Northern Territory International Education and Training Industry Group

Chair, NT International Education and Training (IET) Industry Group

Clare became the first Labor Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (NT) when her party won power in 2001. Over the next six years, Clare held a number of portfolios - Treasury, Major Projects, Indigenous Policy and Arts and Museums. Significant achievements over those years were increasing jobs and growth in our economy; expanding secondary education to our Aboriginal communities; completing the Alice to Darwin railway; persuading Inpex to consider Darwin for its LNG plant and reinventing the Darwin Festival.

Clare was the member for Fannie Bay from 1995 to 2008.

For the best part of two decades before then, Clare was an ABC journalist and broadcaster, working in Sydney, Canberra and Darwin - radio and TV.

Since leaving politics, Clare spent two years as the chief executive officer of ACOSS; another two as a professorial fellow at Charles Darwin University and is now either chair or director of a number of organisations in the NT - MAGNT, NT Cricket, Browns Mart Arts, the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Regional Planning Group, and Team Territory.

In 2020, Clare chaired the Northern Territory IET Rebound Taskforce, established to provide advice and recommendations to ensure the ongoing sustainability and continued growth of the IET sector in response to COVID-19. A key outcome of the taskforce was gaining the approval of the Australian and NT governments for the pilot arrival of international students in November 2020.

Clare’s partner David Alderman is a barrister at William Forster Chambers and she has two adult children.

Bayside International College

Gloria is a motivated and passionate marketing professional with over eight years experience in marketing, agency side project, graphic design, social media, influencer and event planner. She is experienced in sales and marketing for international education sector and education agency in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Currently the marketing manager at Bayside International College Australia, Gloria is responsible for recruitment of international students and working with education agents locally and abroad, based on her four year experience in the education industry in Australia.

Gloria holds a Bachelor Degree in Media and Communications from the University of Rome and another Bachelor in International Politics Science in Rome, Italy. She also completed a Master in Business for start-up with an exchange programme with Russia and Brazil.

Gloria finished her study in Australia with a Diploma in Import and Export and an Advanced Diploma in Leadership and Management.

Gloria is a strategic, driven, creative, people-person who loves collaborating with other people. She has an Italian background and speaks Spanish, Italian English fluently.

Chief Executive Officer, Alana Kaye College

Alana is chief executive officer and organisational development consultant with Alana Kaye College with extensive experience in learning and development across Australia.

To support her training experience Alana has completed her Bachelor of Adult and Vocational Education and Training (B.AVE) with the University of Tasmania, her Master of Education (M.Ed L’ship and M’ment) with Flinders University and is currently enrolled as a PhD student with Charles Darwin University.

Alana is an accredited Myers Briggs (MBTI) facilitator, Team Management Index (TMI) facilitator and DiSC Profile System trainer and provides consulting and training services to corporate clients across Australia.

Enterprise, Development and Foundation, St Philip’s College

Chief Executive Officer, Carey Training

Paul was born and raised in the town of Port Augusta in South Australia and is of Barngarla ancestry.

He joined Carey Training in May 2011 and brought with him a long and successful history of management experience and practices, including human resource and financial management, strategic planning, marketing and promotional management activities and high level industrial relations.

Prior to joining Carey Training, Paul was the manager - training of the largest private registered training organisation in South Australia (ATEC) and was responsible for all of its operations including managing up to 55 staff, operational budgets, recruitment, marketing, resource management and staff performance and appraisals. His role also included the development and monitoring of strategic plans and staff to achieve targeted outcomes and economic objectives. Prior to ATEC, Paul managed two Australian Apprenticeships Centres (ATEC and Business SA) and applied all of the tasks previously listed.

Paul is strongly committed to sustainable and viable business growth through the professional and ethical delivery of high quality training services with a superior level of customer service, delivering on promises, building trusting and mutually beneficial relationships with clients and creating a harmonious workplace where all staff are respected and valued. He is also managing director of Academy Indigenous Services, managing director of Ngare Employment Solutions, director on the board of the Savanna Alliance Australia Corporation Limited, and a member of the Quarter Club and the Resource and Engineering Skills Alliance in South Australia.

Director, CDU Global, Charles Darwin University (CDU)

Joanne Chrystal is the director, CDU Global at Charles Darwin University.

Joanne joined CDU in 2019 with a wealth of experience in international education in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Her academic qualifications include a BA (Hons) in Marketing and Psychology and a Master of Business (Marketing).

Territory Operations Manager, Navitas Professional Darwin

Robyn relocated to Darwin from Melbourne over 30 years ago (back in 1989) and has raised her family here in the Territory.

Robyn has worked in the airline industry in Darwin (both Ansett and Jetstar) for over 20 years, with Charles Darwin University for seven years in the international office as senior admissions officer and international marketing manager, and for Skycity Casino as NT Keno business development consultant for four years. She now works with Navitas Professional overseeing the Darwin operations in providing the Professional Year Program to international students.

