Dawn Bennett

Background

About Dawn Bennett

Retired from full time work, I am an experienced senior leader working on a consultancy basis. My interests include enhancing whole-of-institution student success and graduate employability, student retention and engagement, career education, curricular reform, formal reviews, and policy work. I use established change processes to engage diverse stakeholders and build strong teams. I lead the unfunded Developing Employ-ability Initiative, which has helped thousands of students to shape their employability journey. This work will never be commercialised, ensuring that every student can create a perceived employability profile and access quality developmental resources. Related to the Initiative I retain an active research profile. Outputs include over 300 academic articles and major reports, and AUD$6m in research grants. An advocate for student equity and the empowerment of women, and a previous Research Fellow with the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, I have co-designed higher education pathways to address the impacts of disadvantage. I have a long history of respectful partnerships with Indigenous communities and have co-authored a Framework for Respectful Work and Learning with Australia’s First Peoples. I hold Honorary Adjunct Professorships in Australia and Europe and I am Principal Fellow with the Higher Education Academy. I am honoured to have been a Senior National Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow and Vice President of the Australian Learning and Teaching Fellows. Keywords quality, Gen-AI assessment, student success, collaboration, leadership, people, higher education, student success, student engagement, research, employability, graduate attributes, strategy, transformation, change, culture, quality, career development learning, curriculum renewal, pedagogy, supervision, progression, retention, academic support, industry and research partnerships, work integrated learning, student equity and access, teaching excellence, research impact, student experience, student lifecycle, student journey