Professor Michael Cowling
Details
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Department: School of Computing Technologies
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Campus: City Campus Australia
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michael.cowling@rmit.edu.au
Open to
- Media enquiries
- Collaborative projects
- Industry Projects
- Masters Research or PhD student supervision
- Join a web conference as a panellist or speaker
About
Professor Michael Cowling has been a leader in educational technology for over 20 years and was the recipient of the Universities Australia 2020 AAUT Award for Teaching Excellence (Physical Sciences & Related Studies). He is currently a Professor in Computing Technologies in the STEM College at RMIT University, where he serves as Director, Hub for Apple Platform Innovation (HAPI), an Apple-focussed teaching/research space using novel computing platforms to create dynamic new experiences. He is the President (2023 to 2025) of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE), where he is also a Community Fellow, as well as the Vice-President of the Open Access Publishing Association (OAPA). He is also a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE UK). Through his mantra ‘pedagogy before technology’, he fosters thoughtfulness in technology for students, educators and the public.
Media
Research fields
- 390405 Educational technology and computing
- 460708 Virtual and mixed reality
- 461104 Neural networks
UN sustainable development goals
- 4 Quality Education
- 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Academic positions
- Associate Professor - Information & Communication Technology (ICT) & Other Roles
- Central Queensland University
- School of Engineering & Technology
- Brisbane, Australia
- 1 Nov 2003 – 2 May 2025
- Lecturer - Information Technology
- Griffith University
- School of Information Technology
- Gold Coast, Australia
- 1 Feb 2000 – 1 Nov 2003
Supervisor projects
- Optimizing AI-Driven Personalized Learning and Teacher Professional Development for Foreign Language Education in China
- 8 Jul 2025
Teaching interests
Michael teaches into various areas of Information Technology (IT) with a focus on Mobile Apps and the impact of IT on Society. He was the 2020 recipient of the Universities Australia AAUT Award for Teaching Excellence (Physical Sciences), as well as winning an AAUT Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Excellence in 2016, and several internal Teaching & Learning Excellence awards at CQUniverisity. He also won the CQUniversity Opal Award for Excellence in Engagement (Learning & Teaching) in 2019. He is an Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) Community Fellow, as well as a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society (ACS), and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
At CQUniversity, he was Chair of the L&T Awards panel as well as Chair of the L&T R&D panel, as well as a member of the promotions committee and the Learning & Teaching committee. He also represented the School of Engineering & Technology on Academic Board, and championed the Technology Enhanced Learning Community of Practice (TELCoP), focused on technology best practice at the university. At RMIT, he teaches in the area of Apple Platform Innovation, and delivers a minor available to ANY undergraduate RMIT University student.
Research interests
Michael's research interests lay at the intersection of education and information technology, generally referred to as technology enhanced learning (TEL). He is an active researcher in this space, and has recieved grant funding and written high-impact publications in the area of TEL. He has also served as senior editor for journals in the space, and is currently president of ASCILITE, which hosts the top education journal in Australia, the Australsian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET).
Beyond research, Michael believes strongly in the power of outreach and engagement. His Queensland Government workshop series ‘Weaving Technology into the Fabric of the Classroom’ has trained hundreds of educators about innovative technology, and in the Australian federal and state government supported ‘Professor Tech’ program he has presented to students in over a dozen K-12 schools, as well as across Queensland in collaboration with the Queensland Museum and the Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist, as well as at National Science Week. He also engages extensively with the media, and has appeared on local and national radio and television, as well as having written over 50 analysis and opinion pieces for the media.