Robyn holds two bachelor degrees in administration and tourism.

General Manager, Sector Development and Regions North, Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade

Mark has had long career in the Tourism sector spanning some 35 years. After arriving the Northern Territory (NT) he established an award winning tourism enterprise, Odyssey Safaris. Whilst owning and operating Odyssey Mark served as chair and vice chair of Tourism Top End for over eight years.

Mark Joined the NT Government in 2004 in the role of manager destination marketing at Tourism NT. Since then he has held a number of senior executive roles at NT Parks and Wildlife as well as Tourism NT. He currently holds the position of general manager, sector development and regions north at Tourism NT. The sector development function includes the development of the youth and education sector.

For the past 10 years he has sat on the Nitmiluk National Park board of management, he also sits on the board of the Savannah Way Incorporated.

Head of Campus, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic College

Executive Director, VET Business Operations

Mr Ashar Ehsan has been appointed to the role of executive director, VET Strategy and Operations, commenced in June 2018.

Ashar has a 25 year career history within the vocational and higher education sectors in the United Kingdom. He has held senior leadership roles with Cass Business School, University of Bradford, and University of Wolverhampton and worked across key areas such as business engagement, commercial enterprise, brand and student marketing and stakeholder partnerships. He has also spent a number of years in the private sector in ecommerce and corporate communications roles with Oxford Instruments Plc, and Fujitsu Siemens GmBH (Munich).

His academic qualifications include a BA (Hons) in Business Studies from Southbank University London and a Masters in Marketing Management, Kingston University London.

Ashar has engaged with governments and educational partners in South East Asia, Europe, North and South America, Canada, Japan and South Korea. Quite recently, Ashar was director of external relations for Ravensbourne, a dual sector institution in London, where he was responsible for international development and partnerships, global marketing and recruitment, and commercial enterprise teams.

Chief Executive Officer, Australian Careers College

Director, Fox Education and Consultancy

Jo has over 30 years of nursing experiences from urban to remote areas of Australia, from the east to the west, south and to the north.

She has been educating in the NT since the late 1990s to health workers, care-workers and nurses.

Based on her own learning experiences and with a passion to ensure the quality of care of individuals remains exemplary, Jo has created an environment in Fox Education and Consultancy that provides the most professional standards of learning across the NT.

Training Manager, Australian Institute of Electro Technology

Executive Officer,  Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA)

ITECA is the national industry association for approximately 1200 private providers of post compulsory education and training, including vocational education and training, English language, secondary schooling and higher education.

Michael has been the Queensland and NT executive officer for ITECA (formerly ACPET) since 2002 and has a wealth of experience within education and training. Having commenced his career in the Queensland Department of Education’s Research and Curriculum Branch in 1979 and progressed through various positions including finance officer, internal auditor, operational auditor, project manager and liaison officer.

Michael’s role with ITECA is that of advocate for the growing private education and training sector, and in ensuring that practitioners have access to relevant, current and supportive services to assist in attaining the best possible outcomes for their students and their organisations.

Michael has a Bachelor of Arts (University of Queensland) and a Bachelor of Business (Queensland University of Technology) and was invited to be a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.

Principal, St Philip’s College

Principal, St John’s Catholic College

Senior Project Officer, StudyNT, Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade

Campus Manager, Darwin City College

Rajun Karki began working as a volunteer in the non-governmental sector in 2005. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in social work in 2008, he worked for several non-governmental organisations, including a stint as logistics coordinator at ECPAT International.

In 2011, he entered the education and management sector in Nepal. For the next six years, he worked as department coordinator and faculty member at various colleges.

Rajun obtained a master’s degree in rural development in 2014. He continued his long-standing involvement with academics, receiving a master’s degree in business administration, and another in professional accounting in 2019.

Principal / Chief Executive Officer, The Essington School Darwin

Director International Education and Non-government School Services, Department of Education 

Debra is responsible for establishing long-term strategic direction for international school education and supporting international school partnership arrangements. Debra leads international education programs and initiatives for school-aged students, including fee-paying programs for inbound students, teacher and student exchange programs, sister schools and other international education partnerships.

Before joining the Department of Education as a curriculum consultant in 2004, Debra was head of English, ESL and Literacy at St John’s College, Darwin. Previously Debra had taught in various South Australian high schools and at Makassar International School, Sulawesi, Indonesia - where she gained a thorough understanding of the needs and diversity of school-aged international students and learned to speak Bahasa Indonesia.

Debra has a Master of Literacy and Language and a Bachelor of Education from the University of South Australia.

