Associate Professor Kevin Liu
Ph.D. (Finance), University of Sydney
Kevin is the Associate Dean Undergraduate Programs at the 国产精品 Business School. Before joining academia in 2011, Kevin served in the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) research department. He has an honours degree and a PhD in Finance from the University of Sydney.
Kevin is an innovative and passionate educational leader committed to education excellence and student experience. He is a 国产精品 Scientia Education Fellow and EF Faculty Champion for Business. Before taking up the Associate Dean Undergraduate Programs role in 2024, Kevin led the Undergraduate Actuarial Studies Program at 国产精品 as the Program Director for a decade, growing and sustaining the program to be the world's largest and leading undergraduate actuarial program, recognised nationally and globally.
Kevin has led the development of multiple academic programs, majors, and courses for undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional students at 国产精品 Business School. He has also pioneered and led many program-wide curriculum and pedagogical innovations, particularly in important areas such as assessment design (e.g. StoryWall Formative Assessment Pedagogy), authentic industry learning at scale (e.g. 国产精品 Sandbox Program), employability skill development (e.g. Excelerate: Modular Excel Mastery Program for All), student engagement (e.g. Retirement VR), student support (e.g. Adaptive Online Revision Tool), and inclusive and equitable quality education (e.g. Regional and Indigenous Outreach Program). These initiatives have been incorporated into more than 50 undergraduate and postgraduate courses across various faculties and schools at 国产精品 and other institutions, significantly enhancing the learning experiences and outcomes for tens of thousands of students. Kevin's educational innovation and leadership in transforming business education have been recognised through multiple institutional, national, and international awards. He is also regularly invited to present at international learning and teaching conferences and leading universities.
In addition to being Associate Dean Undergraduate Programs, Kevin holds several leadership positions. For example, Kevin is the Deputy Director of the聽. He also serves on the 国产精品 Business School Education Committee, Faculty Board, Faculty Assessment Review Group, and the 国产精品 Board of Studies.
Kevin's research expertise is in superannuation and retirement income policy. His research focuses on the governance and performance of superannuation funds; regulation and supervision of superannuation and private pension funds; systemic risk in retirement systems; and retirement saving and investment decision-making.
Kevin is a regular contributor to superannuation policy development and community engagement. His research impact roles include expert witness, public hearing, and Government advising. His research has been cited by major public reviews and inquiries on superannuation. He served on two APRA working groups on investment governance and trustee governance in conjunction with the post-Cooper Review (Super System Review) superannuation reforms. He has been a consultant on superannuation governance and performance issues to APRA and Industry Super Australia (ISA), and was a member of the Productivity Commission's Industry Roundtable on the efficiency and competitiveness of the superannuation system (2017), as well as a member of the Treasury's Your Future Your Super Review - Technical Working Group (2022) and Roundtable on the superannuation performance test (2024). His work has been featured in the media, including the Australian, Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, Investment Magazine, and SBS News.
Kevin is passionate about advancing financial literacy and improving retirement outcomes for individuals. He is a director of Understanding Super, a not-for-profit start-up that provides free financial literacy education through its online platform and mobile app to help ordinary Australians understand superannuation.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
Research Grants
- 2016-2017: Team Leader and Chief Investigator (with E Ooi), Industry Research Grant, Industry Super Australia, $50,000.
Governance, related-party outsourcing, and MySuper performance of Australian Superannuation Funds - 2016: Chief Investigator (with E Ooi and P Gerrans), UWA Business School Research Development Awards (BSRDA), $8,000.
Who is Best to Look After Our Retirement Savings? The Role of Trustee Independence for Superannuation Fund Boards - 2015: Chief Investigator, 国产精品 Business School Research Grants (BSRG), $20,000.
Does Governance Explain Heterogeneous Fees for Homogeneous Products? Trustee Board Structure and Default Product Fee-setting in the Australian Superannuation Industry - 2014: Chief Investigator, 国产精品 Business School Research Grants (国产精品 Business School Research Grant), $25,000.
