Fostering relationships through strong leadership, achieving excellence through strategic teaching and learning, and embracing innovative, educational technologies - these are the top three things the new Dean of the Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law (SABL) values most when it comes to working within the higher education sector.
“I believe my role as a leader is to bring the best out of people and to empower them,” says Professor Birgit Loch, the new Dean of SABL.
Formerly the Deputy Provost Learning and Teaching at La Trobe University’s College of Science, Health and Engineering, Professor Loch brings 17 years of experience working in universities across Australia to the role, specialising in science, mathematics and technology.
Through this, she’s learnt that inspiring others to be the best they can be is what’s truly important.
“Apart from significant improvement of the student experience in my role at La Trobe University, I've had most impact through internal and external programs to support promotion and career development of female academic and professional staff,” she says.
“I really want to make a difference through my leadership.”
With UNE one of the country’s leaders in online education, Professor Loch says there is a lot she will be able to offer in this space. She says her first academic position as a lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) in Toowoomba involved teaching a large number of distance students which sparked her passion for digital learning.
I'm very keen to lead SABL’s approach to online education and contribute my own research expertise in educational technologies and innovation in learning and teaching.
“USQ has a large proportion of distance students, which is where I learnt to teach mathematics and computer science online, and where my interest in educational technologies and innovation began,” she says.
“I'm very keen to lead SABL’s approach to online education and contribute my own research expertise in educational technologies and innovation in learning and teaching.”
Professor Loch’s expansive career has seen her named a Principal Fellow of AdvanceHE (PFHEA) and Fellow of the Australian Mathematical Society, while her academic qualifications include a PhD in computational mathematics from the University of Queensland, a Diploma in Mathematics (Dipl.-Math.) from the University of Essen and a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching & Learning from USQ. She is also the recipient of several prestigious awards relating to learning and teaching.
To find out more about Professor Loch’s past work and publications, visit her Google Scholar page.