Managing Director, International College of Advanced Education

Sean established the International College of Advanced Education (ICAE), Darwin in 1997, and has overseen the growth from inception to now being an international institution with both Australian and international students. ICAE offers courses in hospitality, cookery, business and management for international students.

Sean has completed in 2017, seven years as a national board member for the peak body in the private education sector, Australian Council of Private Education and Training (ACPET), and is still an active member of the International Education subcommittee. Sean has been a member of the International Business Council (IBC) of the NT Chamber of Commerce, and has been chairman since 2005. The IBC is a strategic advocacy group for international trade - including for business to and from the NT.

Sean hold postgraduate qualifications in Management Development (Education and Training) and Australian Migration Law and Practice. He is a registered migration agent registered with the Office of Migration Agents Registration Authority (#1279210), and provides visa advice and processing services to clients including students.

Principal, Haileybury Rendall School

Andrew McGregor became the second principal of Haileybury Rendall School in January 2021.

Prior to this he was an educational leader in prestigious independent schools in Melbourne including Wesley College, Carey Grammar, Haileybury and Westbourne Grammar. Each of these schools has a large cohort of international students from South-East Asia.

Haileybury Rendall School is about to build a new boarding facility with a capacity of 60 students that will be aimed at attracting students from South-East Asia to study with Haileybury. The facility is planned to open in early 2022 and the potential students and their families will provide a worthwhile boost to the Darwin economy.

Manager Industry Councils, Chamber of Commerce NT

Originating from Ireland and the United Kingdom, Kate came to the Northern Territory (NT), Australia in 2011 where shortly after she joined the Chamber of Commerce NT as the admin and research officer for two industry councils, the NT Manufacturers Council and the International Business Council.

Kate has a Batchelor Degree of Business - Small and Medium Enterprise and has worked in finance, banking and customer service roles prior to the Chamber NT.

Kate was appointed as the assistant manager for the industry councils in 2017 and has acted in the manager role on various occasions while senior management were on leave.

Kate is proud to call the Territory home and strives to work with and for the needs of local business. Over her nine year tenure, Kate has co-lead member focused initiatives, advocated the concerns and feedback of the community to boards, senior management and government, and has assisted in the delivery of positive outcomes and reforms.

Kate has participated in various steering committees and working groups with industry-specific focus, including the recent NT Government’s Steel Sector Study and an IBC-lead international education working group.

Kate has extensive experience in event coordination and has worked to deliver successful key events and programs including the annual Chief Minister’s NT Export and Industry Awards, a Buy Local Industry Forum, oil and gas, and defence-related opportunity forums and the annual production of the NT Services Suppliers and Manufacturers Directory.

A valuable member of the Chamber NT team, Kate holds a wealth of knowledge across all internal departments.

Kate Morrissey was appointed industry councils manager for the Chamber of Commerce NT in April 2020.

Chief Executive Officer, Australian Institute of Business and Technology, Sydney International School

Manager International Operations, Alana Kaye College

Kirsty has been involved in training and education for 15 years in both federal and state government as well as the vocational education and training sector.

She holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (First Class Honours), along with various other qualifications including the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and recently completed the Diploma of Education and Training.

Prior to joining BCA National in 2013 Kirsty was employed by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service as the training manager where she played a key role in maintaining the organisations registered training organisation compliance.

Kirsty is passionate about assisting people to achieve relevant workplace knowledge and skills, through quality training programs, to make a difference in their lives and well-being. Kirsty, along with the Darwin team, are committed to providing support to assist students in NT and WA achieve their goals.

Kirsty also delivers the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and is a group fitness instructor, delivering Les Mills programs, in her spare time.

Director of Catholic Education

Chief Executive Officer, Canterbury Institute of Management

Gajinder Paul (Justice of the Peace) is an engineer turned educator. Mr Paul is well known in international education sector in Australia. He started his career in manufacturing and after a postgraduate degree in management got attracted towards education when migrated to Australia in 1997. He is qualified with qualification in migration law from Deakin University. Mr Paul is also a certified scrum and agile trainer.

Mr Paul set up Vocational Educational Education Institute in 1999 and later in year 2000, with assistance of a Queensland based university, started delivering higher education programs both in undergraduate and postgraduate sector till date. He has also worked as director marketing for 20 years in the higher education sector.

With a passion for travel, Mr Paul looks after five marketing offices of Canterbury Education Group, attend study in Australia exhibitions and is in regular contact with Austrade and Australian embassies in all countries he travels.

Mr Paul is also a MARA certified agent since 1999 to assists students voluntarily if any student need guidance in relation to student visa or other inquiries they may have.

Chief Executive Officer, Group Training NT and Chairman of Australian Skills Institute

Kathryn Stenson is 19 years into her career in the vocational education training and employment industries.

