Kelly Matthews

Professor Kelly Matthews is a respected scholar of student voice in higher education, multiple award-winning teacher, and educational leader collaborating on university-wide initiatives.

Her research has shaped the discourse on student voice in higher education, advocating for relational and collaborative educational approaches that foster student agency and ownership of learning. With over 120 publications and 80 invited talks, Kelly has secured funding from five sources, including an Australian Teaching Fellowship, to lead multi-institutional projects that drive cross-disciplinary innovation in practice and sector-wide impact informing policy.

Kelly has played a key role in establishing international collaborative writing groups and change institutes, creating and sustaining the Students as Partners Network (now in its 11th year), co-founding the International Journal for Students as Partners, and mentoring scholars to write and publish about their teaching and learning. Her strategic leadership has been recognised with a Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

In 2025, Kelly is leading a multi-institutional project with Deakin, Monash, and UTS to shape AI policy and practice through student voice. She is a founding member of the Australian Teaching/Education Focused Academic Network, which connects and supports academics committed to teaching excellence across the sector. At UQ, Kelly is shaping the university’s response to AI in higher education by developing the AI Student Hub, co-designing an AI in education ethical framework, and creating the AI in Education Innovation and Research Network. In addition, she is co-developing a new program to achieve UQ’s strategic objective for gender parity among the professoriate.

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn and read her latest co-authored book, Writing about teaching and learning in higher education.