Berwyn Clayton

DIrector

Berwyn Clayton has been actively involved in research and evaluation in vocational education and training at a national level for more than twenty years. Her research interests centre on organisational development, competency based assessment and the evaluation of training and continuous improvement approaches in program assessment and delivery. With a national reputation for project management, she has successfully completed over 20 National VET Research and Evaluation program projects including a recent $600,000 DEST funded consortium research program examining training provider capability. Berwyn has extensive experience in the provision of advice to policy makers and professional development services for practitioners in the vocational education and training sector delivering numerous keynotes and workshops across Australia on various facets of organisational development, assessment, evaluation and program development and review. In her professional capacity, Berwyn was president of the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) from 1999 to 2004 and was made a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators in 2001 for her outstanding contribution to education and research in vocational education.

Shelley Gillis

Deputy Director

Associate Professor Shelley Gillis is a leading researcher in vocational assessment who advises national and international agencies on competency based assessment processes and systems. She has successfully completed research projects in assessment decision making, validity and reliability of performance and competency assessment, multi source and multi component models for assessing higher order competencies, the development and empirical validation of the Victorian Qualifications Authority’s Credit Matrix, the development of professional standards for primary school teachers in Vietnam and the development and validation of scored assessment strategies of VET in School programs.  Her Ph.D. examined factors influencing decision making processes in competency based assessments across both vocational education and industrial settings.

Geri Pancini
Research Fellow

Geri Pancini has worked across many educational settings: primary & secondary schools, adult education, teacher education, prison education, return to study programs, learning support in higher education, and Indigenous education in NT & Victoria. She has broad experience as a manager and as a project manager. She is completing a DEd at the University of Melbourne. Her research involves work-based learning as a form of learning that develops confident lifelong learners able to cope in contexts of rapid change.

Leonie Beaton

Administration Officer

Leonie commenced with Victoria University at the Staff College providing administrative support initially to ‘VET in schools’ and subsequently to the Quality Teaching and Innovation Unit and their various projects (VC’s award, Learning Matters). Leonie’s employment history covers a range of activities – small business administration, accounts, training and consulting, hospitality and teaching.

Tas Papasimeon

Senior Educator Teaching & Learning

Having over 12 years experience in industry, with 9 years in commercial enterprise learning and development roles, Tas has developed valuable insight and understanding of commercial client engagement in work-based education. Tas has undertaken project management with large commercial clients, coordinating the development and implementation of state-wide leadership programs designed to foster cultures of lifelong learning within the workplace. Tas has a Bachelor of Commerce (Management), and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Industrial Education and Training.

Mark O'Rourke

Senior Educator Research

Mark received the 2007 Fulbright Professional Scholarship to research immersive training environments at USC. He was also awarded an ISSI Fellowship and received the 2003 Eric Lund Award for Innovation in the VET Sector. Mark’s PhD explores game-based training. Mark completed Honours in Genetics and worked as a researcher at the University of Melbourne, the Otago University in New Zealand, the Murdoch Institute in Melbourne, and the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin. Mark undertook further study in Multimedia and worked in industry before joining VU and completing a Masters in Education. As Multimedia Program Manager he developed VU’s multi-award winning interactive media and games development program.

Stefan Schutt

Teacher Creative Industries

Stefan's background is in multimedia development, copywriting and music. Stefan has won multiple awards and fellowships, and is currently a PhD candidate in RMIT's Animation and Interactive Media centre. His area of study is the development of an Internet website to self-publish and share personal life stories: www.smallhistories.com. He also manages the Avatar Project, a three-year action research project funded by VicHealth looking at the role of 3d virtual worlds in increasing the social connectedness of disadvantaged young people.

Ben Northcott

Teacher Creative Industries

Ben has had over eight years’ experience working within the VET sector. Ben teaches in multimedia and game development and has two years experience as Program Manager. He has managed his own company in the field of multimedia and game development and continues to foster relationships with the industry. Ben is currently completing his Masters of Education degree, researching how teachers of game development courses can facilitate creativity in students.