Speakers and Panellists 2021
The 2021 International e-Assessment Conference and Awards
The 2021 International e-Assessment Conference and Awards was an inspiring programme of four online events that brought together keynote presentations, panel discussions, Q&A sessions and 2021 Awards presentations. Below you will find the profiles of all of the speakers and panellists from that year.
Event 1: The Future is Now
Keynote and Event Chair
Award Presenters
Dr Mary Richardson, Keynote Speaker
Associate Professor of Educational Assessment, UCL Institute of EducationMary is an Associate Professor of Education (Assessment) at UCL Institute of Education where she leads the MA in Assessment and supervises doctoral candidates researching assessment, ethics and citizenship.
She loves all things assessment and has been in engaged in work researching this area for over 20 years. Recently, she was Principal Investigator for the research strand of the TIMSS2019 project for England and was lead author on the national report. She has just started a three-year research project investigating the user-experience of AI tests of language with PTE Academic at Pearson. Her employment outside of academia includes research in examinations for AQA, the Dept of Education in England, education for campaigning NGOs and practitioner support in schools from pre-school through to post 16.
Her research interests include assessment, ethics of testing and citizenship she is currently completing a book about public confidence and trust in educational assessment. Mary sits on the Councils of the Assessment and Evaluation Association (Europe) and the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain.
Matt Wingfield, Chair
eAA Chief Executive and independent consultantWith over twenty-nine years experience within the education market as a teacher and working in a variety of roles for technology providers, Matt has built up a significant understanding of the issues relating to the use of e-assessment within education.
In 2010 Matt joined the board of the e-Assessment Association as the association’s Membership Secretary, and then in 2012 he was elected as Chairman, with a focus on supporting the association’s remit to support and inform policy-makers, providers and educators in the use of e-assessment as part of learning delivery.
Until recently Matt was Chief Business Development Officer for leading evidence-based assessment technology provider Digital Assess, a role that has seen him work closely with a number of leading assessment providers and awarding organisations. |
Matt now works as an independent consultant within the educational technology sector, supporting technology providers with market strategy development, and both awarding bodies and educators in maximising the positive impact of technology on assessment delivery.
Dr Desmond Bermingham
Chief Executive, ACER UK. Sponsor of the Best Formative Assessment ProjectDr Desmond Bermingham - CEO ACER UK, responsible for the UK and European regions of the ACER group, was previously the head of education in the UK Department for International Development (DFID); global education director for Save the Children International; and head of the Fast Track Initiative (now the Global Partnership for Education) at the World Bank. His most recent position was Director of Programmes at the Varkey Foundation, a private foundation which awards the annual Global Teacher Prize.
Viral Shah
Head of Products, Engineering and International Business, TCS iON. Sponsor of the the Best Summative Assessment ProjectViral Shah heads International Business and Solution Engineering for the education focused unit of Tata Consultancy Services – TCS iON. With more than 18+ years of experience, he has been the innovator of more than 100+ solutions. Under his leadership, TCS iON has been able to open up 8 new international geographies within a very short span of time, as well as, ventured into hardware design which led to breakthrough innovation of transmitting digital content without any form of network.
With the dream to put India on the world map for building great products for Education, he started the journey by transforming one of India’s largest university/ college entrance online in 2011 and then many more by conducting 210 million+ assessments till date. He believes in the power of AI/ ML and has setup research teams focussed on NLP, auto marking, voice/ video/ text/ image processing.
Viral has filed more than 25 patents on security of assessments, scanning, question authoring, distribution etc which has helped organisations achieve zero question paper leakage. He has been awarded “Serial Innovator” award by TATA group recognising his contribution towards innovation which has been given to only 3 people in entire TATA group till date.
Panellists
Event 2: Celebrating the Champions of Change
Keynote and Event Chair
Award Presenters
Rory McCorkle PhD, Keynote Speaker
Senior Vice President of Business Development & Client Success, PSIRory McCorkle, PhD, is the Senior Vice President of Business Development & Client Success at PSI. Dr. McCorkle has extensive experience as an expert in the testing industry. During his career, he has worked with over 350 credentialing associations, educational institutions, and admissions testing organizations including numerous world-renowned certification and licensure programs and universities. Before joining PSI, he served as the president of International Credentialing Associates (ICA), leading a team that provided strategy, design, and development consulting for credentialing assessment organizations. Dr. McCorkle is also an adjunct faculty member at Saint Joseph’s University.
Tim Burnett, Chair
eAA Chairman. Head of Marketing, SurpassHead of Marketing, Surpass Since his graduation from Loughborough University in 2000 with a BSc in Industrial Design and a teaching qualification, Tim has kept educational technology at the core of his career and personal activities.
Over the years Tim has worked on a variety of learning and assessment projects with organisations such as the BBC, Channel 4, EON Productions, National Museum of Science & Industry, City & Guilds, Government Education Agencies and other educational providers. Throughout this time, best practices in the implementation of edtech have been a key point of interest and engagement.