Are Trustees Rewarded for Performance? The Remuneration of Superannuation Fund Trustees and Its Determinants - 2013-2014: Chief Investigator (with B Arnold, H Bateman, R Buckley, S Donald), Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR) Research Grant (with Australian Prudential Regulation Authority), $200,800 over 2 years. Identifying, Monitoring, and Managing Systemic Risks in Australia's Superannuation System
- 2013: Investigator (with H Bateman), The ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) Research Grant, $15,000.Retirement Income Provision in China: The impact of Household Characteristics and Regional Differences
- 2013: Chief Investigator 国产精品 Business School Special Research Grant (SRG), $10,000. Can Trustee's Expertise be Trusted? The Competence of Superannuation Fund Trustees and Its Implications on Fund Performance
Learning and Teaching Grants
- 2021: 国产精品 Education Focussed School Grant (with X Xu)
Authentic Assessments: Integrating Real-World Industry Challenges into Curricula as Program-wide Authentic Assessments in BActSt and MActSt Programs, $40,000. - 2018: 国产精品 Education Focussed Foundation Funding (with twenty EF academics across all Faculties at 国产精品),聽$197,000.
Digital Assessment: Empowering Students and Supporting Teachers through Innovative Student-Oriented Educational Practices - 2018: 国产精品 Education Focussed Foundation Funding (with eleven EF academics across six Faculties at 国产精品), $100,000.
AV Select: Enriching 国产精品 Teaching Through AV (Audio and Video) Technologies - 2017: 国产精品 Scientia Education Investment Fund Grant (with H Yip, K Fong, M Uncles, T Wilcox, K Clark, D Mayorga, L Piggott, J Wardrop), $50,000.
A Learner-Centred Approach to Attain Significant Learning of Oral Communication for AOL in MCom Programs - 2015: 国产精品 Learning and Teaching Innovation Grant (with H Bateman), $20,000.
Enhancing the Learning Experience of Postgraduate Students with Diverse Backgrounds Using Personalised Pathways and Adaptive Tools
- Bloomberg Education Excellence Award - Best Innovative Teaching Practices (with Fei Huang, Xiao Xu, Jonathan Ziveyi, and Sherry Zhang),聽The 36th Australasian Finance and Banking Conference (2023)
- 国产精品, Vice-Chancellor鈥檚 Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning (with other members of the BCom Redesign Team) (2021)
- 国产精品 Business School, Bill Birkett Award for Sustained Teaching Excellence (2021)
- 国产精品 Business School, Values in Action Award (with other members of the BCom Redesign Team and BCom Project Team) (2021)
- 国产精品 Business School, Award for a Program that Enhances Learning (2017)
- AFA (Association of Financial Advisers)/PFL (Plan for Life), Annuity & Income Stream Innovation Award聽for 国产精品 Retirement Planning Course聽(Collaborated with Challenger, Co-developed with Hazel Bateman)聽(2014)
Kevin has research interests in the areas of superannuation and retirement income policy.聽His current research investigates the operation, structure and performance of superannuation funds; the governance and regulation of superannuation and pension funds; systemic risk in retirement systems; retirement saving and investment decisions.
