Game Changers

Series 18 Episode 209 Melissa Kennedy (Part 1): Question

The Game Changers podcast celebrates true pioneers who inspire us to take the big step forward and up in education and beyond. In episode 209 (Part 1) of Game Changers, Phil Cummins joins in conversation with Melissa Kennedy! Melissa is the Head of English at Edmund Rice College in Wollongong, NSW. Melissa has previously led teams as English Head Teacher at Albion Park High School and at The Australian International School, Singapore. She has worked in curriculum development for the NSW Department of Education and for the then NSW Board of Studies developing NSW's first online syllabus. As a sessional lecturer at the University of Canberra, Melissa lectures on the value of strong educational management and administration skills for school leaders. Teaching for over twenty years, in NSW, Singapore and London, Melissa has been messing about with words for as long as she can remember, publishing non-fiction, anthologies, teacher guides and textbooks. She is passionate about teacher education focussing on sustainable teaching practices, sharing her ideas and strategies in her new book The Sustainable Teacher (Amba Press, 2023). Melissa’s research includes a Churchill Fellowship, NSW Premier’s English Scholarship, and a Boise State Writing Project Fellowship from the United States National Writing Project teacher-leadership program. Melissa believes that successful classroom teachers make the best teachers of other teachers and is always looking for ways to develop such opportunities for educators. The Game Changers podcast is produced by Evan Phillips supported by a School for tomorrow (aschoolfortomorrow.com), and powered by CIRCLE Education. The podcast is hosted on SoundCloud and distributed through Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts. Please subscribe and tell your friends you like what you are hearing. You can contact us at gamechangers@circle.education, on Twitter and Instagram via @GameChangersPC, and you can also connect with Phil via LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Let’s go!

Series 18 Episode 208 Marek Kowalkiewicz (Part 3): Insight

The Game Changers podcast celebrates true pioneers who inspire us to take the big step forward and up in education and beyond. In episode 208 (Part 3) of Game Changers, Phil Cummins joins in conversation with Marek Kowalkiewicz! Marek Kowalkiewicz is Professor and Chair in Digital Economy at QUT Business School, and one of Thinkers360’s Top 100 Global AI Thought Leaders. He is the author of The Economy of Algorithms: AI and the Rise of the Digital Minions, winner of the 2024 Australian Business Book Award (Technology). Marek has led global innovation teams in Silicon Valley, founded SAP’s Machine Learning Lab in Singapore, and held research roles at Microsoft Research Asia. His work focuses on helping leaders understand and navigate the business implications of AI and algorithmic systems. The Game Changers podcast is produced by Evan Phillips supported by a School for tomorrow (aschoolfortomorrow.com), and powered by CIRCLE Education. The podcast is hosted on SoundCloud and distributed through Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts. Please subscribe and tell your friends you like what you are hearing. You can contact us at gamechangers@circle.education, on Twitter and Instagram via @GameChangersPC, and you can also connect with Phil via LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Let’s go!

Series 18 Episode 208 Marek Kowalkiewicz (Part 2): Node

The Game Changers podcast celebrates true pioneers who inspire us to take the big step forward and up in education and beyond. In episode 208 (Part 2) of Game Changers, Phil Cummins joins in conversation with Marek Kowalkiewicz! Marek Kowalkiewicz is Professor and Chair in Digital Economy at QUT Business School, and one of Thinkers360’s Top 100 Global AI Thought Leaders. He is the author of The Economy of Algorithms: AI and the Rise of the Digital Minions, winner of the 2024 Australian Business Book Award (Technology). Marek has led global innovation teams in Silicon Valley, founded SAP’s Machine Learning Lab in Singapore, and held research roles at Microsoft Research Asia. His work focuses on helping leaders understand and navigate the business implications of AI and algorithmic systems. The Game Changers podcast is produced by Evan Phillips supported by a School for tomorrow (aschoolfortomorrow.com), and powered by CIRCLE Education. The podcast is hosted on SoundCloud and distributed through Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts. Please subscribe and tell your friends you like what you are hearing. You can contact us at gamechangers@circle.education, on Twitter and Instagram via @GameChangersPC, and you can also connect with Phil via LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Let’s go!

Series 18 Episode 208 Marek Kowalkiewicz (Part 1): Pronoia

The Game Changers podcast celebrates true pioneers who inspire us to take the big step forward and up in education and beyond. In episode 208 (Part 1) of Game Changers, Phil Cummins joins in conversation with Marek Kowalkiewicz! Marek Kowalkiewicz is Professor and Chair in Digital Economy at QUT Business School, and one of Thinkers360’s Top 100 Global AI Thought Leaders. He is the author of The Economy of Algorithms: AI and the Rise of the Digital Minions, winner of the 2024 Australian Business Book Award (Technology). Marek has led global innovation teams in Silicon Valley, founded SAP’s Machine Learning Lab in Singapore, and held research roles at Microsoft Research Asia. His work focuses on helping leaders understand and navigate the business implications of AI and algorithmic systems. The Game Changers podcast is produced by Evan Phillips supported by a School for tomorrow (aschoolfortomorrow.com), and powered by CIRCLE Education. The podcast is hosted on SoundCloud and distributed through Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts. Please subscribe and tell your friends you like what you are hearing. You can contact us at gamechangers@circle.education, on Twitter and Instagram via @GameChangersPC, and you can also connect with Phil via LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Let’s go!

Series 18 Episode 207 Thea Stinear (Part 3): Take Care of Business

The Game Changers podcast celebrates true pioneers who inspire us to take the big step forward and up in education and beyond. In episode 207 (Part 3) of Game Changers, Phil Cummins joins in conversation with Thea Stinear! As CEO of CoolPlus and former CEO of Cool.org, Thea Stinear brings together strategic vision, classroom experience, and an unshakable commitment to educational equity, reimagining how we support the educators shaping the next generation and the future of our planet. Bold and joyfully rebellious in her mission, Thea believes great education is a catalyst for social and environmental change. At the helm of Cool.org, she led the growth of one of Australia’s leading education not-for-profits, co-creating demand-led resources and tools designed by teachers, for teachers. Together with Cool.org's founder, she helped scale the organisation to a thriving network of more than 220,000 educators. Thea’s leadership is grounded in her early years as a secondary teacher, where two students sparked her passion for sustainability and showed her how curriculum can be a powerful lever for impact. That experience continues to fuel her focus on supporting under-resourced schools and the teachers working within them. Now, through Cool.org’s trusted not-for-profit platform and CoolPlus’s premium, for-purpose model, Thea is expanding access to curriculum-aligned resources, AI-driven personalisation, and world-class professional learning. She leads with purpose, kindness, and ambition. She is always focused on impact and guided by the belief that when we truly listen to teachers and students, we get the best results. The Game Changers podcast is produced by Evan Phillips supported by a School for tomorrow (aschoolfortomorrow.com), and powered by CIRCLE Education. The podcast is hosted on SoundCloud and distributed through Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts. Please subscribe and tell your friends you like what you are hearing. You can contact us at gamechangers@circle.education, on Twitter and Instagram via @GameChangersPC, and you can also connect with Phil via LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Let’s go!