David Collien

David Collien has a diverse work experience spanning multiple industries. David began their career as a Database Analyst/Programmer at Westpac, where they successfully designed and implemented a software project for workforce planning. David then joined NICTA as a Researcher and later transitioned to UNSW Australia, where they worked as a Research Software Engineer for the Adaptive eLearning Research Group. At UNSW, they also collaborated with Smart Sparrow as an Interactive Learning Content Developer and Teacher Liaison.

Outside of academia, David worked as an Artistic Engineering Consultant and Educator for the robococo collective and collaborated with Austrian artist Petra Gemeinboek and academic Dr. Rob Saunders from Sydney University. Additionally, they assumed the role of High School Computing Programme Coordinator at the University of New South Wales, overseeing a selective high school computing educational program.

Currently, David is a founder and the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at OpenLearning.com. In this role, they are responsible for the design, architecture, and strategy of the OpenLearning platform, as well as guiding the implementation of educational tools and features.

David Collien attended UNSW from 2005 to 2015, where they pursued a Bachelor of Computer Science, specializing in Computer Science. David successfully completed their degree, achieving Honours First Class. In addition, David attended Muru-D Academy from 2013 to 2014, participating in Class #1 of the program. This program focused on Digital Startup Accelerator, providing him with further knowledge and skills in this field.