The inaugural VISTA 2026 Innovative Teaching Symposium was held on 17 July 2026 at the Alere South Function Centre, Bedford Park, bringing together educators from across Flinders University to celebrate and share innovative approaches to learning and teaching.
The University-wide symposium was organised by the VISTA team, part of the Learning and Teaching Academy within the College of Business, Creative Arts, Law and Social Sciences (BCLS), in partnership with the Learning and Teaching Innovation (LTI) team. The symposium theme, Innovating for Learning and Teaching Impact: Towards Transforming 10 Million Lives, aligned perfectly with Flinders’ ambition to change 10 million lives for the better by 2035.
Dr Rajesh Johnsam, the organiser on behalf of VISTA Team, welcomed participants, followed by opening remarks from Professor Michelle Picard, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Innovation), and an official welcome from Professor Chris Kee, Dean of Education, CBCLS.
The keynote address, delivered by Associate Professor Mark A. Bassett, Director of Academic Quality, Standards and Integrity and Academic Lead (AI) at Charles Sturt University, explored The Role of Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Addressing the Challenges and Opportunities of the AI Era. Mark highlighted the many opportunities AI presents, drawing on his own experience using Claude AI as a project team, and stressed the importance of understanding both its capabilities and its limits.
The symposium featured 24 presenters from all five colleges (CBCLS, CSE, CHE, CMPH, CHSC) presenting across four key themes: AI-integrated teaching; curriculum design and assessment innovation; content delivery innovation; and work-integrated learning and industry engagement. The sessions were chaired and supported by Dr Andrew Groves, Dr Hafij Ullah, Dr Peivand Bastani, Dr Naser Pourazad, Dr Ashleigh Powell and Dr Rajesh Johnsam. The event concluded with an interactive roundtable discussion facilitated by Dr Mahmoud Moussa and Dr Hongyi Liang, exploring the transformative approaches to learning and teaching.
The symposium was widely attended and successfully fostered cross-college collaboration, inspiring participants to learn from one another and reaffirming Flinders’ commitment to innovative, student-centred education.
VISTA extends its sincere thanks to the LTI team, all College Deans of Education, presenters, participants and supporters whose contributions made the inaugural symposium a resounding success.
Professor Michelle Picard concluded the event by looking forward to VISTA Symposium becoming an annual celebration of teaching innovation. Until then, hasta la VISTA.