John Burns serves as the Chief Innovation Officer at International Schools Services (ISS) where he focuses on sparking creativity and innovation across ISS learning communities. This includes initiatives related to innovation management, change leadership, agile learning environments, educational technologies, generative Al, and contemporary pedagogies.

Prior to ISS, John led Shekou International School's innovation strategy receiving status as an 'Apple Distinguished School' and 'School of the Year' from 21st Century Learning. He's also previously worked for Apple, assisting schools and jurisdictions with organizational change and has a Masters of Learning and Leadership from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Bachelor of Education from Griffith University, Brisbane.

Find out more by visiting the Conference Program.

Louka Parry is the CEO and Founder of The Learning Future. A former teacher, he became a school principal at 27 years old and was named Inspirational Public Secondary Teacher of the Year and a top 40 leader under 40 for South Australia. He has since trained thousands of educators and leaders globally to increase their positive impact. 

He holds two Masters degrees, speaks five languages, has completed studies at Harvard, been a resident at Stanford’s d.school and is a Fellow of Salzburg Global Seminar. He has worked on every continent, including in high-level policy fora with the OECD, the European Commission, and education systems as diverse as Romania to the Dominican Republic. 

Louka has worked in all Australian States and Territories across all education sectors, many international educational instutitons including Chile and Romania, and also with not-for-profits and large corporates like Apple and Microsoft. He is a Founding Executive of Karanga: the Global Alliance for SEL and Life Skills and an expert at equipping individuals, schools and organisations at the convergence of social, emotional, and academic learning.

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Nicole Dyson is a multi-award-winning educator and entrepreneur, and a global authority on project-based learning and youth entrepreneurship.An experienced former school leader within the public education system in Australia, she is the founder of Future Anything, the only entrepreneurial , YouthX, Australia's only startup accelerator program for school-aged entrepreneurs, and Catapult Cards, a design thinking toolkit for classrooms and corporates that donates 50% of its profits back to providing micro-grants for youth-led startups. 

Nicole passionately believes that youth-led ideas have the power to bend the future and supports educators, schools, and systems to design and deliver future-focused learning that unlocks young people's passion and potential.

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We are transitioning from a time when the design of schooling and university education in Australia and the Western world was based on success for some. The goal of learning and teaching in places called ‘schools’ and ‘universities’ will be success for all and preparation for life – not exams.

Professor John Fischetti has worked within this kind of transformational school reform, rethinking schooling, revamping teacher education, and modernising transdisciplinary leadership preparation for the past 40 years. Newcastle hosts one of Australia’s largest schools of education and it sits in the top 150 in the world as measured by the QS rankings. John led the University’s School of Education for six years before taking on the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Education and Arts. 

Until January 2024, he was Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Human and Social Futures comprising the Newcastle Law School, the Newcastle Business School, the School of Humanities and Social Science, the School of Creative Industries and the School of Education. The College has taken on the challenge to promote equity-minded excellence throughout the social sciences and creative disciplines. As we negotiate the evolving machine-driven world, John’s goal is to revision the future of humanity. 

Currently John is Professor of Leadership and School Transformation in the School of Education. He teachers, supervises and engages about the future of learning, teaching, and leading for transformation. He is the immediate Past President of the New South Wales Council of Deans of Education. Prior to joining the University of Newcastle, John served as Dean and Professor of Educational Leadership at the College of Education and Human Development at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. 

Prior to that he was a Doctoral Program Chair and Department Head at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. And earlier in his career he was Professor of Education at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, where he helped lead the evolution of the Professional Development School model of teacher education. 

John received his doctorate in education in professional development, school reform and educational leadership for change in 1986 at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He completed his Masters in Secondary Education and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and American Government from the University of Virginia. John holds his teaching certificate in secondary social studies and has taught high school history, economics and political science. 

John’s key research interests include: School Reform, Preparing Leaders for New Roles/Responsibilities, Secondary Teacher Education, Global Educational Issues, Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Technology, and Education Research in Teaching and Learning. His work over the last 40 years focusses on rethinking pedagogy, assessment, schooling and teacher education. John’s equity-driven message is incorporated in his work with undergraduate, post-graduate and PhD students, and his leadership of his School and College.

Find out more by visiting the Conference Program.