AAUT & UniSA Breakfast Series: 20 Nov (New Date)
10 November, 2025
This session will be delivered online via ZOOM.
Embedding Virtual Production in Creative Arts Education
Mr Paul Van Opdenbosch (QUT) 2024 AAUT Citation Winner for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
8.00 – 9.00 AM (ACST) Thursday 20th November 2025
Hosted by UniSA’s Teaching Innovation Unit
Register [HERE]
ABSTRACT: In this presentation, Paul Van Opdenbosch shares insights from his journey developing Virtual Production (VP) capabilities at QUT, exploring both the creative potential and institutional challenges of embedding VP within higher education. Framing VP as an expansive and evolving field, he examines how the term now encompasses a diverse range of workflows and methods that merge games, film, VFX, animation, and real-time technologies. As traditional boundaries between roles, pipelines, and production stages blur, Paul highlights how VP is reshaping industry practice and transforming teaching environments. The presentation also reflects on the importance of experimentation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and student engagement in preparing the next generation of creators for this rapidly changing landscape.
BIO: Paul Van Opdenbosch is an award-winning lecturer and researcher in QUT’s School of Creative Arts, specialising in Virtual Production, Real-Time Animation, and experimental screen practice. He leads the development of QUT Virtual Production Studio—one of Australia’s first university-based VP facilities—advancing new forms of storytelling through real-time and hybrid production research. His practice-led approach bridges creative arts, health, and technology, attracting national recognition and research funding that supports cross-disciplinary collaboration and innovation.
Paul’s teaching and leadership have transformed QUT’s creative arts curriculum, embedding Virtual Production and Situated Creative Practice into industry-facing learning. His contributions have been recognised through the 2024 Australian Award for University Teaching Citation, the 2022 QUT David Gardiner Teacher of the Year Award, and the 2025 UNSW Visiting Teaching Fellowship. As a committee member of ACM SIGGRAPH Brisbane and an Epic Games Academic Partner, Paul continues to strengthen Australia’s capacity in emerging screen and immersive media production.
Looking forward to seeing you all there.
AAUT & UniSA Breakfast Series: 16 Oct
7 October, 2025
An immersive and long-standing model of Work Integrated Learning, meeting both Academic and Professional Accreditation requirements
Watch the recording HERE
Presented by Associate Professor David Hobbs (Flinders) & Dr Thomas Vincent (Flinders) 2024 AAUT Award Winner for Programs that Enhance Learning
8.00 – 9.00 AM (ACDT) Thursday 16th October 2025
Hosted by UniSA’s Teaching Innovation Unit
ABSTRACT: The unique STEM Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program at Flinders University consistently delivers outstanding graduate employability, student learning and student satisfaction rates when compared statewide and nationally. This is despite being a smaller university based in South Australia, where employment rates are commonly the lowest nationally. Flinders’ unique WIL program immerses students in industry for up to 100 days, the longest undergraduate, core, credit-based placement in Australia. From small beginnings in 1994, the program’s success has led to sustained, planned expansion from approximately 20 undergraduate engineering students to over 300 undergraduate and postgraduate students across all STEM disciplines. This expansion of WIL as a core requirement into non-traditional areas such as mathematics is unique in its scope and design. The program has been highly commended by accrediting bodies on multiple occasions, labelled the gold standard nationally, received University awards, an Australian Award for University Teaching, and local and international recognition. The program models every criterion for good practice in WIL identified in the literature, drawing on decades of established WIL knowledge and Flinders’ proud history in delivering quality WIL programs. The program is led by a unified team of Academics and Professional staff who engage closely with industry and provide student support throughout.
BIO: Dr David Hobbs is an Associate Professor and Director of Studies for Biomedical Engineering, Master of Engineering Management, and Engineering Science at Flinders University. Dr Thomas Vincent is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Studies for Civil Engineering at Flinders University, and both A/Prof Hobbs and Dr Vincent were the Academic Leads for the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Program within the College of Science and Engineering from 2019 to 2024. A/Prof Hobbs and Dr Vincent have contributed to the WIL Community of Practice nationally through invited plenaries (the ACEN SA/NT Chapter, Australasian Association of Engineering Education Conference and Higher Education Research Group Adelaide (HERGA) podium presentation), participating as an ACEN SA/NT Chapter Committee member, WIL Australia membership and Committee involvement, as a mentor for AAUT Award applications (in the WIL Program area) and within Flinders University as WIL mentors and experts.
2025 AAUT Career Achievement Award- Nominations Now Open
6 October, 2025
Nomination period: Monday, 27 Oct – Friday, 14 Nov 2025
