Australian Council of Senior Academic Leaders in Digital Health
Foster and harness digital health scholarship, education, research and translation through collegiate collaboration, critical dialogue and collective action on matters of common interest to Australian universities.
Explore the tabs below to find out more about the Australian Council of Senior Academic Leaders in Digital Health.
The Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC) has formed an Australian Council of Senior Academic Leaders in Digital Health (ACSALDH; the ‘Council’) with representation from across Australia. The purpose of the Council is to harness combined academic power to advance digital technology, informatics and data science and its application to health in Australia and in particular identify priority areas and opportunities for collective action and advocacy.
Health is a sector in perpetual reform to meet increasing demand, increasing costs and increasing community expectations in a complex, fragmented and resource constrained ecosystem. The opportunity, or indeed need, to effectively apply data and digital technology as a transformational enabler of strengthening delivery and outcomes of health care and promote good health has never been greater.
The future of Australia’s health system will depend on the ability to build and scale its digital health knowledge, discovery and innovation, commercialisation and research translation. It will require an industry informed research agenda, investment and infrastructure support that will enable its transdisciplinary digital health ecosystem to evolve on an integrated, dynamic evidence base.
A coordinated and collaborative approach facilitated by senior academic leaders in digital health across Australia’s universities offers a unique and powerful opportunity to:
- promote quality, consistency and high standards in digital health education and training;
- advise on evidence-based, evolving digital transformation in health care;
- develop the digital and data science capabilities of the current and future health workforce;
- lead and respond to health system research needs in digital technology innovation and data;
- promote and support career pathways; and
- fuel innovation and health system efficiency and sustainability
– all ultimately contributing to the health and economic prosperity of Australians.
The mission of the Council is to foster and harness digital health scholarship, education, research and translation through collegiate collaboration, critical dialogue and collective action on matters of common interest to Australian universities.
The focus of the Council’s collective attention is to:
- provide strategic leadership in the higher education and health sectors on matters related to digital health scholarship;
- strengthen the quality and value of academic education and research training and of scholarly research activities in digital health (including health informatics, health data and information science and knowledge management), and to recognise the place of these in professional career structures;
- advocate for effective investment in digital health education and research; and
- represent, engage and reflect higher education institutions’ needs and perspectives, to enhance their impact and to serve as a primary point of contact for other bodies concerned with academic standards and research quality in this discipline.
The Council’s approach will demonstrate commitment to equity, diversity, inclusivity and sustainability in its endeavours.
- Establish a forum for dialogue, shared learning, building consensus and agreeing collective action as an expert voice related to digital health scholarship and professionalisation in Australia.
- Be the nexus between educational standards-setting organisations, education providers, accreditors, and employers to support capability and professionalisation in digital health, and advocate for the representation of digital health in workforce planning and professional recognition.
- Strengthen engagement with industry to scope and inform educational and training needs and identifying and responding to research priorities.
- Provide recommendations and evidence-based guidance for competency and accreditation standards, curriculum assessment for degrees and courses, quality improvement systems, and professional development of academic teaching staff in digital health.
- Foster higher education engagement in advancing curricula development for executive education, short courses, micro-credentials and experiential opportunities such as internships, placements and work-integrated learning in alignment with the Government agenda. Leverage higher education partnerships with industry to ensure curricula and training are informed by emerging and future technologies.
- Strengthen and raise the profile of digital health research, evidence and translation: improve and promote digital health research training; enhance the relevance of digital health research by engagement with the health sector; and advocate for greater investment in digital health research recognising the trans-disciplinarity required.
- Highlight and advocate for the importance of research and evidence in the implementation of digital health in practice, supporting effective digital transformation in health care.
- Other priorities as agreed by the Council.
For its establishment phase from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026, the Australian Council for Senior Academic Leaders in Digital Health (ACSALDH) is structured as follows:
Chair: Professor Clair Sullivan, Director of the Queensland Digital Health Centre (QDHeC), University of Queensland
Executive committee members:
- Professor James Boyd, La Trobe University
- Professor Kathleen Gray, University of Melbourne
- Professor Kerryn Butler-Henderson, Charles Sturt University
- Associate Professor Stephen Guinea, Australian Catholic University
- Professor Russell Gruen, Australian National University
- Emeritus Professor Christine Bennett AO, Independent Advisor
Working Groups: Focus areas include:
- Digital health R&D funding
- Health workforce education
- Digital health competency standards
- Research-informed vision for digital health
The image below is a diagram that represents this structure visually.
