Australia India Institute

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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We gratefully acknowledge the many contributors across India and Australia whose expertise shaped this work.
Posted on: 6 Mar 2026
The Australia India Institute, along with our external partners in developing Tools for Applied Learning in Secondary School, wish to acknowledge the contribution of all those, in both India and Australia, who offered their expertise, guidance and feedback along the way.

Project Team – Australia India Institute

  • A/Prof. Haripriya Rangan
  • Ms Hiya Harinandini
  • Dr Alice Garner
  • Ms Briena Barrett
  • Mr Darryl Mohr
  • Ms Rara Anugrah

Research Partners

  • Dr Madhuri Dubey, Founder, National Skills Network, India
  • Prof. Padma Sarangapani and Dr Richa Sharma, Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, TATA Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
  • A/Prof. Shelley Gillis and Dr Mary Leahy, Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne
  • Prof. Amit Prakash, Centre for Accessibility in the Global South, International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore

Steering Committee

  • Mr Derek Scott (Chair), Chair, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)
  • The Hon Lisa Singh, CEO Australia India Institute
  • Ms Elizabeth Campbell-Dorning, Director, South Asia, International Engagement Branch, International Division, Australian Government Department of Education
  • A/Prof Shelley Gillis, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne
  • Prof Amit Prakash, Convenor, Centre for Global Accessibility in the Global South (CAGS), IIIT-B
  • Prof Padma M Sarangapani, Chairperson, Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, TISS
  • Dr Michelle Lasen, Principal Research Fellow, Centre for School and System Improvement, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
  • A/Prof Jennifer Clifton, President Australian Teacher Education Association (ATEA)
  • Ms Helene Rooks, CEO, Vocational and Applied Learning Association (VALA)
  • Dr Sarah Richardson, Executive Director, Asia Education Foundation, Asialink
  • Prof Pankaj Arora, Chairperson, National Council for Teacher Education
  • Ms Pramila Manoharan, Representative, UNICEF India
  • Mr Raj Gilda, Co-Founder and Vice President, Lend-A-Hand India
  • Dr Biswajit Saha, Director, Indian Central Board of School Education
  • A/Prof Melissa Barnes, Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching, La Trobe University

Workshop Speakers & Participants

Bengaluru Speakers (July 2025)
  • Prof. Vinay Swarup Mehrotra, Professor & Head, Curriculum Development & Evaluation Centre & Centre for International Relationship, PSSCIVE-NCERT
  • Prof. John Firth, Vice-Chancellor’s Strategic Fellow, Victoria University and author of Review into vocational and applied learning pathways in senior secondary schooling
  • Ms Gayathri Vasudevan, Chief Impact Officer, Sambhav Foundation
  • Ms Helene Rooks, Chief Executive Officer, Vocational and Applied Learning Association
Melbourne Speakers (October 2025)
  • Mr Emmanuel Skoutas, Assistant Principal, Camberwell High School
  • Ms Deepika Goyal, Senior Manager, Lend a Hand
  • Ms Julie Spring, Curriculum Manager, SEDA College
  • Ms Supriya Dey, Managing Trustee, Vision Empower Trust
  • Prof. Amit Prakash, Centre for Accessibility in the Global South, IIIT-B
Online Workshop (August 2025)
  • Indian teachers and school leaders who shared their applied learning experiences and questions

Site Visits

Bengaluru (July 2025)
  • Ms Sugandha Sukrutaraj, Founder, AMBA for Life
  • Mr Chandrashekhar Ramaiah, Head of Learning and Development, Sambhav Foundation
  • Mr Manjunath, Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT), Karnataka
  • Ms Manju Balasubramanyam, Principal, Delhi Public School Bangalore North
  • Ms Supriya Dey, Co-Founder, Vision Empower Accessible Resource Centre, IIITB
Melbourne (October 2025)
  • Mr Sam Nikolsky, Director Wyndham Tech School
  • Mr Emmanuel Skoutas, Principal, Camberwell High School
  • Ms Megan Rawlins, Assistant Principal, Mount Alexander College
  • Mr David Parrish, Bendigo Kangan Institute Automotive Centre of Excellence, Docklands
  • Mr Joe Ormeno, CEO, The Gordon and Geelong Tech School
  • Ms Raffaela Galati-Brown, Principal, Northern College of the Arts and Technology (NCAT)

Additional Contributors

  • Individual applied learning experts who met with us to respond to our questions and guide our approach in specific areas.
  • We would like to give special mention to Helene Rooks of the Vocational and Applied Learning Association, Deepika Goyal and Raj Gilda of Lend a Hand India, and the teachers and leaders at Delhi Public School Bangalore North who contributed to both workshops and the teachers’ session.

We would also like to thank the following professors at Pandit Sundarlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), Bhopal who met to advise the Tools team in the lead-up to the launch:

  • Prof.  Vinay S. Mehrotra
  • Dr Deepak Paliwal
  • Dr Pinki Khanna
  • Prof. Deepak Shudhalwar
  • Dr Munesh Chandra Trivedimaybe
  • Prof. Pankaj Mehta
  • A/Prof. Vinod Kumar Yadav

While there were more contributors than we’ve been able to list, our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who supported this work in ways big and small. 

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