CRADLE Honorary Appointments
Honorary appointments facilitate our local and international partnerships and strengthen our program of collaborative research in assessment and digital learning.
Our appointees are selected based on their ability to contribute positively to our objectives, values and culture, and work collaboratively with our researchers to expand and facilitate our research both nationally and internationally. Honorary appointments recognise an extensive contribution to research and professional leadership in assessment and digital learning.
Honorary Professor: Dr Gordon Joughin
Dr Gordon Joughin joined CRADLE as an Honorary Professor in June 2016. He is a higher education consultant working with CRADLE on decision-making in assessment.
Dr Joughin is a former Director of the Teaching and Educational Development Institute (TEDI) at the University of Queensland. He has published extensively on assessment and learning in higher education, including editing Assessment, Learning and Judgement (Springer, 2009). His current research considers decision-making theory in assessment design and the nature of spoken work in oral assessment.
Honorary Professor: Ernesto Panadero
An outstanding researcher, Ernesto Panadero was CRADLE’s first Honorary Professor, appointed in January 2016. Ernesto is the Ikerbasque Research Professor at Universidad de Deusto in Bilbao, Spain.
Ernesto has an excellent publication record, including well-regarded English and Spanish journals, book chapters, and international conference papers. He is also the convenor of the Special Interest Group 1 of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), which is the major international research association for assessment.
Ernesto’s research interests include understanding how to employ educational psychology methods and theories to better understand the effects of educational assessment.
Honorary Professor: Professor Sue Bennett
Professor Sue Bennett was appointed as a CRADLE Honorary Professor in June 2018. She is the Executive Dean, Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
An internationally recognised researcher, Professor Bennett investigates how people engage with technology in their everyday lives and in educational settings. Professor Bennett’s current research interests include: learning design for supporting teachers’ educational design practices; sociological perspectives on educational technology, investigating young people’s creative practices with technology; and functional brain imaging and multimedia based problem solving.
Honorary Associate Professor: Dr Edd Pitt
Dr Edd Pitt was appointed Honorary Associate Professor in 2022. He is the Programme Director for the Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education and Reader in Higher Education and Academic Practice at the University of Kent, UK.
Dr Pitt’s principle research field is assessment and feedback, with a particular focus on students’ emotional processing during feedback situations. His research outcomes include peer-reviewed journal articles, international conference papers, book chapters, and a book. Dr Pitt has participated in two CRADLE international symposia.
Honorary Fellow: Dr Jiming Zhou
Dr Jiming Zhou was appointed Honorary Fellow in November 2019. She is a senior lecturer at Fudan University, China, and holds a PhD in education from the University of Hong Kong.
During her year-long stay at CRADLE, Dr Zhou delivered a seminar on Chinese international students’ first year experiences in Australian universities.
Dr Zhou’s current research interests include assessment and learning, educational innovation, and students’ school-university transition.
Honorary Professor: Professor Naomi Winstone
Professor Naomi Winstone was appointed Honorary Professor in February 2020. She is Director of Surrey Institute of Education and Director of the Surrey Assessment and Learning Lab at the University of Surrey.
Professor Winstone is a cognitive psychologist specialising in learning behaviour and engagement with education research. Her research focuses on the processing and implementation of feedback, educational transitions, and educational identities.
Honorary Professor: Professor Yan Zi
Professor Yan Zi was appointed Honorary Professor in December 2020. He is Professor and Acting Head at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The Education University of Hong Kong.
Professor Yan Zi’s research focuses on two related areas: (i) educational assessment in the school and higher education contexts, with an emphasis on student self-assessment; and (ii) Rasch measurement, particularly its application in educational and psychological research. His research aims to advance the understanding of assessment processes and how to optimise them to enhance students’ learning effectiveness and lifelong development.
Honorary Fellow: Dr Juuso Henrik Nieminen
Dr Juuso Henrik Nieminen was appointed Honorary Fellow in May 2022. He is Assistant Professor at the Academic Unit of Social Contexts and Policies of Education (SCAPE), University of Hong Kong.
Dr Nieminen has participated in two CRADLE symposia, in 2020 and 2021, as a presenter. Currently, Dr Nieminen is working on multiple collaborative research activities with the CRADLE team.
Dr Nieminen’s research focuses on student experiences of assessment and feedback, student formation and positioning through assessment and inclusive assessment.
Honorary Associate Professor: Dr Sarah Eaton
Dr Sarah Eaton was appointed Honorary Associate Professor in January 2023. She is an associate professor at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary.
Dr Eaton has received research awards of excellence for her scholarship on academic integrity from the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE) in 2020 and the European Network for Academic Integrity (ENAI) in 2022. Dr Eaton has written and presented extensively on academic integrity and ethics in higher education and is regularly invited as a media guest to talk about academic misconduct.
Honorary Fellow: Dr Rebecca Awdry
Dr Rebecca Awdry was appointed an Honorary Fellow in early 2023. Dr Awdry is a senior education consultant and graduated from CRADLE in 2022.
Dr Awdry has researched and written extensively on academic integrity, student outsourcing and contract cheating, and how this aligns with thinking about assessment and contextual elements of the student experience. As part of her research, Dr Awdry led and managed an international project on essay mills and outsourcing. She has extensive experience in reviewing university quality, policy, integrity and student experience processes, to embed more effective and improved systems for the university.
Honorary Associate Professor: Dr Karen Gravett
Karen Gravett was appointed an Honorary Associate Professor in 2023. Dr Gravett is an Associate Professor of Higher Education with the University of Surrey.
Dr Gravett focuses on the theory-practice of learning and teaching in higher education. Dr Gravett is Co-Director of the Language, Literacies and Learning Research Group and is on the editorial board for Learning, Media and Technology and Teaching in Higher Education.
Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor: Wendy Sutherland-Smith
Wendy Sutherland-Smith was made an Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor in late 2023. Associate Professor Sutherland-Smith was working in academic integrity at Deakin’s Faculty of Health.
Associate Professor Sutherland-Smith is interested in higher education policy; constructing academic identities; assessment practices and innovation; cyberethics and intellectual property and plagiarism, cheating and issues of academic integrity.
Honorary Fellow: Dr Lasse X Jensen
Lasse Jensen was made an Honorary Fellow in late 2023. Dr Jensen is an education researcher and graduated cotutelle from CRADLE and the University of Copenhagen in 2023.
Dr Jensen is primarily working on the NNF programme Partnership for the Education of Health Professionals (PEP). PEP is a collaborative educational research and capacity development project bringing together nursing and medical colleges in India, Kenya, and Denmark. Dr Jensen’s research focuses on digital education; higher education, feedback; and health professions education in low-income settings.
Honorary Fellow: Mollie Dollinger
Professor Mollie Dollinger was appointed Honorary Fellow in early 2024. She is the Director of Innovation and the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (iSoLT) at Curtin University’s Faculty of Health Sciences.
Professor Dollinger’s research focuses on improving equity and inclusion for university students, often drawing upon participatory design and co-design approaches. Her current projects with CRADLE span topics such as inclusive assessment, contract cheating, and student belongingness.