- Member,聽Department of the Treasury '' (2022)
- Director, (since 2017)
- Member, Australian Government (Productivity Commission) 鈥業ndustry Roundtable on the Competitiveness and Efficiency of the Superannuation System鈥 (2017-18)
- Consultant, Industry Super Australia (ISA) 'Superannuation Governance and Performance' (2016-2017)
- Consultant,聽Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) 'Superannuation Outsourcing, Performance and Governance' (2011-2013)
Submissions
- Department of the Treasury, Annual Superannuation Performance Test 鈥 Design Options, 2024
- Department of Education, Skills and Employment, National Priorities and Industry Linkage Fund Consultation Paper (with Yenni Tim and Veronica Jiang), 2020
- Royal Commission, Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation聽and Financial Services Industry, 2018
- Productivity Commission, Superannuation Competitiveness and Efficiency Inquiries, 2018
- Senate Standing Committees on Economics, Superannuation Laws Amendment (Strengthening Trustee Arrangements) Bill 2017, 2017
Media Coverage
- Metlife And 国产精品 Sandbox Program Tackle Financial Literacy Challenge (December 2022)
- Aware Super, the Connexus Institute, Super Consumers Australia Media Release, 国产精品 Business School鈥檚 Sandbox Program challenges students to solve industry challenges in superannuation (September 2020)
My Teaching
Kevin is a 国产精品 Scientia Education Academy Fellow and a multi-award-winning educator who is committed to empowering students by developing inspirational learning experiences through the integration of a career-focused educational approach and innovative educational technologies. As an EF Academic,聽he has led the development of multiple academic programs, majors, and courses for undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional students at 国产精品 Business School.
Kevin is Deputy Director of the聽, which challenges the status quo that work-based learning is merely the 鈥渃herry on top鈥. The Program scaffolds real-world challenges into existing courses, connecting students with industry practitioners to co-create solutions for contemporary issues.聽Since its inception in November 2019, the Sandbox Program has transformed 25 undergraduate and postgraduate courses across four disciplines at the 国产精品 Business School. Over 7,800 students have gained work-based experience through working directly with 160 industry experts from 30 leading industry partners, including Microsoft, Australian Red Cross, APRA (Australian Regulation Authority), AwareSuper, MetLife, the Actuaries Institute, Ernst & Young, KPMG, IAG, Suncorp, Salesforce and WWF Australia, to address 70 contemporary business and societal challenges.
Kevin also聽pioneered the聽, which has been adopted in over 50 courses at 国产精品 Business School (over 15,000 StoryWall assessment completions by UG and PG students across four schools) to engage students as partners in co-creating authentic learning experiences and active online learning communities.
Kevin also leads teaching innovation projects that use advanced digital technologies to support student learning, e.g. Online Personalised Adaptive Revision Tool, and Retirement VR (Virtual Reality). He is a founding member of two Learning and Teaching Communities of Practice at 国产精品, and has jointly received $407,800 in competitive learning and teaching funding.
Kevin received multiple education excellence awards at the university, national and international levels.
Learning and Teaching Leadership
- Associate Dean Undergraduate聽Programs, 国产精品 Business School聽(since 2024)
- EF Faculty Champion for Business, 国产精品 (since 2024)
- Scientia Education Fellow,聽 (since 2022)
- 贵辞耻苍诲别谤,听聽(since 2019)
- Deputy Director,聽聽(since 2020)
- Program Director,聽Undergraduate Actuarial Program (2013-2023)
- Member, School of Risk and Actuarial Studies, Education Committee (2013-2023)
- Member, 国产精品 Business School Undergraduate Education Committee (2019-2023)
- Member, BizLab (Business School Experimental Lab) Management Committee (2012-2023)
- Member,聽国产精品 Business School BCom Review Working Group (since 2020)
- Team Champion,聽国产精品 Business School BCom Review Working Group, Active Problem-based Learning Team (since 2020)