Working at BTL and being on the board with the e-Assessment Association has enabled Tim to develop a strong insight into the considerations and opportunities facing the future of education and its ongoing relationship with technology.
Anand Karat
President, Vretta. Sponsor of the Most Innovative Use of Technology in AssessmentAnand Karat is an engineer, entrepreneur, recreational violinist, and the CEO of Vretta - a multi-award winning, EdTech company, that has been instrumental in transforming the learning and assessment experiences in numerous jurisdictions around the world.
Anand lives by his motto “Innovatively Now”, and has spent the past 20 years contributing to the transformation of organizational processes through innovation in technology. He collaborates with ministries, examination bodies, and academic institutions, and supports them through their transformation to modernized large-scale e-assessment and learning solutions. He also shares his expertise and leadership insights through educational advisory boards and steering committees on which he serves.
On a not-so-busy day, you will find him mentoring students in an AI program, coaching entrepreneurs, analyzing whitepapers of blockchain technology projects, or playing an Irish folk song on his violin.
Richard Little
Propositions Director, RM. Sponsor of the Best Transformational ProjectRichard is responsible for managing RM’s existing customer propositions and developing new ones in the fields of e-assessment, school MIS, safeguarding and managed IT services. Working closely with schools, government ministries, examination boards and professional awarding bodies, Richard is seeking to stay one step ahead of what they may need.
With over 20 years’ experience in delivering large scale hardware and software programmes, Richard started his career as a software developer, and then built on this technical background in a range of management roles spanning telecoms, business systems software development and information security. For the past 7 years, Richard has led the e-assessment proposition strategy for RM.
In his words… “I have one of the best jobs in the company in that my team and I are tasked with developing propositions to help teachers teach, learners learn, and assessment take place more effectively than it has ever done before. What’s not to love about that?”
Panellists
Event 3: New Frontiers of Assessment
Keynote and Event Chair
Award Presenters
Eric Shepherd, Keynote Speaker
Executive Director of Talent TransformationEric Shepherd is the Executive Director of Talent Transformation, an organization promoting best practices for staying relevant during these times of change. Talent Transformation helps individuals and organizations by providing articles, podcasts, and webcasts to inspire insights into the future of work, learning, and leadership.
Eric is an accomplished leader of international businesses and associations focused on talent, assessments, and success. Eric has also led industry and standards initiatives to promote best practices for assessments, learning, and interoperability. Eric currently serves on Boards of Advisors and as Chair of the IEEE P1484.20.2 working group developing Recommended Practice for Defining Competencies. And he serves on the PwC New World, New Skills Advisory Board facilitates conversations on the future-facing vision of skills, workforce transformation, EdTech, and industry trends.
“Talent Transformation – Develop Today’s Team for Tomorrow’s World of Work” was authored by Eric Shepherd and Joan Phaup. The book explains how powerful technologies and new business models are remaking the workplace, setting the stage for new jobs and careers, empowering individuals and teams to advance organizational goals by using assessments. https://www.talenttransformation.com/Talent-Transformation-Book
Fiona Harvey, Chair
eAA Board Member, Faculty Learning Technology Lead for Social and Historical Science, UCLFiona is the Faculty Lead Learning Technologist for Social and Historical Sciences, UCL.
She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE) and was recently President and Chair for the Association for Learning Technology (2014-2017).
Fiona is actively involved in the online community and is Co-Chair of the ALT South members group and acts as External Examiner for the University of West London’s PGCert Online. She is studying for her Ph.D. with Lancaster University in e-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning. Fiona has always been interested in the development of digital literacies. skills for students and staff and enjoys exploring new technologies to enhance the student experience. She is working with her team to support their Assessment First approach in the design of their programmes and has taken an active role in Students as Partners initiatives across the sector.
Sara Pierson
Director of Exams, British Council. Sponsor of Best International ImplementationSara Pierson has been a senior manager in international education for over 20 years. She is currently global Director Examinations for the British Council, based in London, and as such, has responsibility for the delivery of 4.3 million examinations annually across over 800 locations in more than 100 countries. She has overall responsibility for the British Council IELTS business, leads on the provision of assessment services across the globe to 150+ UK awarding bodies, and steers the development and delivery of the British Council’s own English testing products.
Sara joined The British Council in February 2013 as Head of English for Education Systems, to lead and develop the Council’s contract work for ministries of education and international agencies delivering English language teacher development projects from primary to tertiary level.
Prior to joining the British Council, Sara worked for The Open University for 17 years, latterly as Director of Global Partnerships. In this capacity, she led on the development of a range of international teaching and commercial partnerships for the OU.
Sara has an MBA from The Open University and an honours degree in German Studies from Warwick University.
Patrick Craven
Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships, Policy and Stakeholders City & Guilds. Sponsor of Best Workplace or Talent Assessment ProjectPatrick has over 30 years’ experience in the field of accreditation, qualification and assessment design and educational technology.
