Research and Projects
This page gathers some of the projects I have undertaken over the years, some on my own and others alongside talented collaborators. Each one carries its own story of curiosity, partnership and learning, spanning research, enterprise, publishing and the performing arts. I hope you enjoy exploring them as much as I enjoyed bringing them to life.
Research Projects
1
AI in Assessments
This approved action research project explored the use of AI as an assessment tool for students in the classroom. Completed in 2025, its findings were presented at the 6th Barcelona Conference on Education (BCE2025), hosted by IAFOR in Barcelona, offering fresh insight into how students can use AI openly and responsibly in their learning.
2
Pedagogical Challenges in Online Education
This approved research project began in Australia, exploring the challenges international students faced in online learning and teaching during the pandemic, and was later carried over to the UK. Its findings were presented at the 5th Barcelona Conference on Education (BCE2024), hosted by IAFOR in Barcelona in November 2024.
3
Spirituality, Education and Human Experience
My doctoral research at the University of Tasmania, completed in 2018, explored spirituality beyond religion and its place in education, technology and human experience. It continues to shape how I think about judgement, ethics and what it means to stay human in an age of AI.
4
Spirituality and AI
(working paper)
This research explores where spirituality and artificial intelligence meet, examining the ethical questions AI raises and how it may shape personal and collective experiences of meaning, purpose and connection.
Other Earlier Projects
01
PhD Research Project 2013-2018: “Academic Viewpoints on Spirituality in Higher Education: An Exploratory Qualitative Study”
My doctoral research at the University of Tasmania was an exploratory qualitative study of how academics view spirituality in higher education. Between 2013 and 2017, I interviewed academics from the business school and teacher education, exploring what spirituality means in learning and gently unpicking some common misconceptions.
Some academics wove spiritual aspects into their teaching quite naturally, while others felt a clear, shared academic definition was needed before it could be integrated well. Set within an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion framework, the study also revealed the quiet challenges academics face when spirituality enters the classroom. I was awarded my doctorate for this work in 2018, and its questions about meaning, ethics and human experience continue to shape Hyacinth Conduit today.
If you would like to learn more, I would be glad to hear from you.
02
Project Management
for a novel trilogy
From 2015 to 2018, I served as project manager for the novel “The Department of Truth,” guiding its growth into a trilogy for an Australian author. The work began with market research to understand the readership and where the books might find their place. From there it grew to include editing the manuscript, working through the challenges of collaborating online and steering the whole self-publishing process.
Staying in constant communication with both the author and the publisher kept the project moving smoothly, from the first planning stages to its completion in 2018. Alongside setting milestones and managing the budget, I designed and led the author’s marketing on Facebook and other social media, building an engaged audience that played an important part in promoting the trilogy.
The project also included organising a book launch tour in Tasmania, giving readers an immersive experience and a chance to meet the story and its author in person. As the trilogy evolved during the project, my role evolved with it, balancing online coordination with active social media marketing.
Throughout, I monitored progress closely, addressed issues as they arose and kept communication open and transparent. Seeing the trilogy through to completion affirmed what careful project management can achieve across self-publishing, online collaboration, social media marketing and local launch events.
03
Hyacinth Training Consultants: An Entrepreneurial Project
Hyacinth Training Consultants was an entrepreneurial venture in human resource development that ran from 2008 to 2013. It grew from careful surveys of training needs in society and was carried by a creative, motivated team, working alongside a wide network of trainers and facilitators, each specialising in a different area of learning.
Over those years, Hyacinth designed and delivered tailored training for banks, insurers, professional firms and many other organisations. Every programme began with a thorough Training Needs Analysis, and the aim was always the continuous development of people rather than isolated courses, treating training as an investment rather than an expense.
Guided by the principle of “Unity in Diversity,” the team brought together professionals and students with a broad range of perspectives. The work centred on four core areas: Banking Skills, Technical Skills, Soft Skills, and Management Skills.
The spirit of that work lives on in Hyacinth Conduit, which carries the same belief in human potential into an age of AI.
04
Performing Arts- various projects
The performing arts have been a quiet driving force in my life since childhood. As a little girl, I loved singing for guests at home, and acting in school productions planted a passion that has stayed with me ever since. As a teenager, I appeared in a music video for television. The roles were small, yet they taught me a great deal about acting in front of a camera.
The stage soon became my true home, and I found deep joy in live performance. That joy led me to explore every side of theatre, and in time I began writing, directing and producing stage plays of my own, especially for children and young people, on many different occasions.
My enthusiasm for performing once even earned me a mention in a newspaper. I still remember rushing straight from college to a television station, eager to bring my energy and skills to the screen. In my youth, I also joined friends in a band to record an audio cassette of Bahá’í songs, a heartfelt collection that taught me the beauty of creating something together.
Beyond the stage, I have served as a master of ceremonies, a public speaker and an interpreter in several languages. Each role has broadened how I communicate and present, and together they shape the way I hold a room today, whether I am facilitating a workshop, leading a seminar or simply helping people find their voice.