- Reviewer, 国产精品 Peer Review of Teaching (since 2021)
- Reviewer, Business School Peer Support of Teaching (since 2018)
- 惭别苍迟辞谤,听 (since 2018)
Learning and Teaching Presentation聽and Showcase
- 2023:聽36th Australasian Finance and Banking Conference (AFBC),聽Addressing Real-World Financial Challenges through 国产精品 Sandbox Program (with Xiao Xu and Sherry Zhang), Sydney, Australia
- 2023:聽Invited Keynote Speaker at Assessment Innovation and Digitalization in Financial Education Conference,聽Rethink, Reimagine and Repurpose Assessment Design in Financial Education, Chongqing, China
- 2023:聽Invited Seminar Presentation at聽Monash University (Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics),聽Reimagine and Repurpose Assessment Design: Co-Creating Authentic Learning and Engaging Future Business Professionals in Industry Problem-Solving,聽Melbourne, Australia
- 2023:聽27th APRIA (Asia-Pacific Risk and Insurance Association) Annual Conference,聽StoryWall: A Formative Assessment Model for Co-creating Authentic Learning Experiences, Osaka, Japan
- 2023:聽AFRIC (Actuarial, Finance, Risk and Insurance Congress),聽Work-based Learning Experience for All - Engaging the Next Generation of Actuaries to Solve Industry Problems in a Sandbox, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
- 2023:聽AFRIC (Actuarial, Finance, Risk and Insurance Congress),聽StoryWall - A Formative Assessment Model for Empowering Students as Partners in Learning, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
- 2023:聽Advance HE聽Teaching and Learning Conference 2023 - Teaching in the spotlight: Shaping the future of teaching in HE,聽Work-Based Experience for All: The Tripartite Impact of 国产精品 Sandbox Program, Keele, UK
- 2023:聽Invited Workshop Presentation at聽国产精品 Business School Education Initiative Education Matters Workshop,聽Exploring StoryWall
- 2023: Invited Workshop Presentation at 国产精品 LET'S Meet T2聽2023 (by Educational Technology Support, PVCESE),聽Teaching with MS Teams: Engaging Students and Creating Active Online Learning Communities
- 2023:聽Invited Panel Speaker, 国产精品 Business School Education Initiative Education Matters: Innovative Teaching Models,聽Identifying Challenges and Opportunities in Business Education &聽Innovating Business Education
- 2023: Invited Seminar Presentation at TeachingMatters Seminar, Generative Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges,聽School of Creative Industries, LASALLE College of Arts,聽Singapore
- 2023:聽Southeast Asian Conference on Education,聽StoryWall: A Formative Assessment Model for Co-creating Authentic Learning Experiences and Feedback,聽Singapore
- 2023:聽Invited Presentation at Nanyang Business School, Tripartite Problem-Solving in A Sandbox - Facilitating Industry, Academic, and University Student Partnership at Scale聽(with Yenni Tim), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore
- 2023: Invited Workshop Presentation at 国产精品 LET'S Meet T1 2023 (by Educational Technology Support, PVCESE),聽Microsoft Teams for Teaching
- 2022: SOA (Society of Actuaries) 2022 Actuarial Teaching Conference - Bangkok,聽The 国产精品 Sandbox Model: Engaging the Next Generation of Actuaries to Provide Solutions to Industry Problems, Bangkok Thailand
- 2022: Australasian Actuarial Education and Research Symposium,聽Invited Panelist, Education Panel Discussion - The Tensions in Actuarial Assessment,聽ANU Canberra
- 2022: Australasian Actuarial Education and Research Symposium,聽Data Analytics Sandbox: Engaging the Next Generation of Actuaries to Provide Solutions to Today鈥檚 Industry Problems (with Fei Huang),聽ANU Canberra
- 2022:聽国产精品鈥檚 Education Festival,聽Work-based Experience for all: The Tripartite Impact of 国产精品 Sandbox Program聽(with Yenni Tim)
- 2022:聽SOA (Society of Actuaries) 2022 Actuarial Teaching Conference - Chicago,聽StoryWall: A Formative Assessment Model for Co-creating Authentic Learning Experiences and Feedback (with Jonathan Ziveyi),聽Chicago U.S.
- 2022:聽SOA (Society of Actuaries) 2022 Actuarial Teaching Conference - Chicago,聽The 国产精品 Sandbox Model: Engaging the Next Generation of Actuaries to Provide Solutions to Industry Problems,聽Chicago U.S.