During the last 20 years, he has focussed on the specific field of learning and assessment research and development, linked to Government Policy on skills education and national accreditation programmes. This work involves developing evidence of impact between employers, workforce requirements and productivity improvements.
At City & Guilds, he leads on Strategic Partnerships, Policy and Stakeholder Engagement. His role considers the growing impact of Policy and new technologies to help identify initiatives that enable City & Guilds to develop and extend the range and quality of learning and assessment products and services that assist people to find work and progress in their chosen careers.
Panellists
Event 4: Building Assessment for the Future
Keynote and Event Chair
Award Presenters
Charles Fadel, Keynote Speaker
Founder & Chairman, Center for Curriculum RedesignCharles Fadel is a global education thought leader and author, futurist and inventor; founder and chairman of Center for Curriculum Redesign; project director Harvard GSE; member President’s Council at Olin College of Engineering; chair education committee at BIAC/OECD; co-author of “Artificial Intelligence in Education” (2019); “Four-Dimensional Education” (framework in 21 languages) and best-selling “21st Century Skills”; founder and president Fondation Helvetica Educatio (Geneva, Switzerland). Has worked with education systems and institutions in more than 30 countries. Spent 25 years in technology management (M/A-COM; Analog Devices); founder of Neurodyne AI; formerly Global Education Lead at Cisco Systems, visiting scholar at MIT ESG and Wharton/Penn CLO, angel investor with Beacon Angels. BSEE, MBA, seven patents.
Matt Wingfield, Chair
eAA Chief Executive and independent consultantWith over twenty-nine years experience within the education market as a teacher and working in a variety of roles for technology providers, Matt has built up a significant understanding of the issues relating to the use of e-assessment within education. In 2010 Matt joined the board of the e-Assessment Association as the association’s Membership Secretary, and then in 2012 he was elected as Chairman, with a focus on supporting the association’s remit to support and inform policy-makers, providers and educators in the use of e-assessment as part of learning delivery. Until recently Matt was Chief Business Development Officer for leading evidence-based assessment technology provider Digital Assess, a role that has seen him work closely with a number of leading assessment providers and awarding organisations. | Matt now works as an independent consultant within the educational technology sector, supporting technology providers with market strategy development, and both awarding bodies and educators in maximising the positive impact of technology on assessment delivery.
Dan Howard
NCFE Operations Director - Learning for Work. Sponsor of Best ResearchDan has worked in the employability and skills sector for over 10 years. Passionate about the life-changing power of education, Dan actively collaborates with key influencers in the skills and employability industry to ensure Skills Forward and NCFE offer the best curriculum, products and services to promote and advance learning for all.
As Managing Director at Skills Forward, Dan has led the repositioning of the business in the sector, shaping and growing it to become a market leader in education and skills resources. Dan is also Operations Director for Learning for Work at NCFE, where he manages delivery of NCFE’s learning for work product portfolio which supports individuals to progress and excel in their careers, as well as providing employers with a highly skilled and productive workforce.
After graduating with a degree in business management and employment law, Dan went on to work within Welfare to Work supporting long-term unemployed individuals back into employment in some of the most socially deprived areas of the UK. He has since worked across the employability and skills sector holding senior positions in FE Colleges and Independent Training Providers, implementing, and successfully managing complex government funded contracts including navigation of Skills Reform and national roll-out of the Apprenticeship Levy.
Dan is a member of the Institute of Directors and has recently been awarded a fellowship of both the Institute of Employability Professionals, and Chartered Management Institute. He is currently a judge for the BAME Apprenticeship Awards and a Patron of the BAME Apprenticeship Alliance, and has sat on several LEP committees driving skills, inclusion, and social mobility. Dan is also chair of governors for a School in East Yorkshire, which was his Primary School where his own education began.
Dan has a reputation for customer focus, delivering excellent quality, and driving high levels of performance. This professional reputation is reflected in his personal commitment to lifelong learning, and he has just completed his L7 in Strategic Leadership.
Garrett Sherry
VP, Account Management-EMEA, Prometric. Sponsor of the Lifetime Contribution AwardGarrett Sherry, Vice President - EMEA, leads the Prometric commercial team in the region and is responsible for client testing programme delivery and strategic partnerships. He is a 16 year veteran in the assessment industry with a focus on delivering technology-enabled testing and assessment solutions for a variety of client organisations in the Driver Testing, Pre-Employment, Healthcare and Professional Certification sectors. He has worked with clients on implementing a number of complex conversions to computer based testing. A regular presenter at assessment industry conferences in EMEA and the USA, he is a previous chair of the European Association of Test Publishers and represents Prometric at CIECA the international driver testing commission. Prior to joining Prometric Garrett spent 14 years with Reuters, the global media and technology company in a number of international management roles. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Assessment Research, Policy and Practice in Education (CARPE) at Dublin City University.
Panellists
