Microsoft Higher Education Summit

Higher Education educators and IT leaders from across the country assembled in Sydney for the Microsoft Higher Education Summit. Across a packed two-day schedule, attendees heard from Microsoft Specialists as key announcements from Microsoft Ignite were unpacked, and education institution leads shared their ‘tales from the frontline’ outlining their digital journeys and learnings.

The Higher Education Summit sessions are available to watch on-demand. Access via the links below, along with the presentations and additional resources.


Education trends in Asia, the future international student and why you should care

Presented by: Larry Nelson, Regional Business Leader, General Manager Asia Education Microsoft


The New Leadership Agenda for Higher Education in the New Learning Economy

Presented by: Martin Betts, Founder, HEDx


Microsoft Ignite Major Announcements – Modern Workplace Deep Dive

Presented by: Mark Tigwell, Modern Workplace Lead, Education, Microsoft ANZ


Microsoft Ignite Major Announcements – Security Deep Dive

Presented by: Peter Manoukian, Azure Education Lead (ANZ), Microsoft; Rose Alvarado, Enterprise Security Sales Specialist, Microsoft; Reece Gallagher, Security Technology Specialist, Microsoft

We walk universities through the major announcements from Microsoft Ignite 2022 focusing on Cyber Security. The content focuses on the innovative capabilities for High Education and outlines how customers can improve their cyber security posture by taking advantage of all the benefits Microsoft provides.


Data, Analytics, and AI in Higher Education

Presented by: Katie Ford, Data and AI Specialist, Microsoft; Elizabeth Antoine, Senior Global Black Belt for Data & AI – Asia, Microsoft


Tales from the frontline – the Digital Workspace journey at UQ

Presented by: Luke Angel, Manager Service Automation & Events, The University of Queensland; Emily Lait, Technology Strategist, Microsoft


Tales from the frontline – UNSW Data Governance journey

Presented by: Kate Carruthers, Chief Data & Insights Officer, UNSW


Microsoft’s Sustainability Journey

Presented by: Brett Shoemaker, Chief Sustainability Officer, Microsoft ANZ

Additional resources:

Microsoft Sustainability Goals – Microsoft Sustainability

Closing Sustainability Skills Gap

Accelerating the Journey to Net Zero | Australia & New Zealand


Microsoft Ignite Major Announcements – Business Applications Deep Dive

Presented by: Mandy Cao, Technical Specialist, Business Applications, Microsoft

In this session we walk through the announcements on Business Application from Microsoft Ignite, including key features released across Dynamics 365 Marketing, Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Power Platform. Content is tailored to how these innovative capabilities can empower everyone in the education industry, from institution event manager, to student recruitment team member, to customer support officer, and the IT team. 


Education and the Metaverse

Presented by: Lee Hickin, Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft ANZ

Today’s students will be tomorrow’s builders and innovators and the Metaverse is quickly becoming the catch all phrase to describe the future of education, industry, and society. In this session learn about the technology behind the Metaverse, who is building it, and what it might mean for the future of education and our next generation.

Additional resources:

Microsoft talks mixed reality, Metaverse and ‘reimagination’ at GESS 2022 education technology conference – Middle East & Africa News Center

Mixed Reality for Education | Microsoft Education

The metaverse is coming. Here are the cornerstones for securing it. – The Official Microsoft Blog


Improving the Employee Experience and Engagement with Microsoft Viva

Presented by: Thomas Weddin, Employee Experience Specialist, Microsoft ANZ


Tales from the frontline – Microsoft 365 tenancy mergers

Presented by: Mark Tigwell, Microsoft; Richard Rerrie, The University of Queensland; Michael Cooke, Griffith University; Niranjan Prabhu, Australian Catholic University


Transforming education in a digital world – how GitHub can be a key partner for your success

Presented by: Daniel Figucio, Field CTO – APAC, GitHub


The future Student Experience – this time it’s personal!

Presented by: Manasi Priya, Microsoft; Sahar Saqeb, Microsoft; Bridget Mathie, UNSW


The Smart Campus

Presented by: Leon Smith, National Sustainability Adviser, Microsoft ANZ


Learnings from Australia’s newest education institution – The Institute of Applied Technology – Digital

Presented by: Yasminka Nemet, Future Skills Lead, Microsoft; Matt Bushby, Director Commercial & University Partnerships, TAFE NSW

An exploration of Australia’s newest education model, the Institute of Applied Technology Digital, designed to address critical skills shortages by bringing together the best of industry, TAFE, and university expertise and collaboration.

Additional resources:

Institute of Applied Technology (nsw.gov.au)
Institute of Applied Technology – TAFE NSW


Microsoft Identity and Microsoft Entra Roadmap

Presented by: Ben Wolfe, Principal PM Manager, Microsoft; Tracy Yu, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft

In this session, we share proactive strategies and demo how you can implement “do more with less” with new and existing solutions in the Microsoft Entra product family, including Azure AD identity and access management, Permission Management, Identity Governance, and Workload Identities.


Research Incubation and Commercialisation opportunities for your institution

Presented by: Sinéad Fitzgerald, Sr. SaaS/ISV Partner Lead, Education & Healthcare, Microsoft

Commercialisation of Research: improving university-industry collaboration, for academics to become entrepreneurs, and to take their ideas from the lab to the market.

Additional resources:

Microsoft Customer Story-Yale School of Medicine researchers use Azure to make every organ count

Founders Hub: https://startups.microsoft.com/ 

Cloud Partner Program: partner.microsoft.com

SaaS Accelerator: aka.ms/SaaSAccelerator

ISV Success program: microsoft.com/ISV

Microsoft Higher Education Summit keynote presenters: Martin Betts, Founder, HEDx; Tiffany Wright, Education Director, Microsoft ANZ; Larry Nelson, Education Director, Microsoft Asia; Thomas King, Higher Education Industry Advisor, Microsoft ANZ