The Australian Council of Academic Leaders in Digital Health is comprised of a diverse group of representatives from founding universities. The full list of member organisations is shown below.
| Name | Organisation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Associate Professor Stephen Guinea | Australian Catholic University | Executive Committee Member & University Council Representative |
| Professor Nick Zwar | Bond University | University Council Representative |
| Dr Saman Khalesi | Central Queensland University | University Council Representative |
| Professor Dianne Stephens OAM | Charles Darwin University | University Council Representative |
| Professor Kerryn Butler-Henderson | Charles Sturt University | Executive Committee Member & University Council Representative |
| Professor Rosa Alati | Curtin University | University Council Representative |
| Ms Janet Green | Deakin University | University Council Representative |
| Professor Moira Sim | Edith Cowan University | University Council Representative |
| Professor Georgina Willetts | Federation University Australia | University Council Representative |
| Professor Trish Williams | Flinders University | University Council Representative |
| Professor Michelle Hood | Griffith University | University Council Representative |
| Emeritus Professor Christine Bennett AO | Independent | Advisor to Council Chair & Executive Committee |
| Professor Sarah Larkins | James Cook University | University Council Representative |
| Professor James Boyd | La Trobe University | Executive Committee Member & University Council Representative |
| Associate Professor Magda Raban | Macquarie University | University Council Representative |
| Professor Chris Bain | Monash University | University Council Representative |
| Professor Guillermo Campitelli | Murdoch University | University Council Representative |
| Professor Steven McPhail | Queensland University of Technology | University Council Representative |
| Distinguished Professor Barbora deCourten | RMIT University | University Council Representative |
| Professor Maria Constantinou | Southern Cross University | University Council Representative |
| Associate Professor Amir Aryani | Swinburne University of Technology | University Council Representative |
| Professor Hanna Suominen | The Australian National University | University Council Representative |
| Professor Russell Gruen | The Australian National University | Executive Committee Member |
| Professor Kathleen Gray OAM | The University of Melbourne | Executive Committee Member |
| Professor Wendy Chapman | The University of Melbourne | University Council Representative |
| Professor Karen Blackmore | The University of Newcastle | University Council Representative |
| Professor Rathan Subramaniam | The University of Notre Dame Australia | University Council Representative |
| Professor Clair Sullivan | The University of Queensland | Council Chair |
| Professor Adam Dunn | The University of Sydney | University Council Representative |
| Professor Brendan McQuillan | The University of Western Australia | University Council Representative |
| Professor Rachel Davey | University of Canberra | University Council Representative |
| Professor Karl Roberts | University of New England | University Council Representative |
| Professor Marion Eckert | University of South Australia | University Council Representative |
| Professor Elizabeth Cardell | University of Southern Queensland | University Council Representative |
| Professor Luke Bereznicki | University of Tasmania | University Council Representative |
| Professor Sally Inglis | University of Technology Sydney | University Council Representative |
| Dr Alison Craswell | University of the Sunshine Coast | University Council Representative |
| Professor Khin Win | University of Wollongong | University Council Representative |
| Associate Professor Blanca Gallego Luxan | UNSW | University Council Representative |
| Professor Robert Gorkin | Western Sydney University | University Council Representative |
For enquiries and to express interest in membership please email: ACSALDH@dhcrc.com
Read the media release: Senior Academic Leaders Council launched to drive collaboration across digital health research and education
September 2024 Newsletter: ACSALDH Launched at HIC 2024
Governance
The Council will initially be under the auspice of the DHCRC taking a collaborative approach and inviting all interested Australian universities to participate as members and will engage other relevant partners, where applicable.
The Council will complement and engage with other powerful advocates for health, technology, business and other disciplines and it will facilitate communication and cooperation with peak bodies and other national and international forums.
