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Professor Birgit Loch

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Learning and Teaching and the Institute of Education, Arts and Community

Contact

Campus

Mt Helen Campus

Biography

Birgit Loch is the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Learning & Teaching and the Institute of Education, Arts and Community at Federation University Australia. In this role she is a member of the Vice-Chancellor’s senior team and the strategic lead for Learning & Teaching across the University and TAFE, and for one of the three institutes including Education, Humanities, Arts, Social Science, Criminology, Social Work and Community Services, and the Arts Academy. She is a principal fellow of AdvanceHE (PFHEA) and a fellow of the Australian Mathematical Society. 

Birgit joined Federation in 2024 from the University of New England, where she was Executive Dean, Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law and oversaw a values-based culture transformation. She has also held leadership roles at La Trobe University as Deputy Provost Learning and Teaching across Science, Health and Engineering, Swinburne University and the University of Southern Queensland. She brings extensive experience leading learning and teaching innovation programs with staff buy-in and is passionate about improving the student and staff experience. 

Birgit is a co-founder of the WATTLE program and has served on the In2Science Advisory Board, the Council of the Australian Mathematical Society and Executive of the Australian Council of Deans of Science.

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More about Birgit

Qualifications

  • Diplom–Mathematikerin, Universitaet Essen
  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Queensland
  • Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching & Learning, University of Southern Queensland
  • Certificate of Management Excellence, Harvard Business School
  • Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Australian Institute of Company Directors

Areas of interest

  • Mathematics education
  • Mathematics support
  • Educational technologies
  • Students as partners
  • Culture of innovation
  • Open educational resources
  • Enabling teaching focused career paths
  • Peer-support and mentoring for female academics 

Areas of expertise

As an expert in educational technologies, Birgit has widely published on open educational resources, blended and online learning, pen-enabled technologies, mathematics education and mathematics support, students as partners and teaching focused academic roles.

Grants

  • 2019: Multi-campus teaching project, CISCO partnership grant ($170,000) 
  • 2018: WebEx for online maths support, CISCO partnership grant ($30,000) 
  • 2010: Supporting students studying advanced calculus using screencasts, UK Maths, Stats and Operations Research Network (£4,900) 
  • 2009: A national discipline-specific professional development programme for lecturers and tutors in the mathematical sciences, ALTC Leadership for Excellence Grant ($218,000) 

Awards

  • 2018: Operational Excellence Award, La Trobe University 
  • 2016: Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT), Individual Teaching Award, Physical Sciences Category.  
  • 2016: Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, Swinburne University 
  • 2015: Vice-Chancellor’s Culture and Values Team Award, Swinburne University 
  • 2014: Vice-Chancellor's Team Teaching Excellence Award, Swinburne University 
  • 2010 Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning 
  • 2009: Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, University of Southern Queensland 
  • 2009: Queensland Government Our Women, Our State Award with the Go WEST leadership team 
  • 2009: Equal Opportunity for Women Achievement Award with the Go WEST (Women in Engineering, Science and Technology) leadership team, University of Southern Queensland 

Current

  • Graduate Certificate in Research student, Federation University, principal supervisor.

Past

  • Master of Computing student, University of Southern Queensland, ‘Level design of computer games’, principal supervisor.
  • PhD student, Swinburne University, ‘Enablers and barriers to the adoption of educational technology by academics’, principal supervisor.
  • PhD student, La Trobe University, ‘Factors Influencing Effectiveness of a Successful and Sustainable Teaching of Statistics in Blended Delivery’, principal supervisor.

Specialist roles

  • Pro Vice-Chancellor, Learning & Teaching and the Institute of Education, Arts and Community 

Professional association memberships

  • Fellow of the Australian Mathematical Society (FAustMS)
  • Principal Fellow of AdvanceHE (PFHEA)
  • Member, ASCILITE
  • Co-founder, WATTLE program
  • GAICD 
  • Publications

Why academics in an Australian university want teaching-focused roles: a qualitative summative analysis