Career development series: Championing UDL in the Third Space

Tue 20 Oct 2026 9:00 am – Thu 22 Oct 2026 6:00 pm AEDT

University of Sydney, Camperdown and online

Event details

This free, three-part professional development series for University of Sydney staff and colleagues from other institutions aims to equip professional staff with the skills to ensure productive collaboration on inclusion.

Although academics are subject matter experts, they often rely on third space professional staff such as educational designers and support officers, academic developers and accessibility advisors, for guidance on pedagogy, design, delivery, and evaluation. This series of talks and networking opportunities positions Third Space professionals as essential pedagogical partners in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) thinking and implementation, and offers capability building in influencing, partnering, and evaluation.

If you work in educational design, curriculum development, academic development, learning technologies, accessibility and inclusion, teaching support, student success, or other professional roles that partner with academics to enhance teaching and learning, this series is for you! 

All events are hybrid, with time for questions, and in-person attendees are invited for an hour of networking and refreshments following each presentation.

Presenters and Panellists

Influencing: how we build buy-in

Tuesday, October 20, 09:00–10:00 (AEDT)

Lillian Nave, Faculty and Educational Development Specialist for Appalachian State University’s CETLSS on the Hickory campus, former art historian who fell in love with intercultural learning, and the creator and host of the Think UDL podcast.

Lillian will present online from Appalachian State University, sharing practical strategies on influencing to nurture productive relationships and build buy-in across diverse contexts to increase inclusion in all aspects of higher education.

Partnering: how we work across communities to embed UDL

Wednesday, October 21, 13:00–14:00 (AEDT)

A/Prof Laura Gray, Director of the Damion Drapac Centre for Equity in Health Professions Education at Deakin University, educational leader and researcher, whose experience spans health professions education, curriculum leadership, and inclusive teaching practice. She founded the Disability-Inclusive Health Professions Education Alliance ANZ (DIHPEA), bringing together educators, researchers and professional staff to advance collaboration, scholarship and disability-inclusive practice across the region.

Rae Jobst, Learning and Teaching Designer (Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning), Centre for Collaborative Educational Excellence (CCEE), Griffith University, whose experience is as an educational psychologist and Learning and Teaching Designer, specialising in inclusive pedagogies, particularly UDL.

Darlene McLennan, Manager, ADCET, 2025 ACSES Equity Fellow, whose experience is in advocacy, resource development, and capability building at a national scale to support UDL and disability inclusion in higher education.

The panel will offer insights from multiple professional perspectives on how to successfully partner with collaborators, capitalise on diverse expertise, and ensure learning environments provide the conditions for all learners to succeed.

Evaluating: how we demonstrate impact and sustain change

Thursday, October 22, 16:00–17:00 (AEDT)

Kavita Rao, Professor and Director of the College of Education Research Institute at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa whose research and teaching focuses on instructional and assistive technology, UDL, inclusive instructional design, online learning, and culturally and linguistically diverse learners.

Kavita will present online from the University of Hawai‘i, sharing approaches to designing UDL implementation so that objectives are clear and initiatives and approaches can be evaluated to

Further information and registration details

Event times in your timezone