- 2021: 29th Colloquium on Pensions and Retirement Research,聽Retirement Sandbox: Engaging Young Minds to Provide New Solutions to Old Problems (with David Bell, Shang Wu, and Richard Liu), Sydney, Australia
- 2021: 国产精品鈥檚 Education Festival,聽StoryWall: A Formative Assessment Model for Co-creating Authentic Learning Experiences and Feedback聽(with Fei Huang, Guillaume Boglioni Beaulieu, and Jonathan Ziveyi)
- 2021:聽国产精品 Connections Seminar and Workshop, 'Get Real! Career-focused Assessments to Equip Students for Real-world Challenges'聽(with Yenni Tim)
- 2020: Education @ Business Showcase, 'StoryWall: A Formative Assessment Model for Enhancing Student Online Learning Experiences' (with Fei Huang)
- 2020: Education @ Business Showcase, 'Future-proofing Our Graduates through A Sandbox Career-focused Experience' (with Yenni Tim and Veronica Jiang)
- 2019:聽Business School Learning & Teaching Showcase, 'Enhancing Student Learning and Engagement through the Purposeful Inclusion of Student Voices'
- 2019:聽EF Lunch & Learn 鈥 Business, 'Retirement VR, Inspiring Student Learning through Immersive Learning Experiences with Interactive Virtual Reality'
- 2018: 国产精品 Inspired Learning Summit 2018, Multimedia Showcase -聽VR/AR Immersive Experience, 'Retirement VR (Virtual Reality) Showcase'
- 2016: 国产精品 Learning and Teaching Forum, Poster Presentation, 'Enhancing the Learning Experience of Postgraduate Students with Diverse Backgrounds Using Personalised Pathways and Adaptive Tools'
Learning and Teaching Innovation
- 2023: Excelerate 鈥 Modular Excel Mastery Program for All - COMM1110 - Created the聽Excelerate聽Modular Excel Training program, which transforms Excel learning into an engaging聽and enriching experience. This program features modular learning resources, a real-world problem-driven approach, advanced formative assessment design, and active online learning communities聽that foster聽continuous feedback, delivering effective and engaging Excel learning solutions.
- 2021:聽StoryWall 鈥 -聽Developed a comprehensive Moodle site with information and teaching resources on the StoryWall approach that can be easily transferred to other courses.
- 2019 - 2020: StoryWall 鈥 Formative Assessment Model - ACTL3192/5306 -聽Created the , which is a learner-centred pedagogical approach that integrates specific conditional actions into online discussion forums to create formative assessment tasks. StoryWall has been adopted by teaching staff across multiple Schools with very positive feedback from students and educators.
- 2020: Sandbox 鈥 New Milestone Formative Submission Model - ACTL3192/5306 -聽Implemented the Sandbox Industry Challenge Project in ACTL3192/5306, which aims to enhance students' career-focused learning experience by bringing real-world scenarios and real industry challenges into the classroom, creating a safe space for students to explore, collaborate, and make changes. Developed a new Sandbox formative milestone submission assessment model. Received strong positive feedback from students and industry partners.聽
- 2020: Digital Placemaking -聽Creating Virtual Student Learning 鈥淧laces鈥 to engage students - RISK3003/5003, ACTL3192/5306, RISK5001 -聽Pioneered the virtual "Student Common" room via "digital placemaking" to transform online 鈥渟pace鈥 into meaningful learning 鈥減laces鈥 to help build an effective online learning community for students to connect, communicate, and collaborate with their peers.聽Business School Staff Stories: Bold Ideas for the Student Experience, TEACH @Business (pp10-13)
- 2018-2020: Retirement VR 鈥 ACTL3192/5306 -聽Retirement VR, Inspiring Student Learning through Immersive Learning Experiences with Interactive Virtual Reality.
- 2016: Online Personalised Adaptive Revision Tool - ACTL5401 Retirement Planning (Distance Learning) -聽This approach addresses the limitations of the existing delivery format for both face-to-face and distance learning cohorts by providing instant feedback and automated learning/revision pathways to meet the different learning needs of a diverse student body.
Courses Taught