Kathryn is passionate about apprenticeships and traineeships and the benefits they provide people of all ages to gain qualifications through structured workplace learning.

Kathryn is a director of the Apprentice Employment Network QLD and NT and also of the National Australian Apprenticeships Association.

Director, MigrationNT, Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade

Chief Executive Officer, Australian National Institute of Management and Technology

Principal Executive Officer, Sydney City College of Management and Darwin City College

Ms. Ranju Thapa is the principal executive officer Sydney City College of Management. She has an excellent academic achievement under her belt. As well as she holds higher education degrees in IT management and information technologies from Central Queensland University and Charles Sturt University. She also pursued industry skills such as Certificate IV in Human Resources from an Australian vocational education and training institute and Diploma in Information Technology (CCNA) from Lidcombe TAFE.

Prior to coming to Australia, Ranju initially had a medical background where she worked as a health assistant in remote parts of Nepal. After arriving to Australia in 1995, she continued working as a nurse assistant until she found her true passion which was information technology. Ranju began her professional career in 2002 as a network engineer with one of a leading technology conglomerate CISCO. While working with CISCO she worked her way up to becoming security / technical analyst and in 2005 served as security technical lead in Budapest, Hungary for couple of months. Gradually, she worked with one of the largest MNCs, Nestle, as network services specialist for over a decade and later, she worked as service integration manager. During her prolific IT career, Ranju has led several high-end projects, managed teams of vast culture and nationalities and was always a part of constant monitoring and innovation in networking and communication.

Ranju has always actively participated in social causes since 1992 while working as medical paramedics in Nepal, counselling to women to empower their stand on health matters and stand for their rights on family planning for birth control. Likewise, served as a founder vice president of Non-Residential Nepalese Association (NRNA). After being elected as first female to serve as vice president of non-residence national coordination council of Australia, Ranju has a Nari Nikunja NRNA NCC women forum. She has been able to form 34 forums across the globe aimed at woman empowerment and uplifting their lives. As global spokesperson of NRNA and a social activist she has raised charity globally for several causes namely for relief fund post-Earthquake in Nepal 2015.

As the principal executive officer, Ranju brings her diverse experience to college by providing leadership and direction to the institute’s purpose, values, and objectives. She is also responsible for ensuring the effective development and implementation of strategy to ensure Sydney City College of Management remains competitive, profitable, and compliant.

Alice Springs representative

Dr Don Zoellner has worked in the school, vocational and higher education sectors in the NT since 1973. He served as the executive director of Centralian College in Alice Springs and pro vice-chancellor VET and Community Engagement at Charles Darwin University.

He has been a member of the board of directors of the Enterprise and Career Education Foundation, a member of the National Advisory Council on Suicide Prevention, chairperson of the Australian Principals’ Associations Professional Development Council and a board member of TAFE Directors Australia. Dr Zoellner has served on numerous advisory committees, reviews and evaluations of education and training at both NT and national levels.

Dr Zoellner is a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators and recently retired board chair of Group Training NT. He is the independent chair of the Industry Skills Advisory Council NT and has recently been appointed as the NT representative on the Australian Industry and Skills Committee.

Dr Zoellner completed his Doctor of Philosophy in 2013 by describing the development and implementation of vocational education and training policy in Australia and continues to research, write and publish in the area.

Campus Manager, Australian Careers College, Darwin

Deputy Director, Northern Territory Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Special Project Lead, International Education Centre of Excellence, Austrade

Eliza is a proven leader to build organisational capabilities, drive change, cultivate positive relationships, and secure business outcomes.

She has led culturally diverse teams across different markets to facilitate international partnerships in trade, investment, education and R&D over a long career in higher education, government and diplomacy.

Prior to her current role, Eliza had served as Austrade’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for Taiwan from 2015-2020, driving the Australian Government’s trade and investment promotion.

She successfully delivered new sectoral opportunities in renewables, health, digital services and skills training to Australian businesses.  This was in addition to up-keeping the strong ties in resources and energy, agri-food and education.

From 2010-2015, Eliza was Austrade’s inaugural Education Commissioner for North Asia based in the Australian Consulate-General in Shanghai to re-position Australian education and training in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Mongolia.

Previously, she held leadership roles in a range of management, policy and global marketing portfolios at several Australian universities, including 14 years at The University of Adelaide from 1996 - 2010.

Marketing Manager, International House, Darwin

Veronika is an experienced marketing manager and a salesperson. She is a driven person, who takes pride in providing the best services to all International House’s agents and students. As a marketing manager, her goals include recruiting new agencies, taking care of the current ones, and making sure, that they have the best experience with International House.

Currently, she is completing her 6th year at International House.

Back in the Czech Republic, where she is from, she completed a Master’s degree in Marketing and Management, after which, she moved to England and lived there for a year before coming to Australia.