Featured Speakers

Nigel Phillips - Founder of Careers Fast Track, Australia
"Tools and methodologies to integrate career-life development across the curriculum." and
"Developing a case for Constructivist and Narrative counselling in career education"

Nigel Phillips is an international trainer and consultant who specialises in career development coaching and training design. He is the CEO of Careers Fast Track, a human resources consulting business, and Career Life College, a training company that aligns career growth with education and training opportunities. He is the subject convenor for Swinburne's Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma in Career Development and the author of The Big Question career-life skills development series of books. In addition to working with secondary school students and adults, he is experienced designing and implementing career development programs in small and large corporate organisations. The career development programs and tools he has developed are used internationally to assist clients at all life-stages.

Nicola Riley & Mark Dashper, Facilitators Secondary Education - Pathways, Team Solutions, Faculty of Education, University of Auckland.
"Charting Digital Pathways"

Nicola Riley started her teaching career as an English and Maths teacher and developed her passion for student potential through her work as a Dean. Since leaving the classroom she has been involved in Pasifika Literacy and Refugee Pathways Contracts and has settled into the Pathways role looking at both STAR and career education across the curriculum. She has a personal interest in working with Pasifika students and helping schools realise their potential.

Mark Dashper's teaching background is largely in rural Maori schools, so he has a special interest in Maori achievement. Through his work as a Secondary Education Pathways Facilitator he has an overview of STAR and experience in the integration of career education across the curriculum. He has presented at a number of conferences in NZ and overseas and is currently researching web 2.0 tools for developing student identity in education.

The Digital Pathways Development resource created by Nicola and Mark won the 'Scholastic Achievement Award' at the international Rich Media Impact Awards held in Wisconsin, USA on April 15 2010 (from nine countries represented, and 23 USA states). The Scholastic Achievement category recognises an educational initiative that harnesses the power of rich media to improve communication, learning and outreach.

Dr Karen Vaughan and Paul O'Neil, NZCER
Making "do": careers educators, networks, and communities of practice

Karen Vaughan is a Senior Researcher at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. She leads the research programmes on Learning at Work and Youth Transition and Career Development, including projects on career education, workplace learning, young people’s early career development, women in trades, on-job assessment of learning, and education-employment linkages. Her work has influenced a number of high-profile policy initiatives in New Zealand and she serves on several national and international advisory groups.

Paul O’Neil works on programmes on work and learning at NZCER. He is currently involved in projects examining education employment linkages, successful workplace learning, and workplace literacy, learning and numeracy evaluation. Paul previously worked as a research fellow at Victoria University on a research programme into developing human capability in New Zealand organisations.

Professor Harlene Hayne, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Enterprise), University of Otago
"Risky Business: The Role of Brain Maturation in Behavioural Development during Adolescence"

Professor Hayne holds a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience from Rutgers University. Her specialist research interests are memory development and interviews with children in clinical and legal contexts. She joined the University of Otago in 1992 following three years at Princeton University as a postdoctoral fellow. She was awarded a personal chair in psychology at the University of Otago in 2002 and she was Head of the University of Otago Psychology Department for 3 years.

Professor Hayne is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and of the American Psychological Society. In the past, she has served on the Royal Society's Academy Council, the Marsden Fund Council and the New Zealand National Science Panel. She is the Associate Editor of Psychological Review and of the New Zealand Journal of Psychology and she serves on the editorial boards of 5 additional international journals. In 2009 she was awarded an ONZM for services to scientific and medical research.

Professor Hayne is currently the President of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology and is a member of several international associations, including the Society for Research in Child Development, the International Society for Infant Studies, and the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.

Dr Antonio Fernando, Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland
"Science of Happiness"

Dr Tony Fernando is a senior lecturer in Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland. He coordinates the undergraduate psychiatry education for the medical school. He is a practicing consultant psychiatrist and sleep specialist. His research interest is in sleep and insomnia medicine, medical education and student well being. In addition, he sings, plays the cello, boxes and is a regular of the different yum char places in Auckland.