Date and time: Thursday 24 September 2026, 4.30pm - 5.30pm ACST 
Topic: Using Reflection, Reflexivity and Innovative Feedback Methods to Foster Evaluative Thinking Using Simulated Industry Applications
Location: Hybrid - online, via Zoom with details will be emailed to registrants just prior to the start time and Flinders University city campus, FP_FTW_206_Collaborative Learning space, One Festival Tower, Station Road, Adelaide, SA 5000
Presenter: Kate Fairweather | Flinders University
Register online by: 23 September 2026

Event description:

Kate Fairweather will present on her most recently redesigned and delivered two Public Health introductory evaluation topics: one face to face and the other online by using an innovative, scaffolded assessment structure, and use evaluation simulations to equip students with evaluative thinking and skills. Students’ assessments move from reflective quizzes, to constructing foundation components of an evaluation plan. The final assessment required presentation of an intervention, assessment of topic peers’ interventions by adopting a funder, service provider, and lived experience roles, culminating in describing their experience and modification of their initial intervention plan. The experiential, feedback-driven design is more AI-robust, ensuring authentic learning, building essential perspective-taking and stakeholder communication skills. Topic graduates are equipped with practical, transferable evaluation skills increasingly demanded by government, health, and community sectors.

After presenting about the topic, a panel will discuss the approach and will be open to receiving questions, feedback and suggestions about the topic in terms of its strengths and challenges in preparing public health master student graduates for the (Health) Evaluation Industry.

Presenter details:

Kate’s career has encompassed diverse and complex roles over 20+ years university health and education sector, chiefly in wellbeing and mental health. Initially, applying epidemiological methods, she contributed significant changes/advances to knowledge in these fields. Kate has used a wide range of approaches to examine and evaluate preventive or intervention-focused programs, within general, clinical, or vulnerable populations (e.g., First Nation Peoples, people with disability, those with severe mental illness). While many roles involved ‘informal’ evaluation process, traversing into a balanced academic role at the beginning of 2022 began the transition to conceptualising evaluation from a professional/industry perspective. While developing content and teaching evaluation at undergraduate and masters level, she made contact with the AES - which was a fabulous decision!…She is incredibly grateful for this connection with AE members where she continually gains and refines her understanding of attributes and knowledge bases critical for graduates entering the evaluation industry.Kate finds the AES a truly supportive organisation and is keen to contribute to the field.

If this seminar is recorded, it will be available on the member portal only.

Note: A map of the Flinders City Campus is available: here

This event is organised & hosted by the South Australian Regional Network of the AES. Our seminar series provides an opportunity for you to meet with AES members and others in the evaluation community and to share and learn from the experiences of fellow evaluators.

Seminar start times:

SA, NT: 4.30pm

VIC, NSW, ACT, TAS, QLD: 5.00pm

WA: 3.00pm

New Zealand: 7.00pm

For other time zones please go to https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

Please ensure you have access to your email address just prior to the start time to access Zoom details. Please also check your email address is correct on your registration form before submitting. Thanks.