Rachel Fitzgerald

Associate Professor Rachel Fitzgerald is Deputy Associate Dean (Academic) in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at The University of Queensland, where she leads strategic initiatives in digital education, curriculum innovation, assessment transformation, and teaching quality. Her work focuses on responsible AI in higher education, online learning design, assessment innovation, and future-focused curriculum development.

Rachel chairs UQ’s Digital Learning Sub-Committee and is Chair of the national Teaching and Education Focused Academic (TEFA) Network, representing more than 1,400 Education Focused academics across Australia. She is also Editor in Chief of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice and a Principal Fellow of Advance HE (PFHEA), recognised for sustained strategic leadership in higher education teaching and learning.

Her research and leadership explore the intersection of AI, digital transformation, pedagogy, and academic development, with a particular focus on ethical and human-centred approaches to educational innovation. Rachel contributes to national and international policy discussions, keynote events, and sector initiatives related to AI, assessment, online learning, and teaching quality.

Her recent publications include the Springer Nature book: Technology-Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University, the Routledge book: Navigating the Impossible in Online Learning Design and a UQ Pressbooks pubication Inquiry in action: using AI to reimagine learning and teaching: case studies from the frontline of higher education practice.

Areas of expertise include:

• Generative AI in higher education
• Digital learning and online pedagogy
• Assessment and academic integrity
• Curriculum innovation and learning design
• Teaching quality and academic development
• Lifelong learning and microcredentials