research, particularly during the pandemic, has been instrumental in guiding online learning transitions, with a focus on quality assurance and gender-specific models. She has received numerous accolades for her leadership and contributions to digital education, including the Distinguished Teachers Award and recognition from ASCILITE's Women in Academic Leadership initiative
Professor Sid Nair is currently Executive Dean and Dean Learning, Teaching and Student Experience at the Victorian Institute of Technology (VIT), Australia where he is responsible for the learning, teaching, student experience and quality matters of the Institution.
Previous to this appointment at VIT, Sid was the Executive Director of the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), Mauritius, the apex regulatory body where he was responsible for the formulation and execution of strategies, policies and procedures in the higher education sector in Mauritius.
Prior to joining TEC, he was Professor of Higher Education Development at the Centre for Education Futures (CEF), University of Western Australia His role was to build the capacity of academics in the digital delivery of their teaching. His career path also had him as Interim Director and Quality Advisor (Evaluations and Research) at the Centre for Higher Education Quality (CHEQ) at Monash University, Australia where he headed the evaluation unit at Monash University. In this capacity he restructured the evaluation framework at the university. The approach to evaluations at Monash has been noted in the first round of the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) audits and is part of the good practice database.
His research work lies in the areas of quality in the higher education system, classroom and school environments, and the implementation of improvements from stakeholder feedback. He has extensive lecturing experience in the applied sciences in Canada, Singapore and Australia. He is an international consultant in quality and evaluations in higher education.
Dr. Craig Blewett is an Associate Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; an internationally acclaimed speaker and the developer of the ACT approach to teaching with technology. He has numerous books, papers, and other publications on a range of technology-related topics during his over 20-year academic career.
Dr Timothy Shea is an Associate Professor of Decision and Information Sciences at the Charlton College of Business, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He is a long-time, enthusiastic proponent of distance learning and teaching with technology, with 25 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and 70 international conferences and service activities.
