Michelle will leverage her 30 years' experience in the higher education sector to help Workday customers transform their operations and meet the needs of a new generation of students.
This time last year, we announced the availability of Workday Student in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) — an AI-powered student management system that helps higher education institutions elevate the student experience, fuel staff efficiency, and make smart decisions faster.
Our cloud-native system was designed for today's mobile generation, with input from more than 40 institutions globally, alongside a local advisory panel that includes Macquarie University, University of Melbourne, RMIT University, and University of Auckland.
Today, I'm thrilled to share that we have taken the next step in truly localising Workday Student for the ANZ market, by appointing Michelle Gillespie as our Higher Education Industry Advisor for Workday APAC.
Michelle is based in Melbourne and joins us from Victoria University, where she was Chief Student Officer and Registrar. She led teams across the entire student lifecycle — from the initial enquiry to student life and graduation, as well as a range of wellbeing and academic support services.
Prior to that, she spent more than 30 years working in leadership roles at both higher and dual sector education institutions across Australia, including the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University of Technology.
Michelle will leverage her vast network and deep experience in ANZ to help our higher education customers address the multitude of challenges they currently face, from regulatory and cost pressures, to AI adoption and rising student expectations.
I asked Michelle what it was about Workday that made her accept the role: "My dream has always been to make the student experience as seamless as possible," she said. "With AI, the sky's the limit, and I'm excited to work with Cade Elg and the team to reimagine the sector."
"I want to use my insights into the inner workings of universities to take away the pain points I know they're experiencing every day. That's what excites me. Because I've used Workday in previous roles, I know what's possible."
"Nobody goes to university to do admin. You're there to learn and be inspired and work towards your goals. So I'm really looking forward to helping our universities stay competitive, by transforming their operations and meeting the needs of a new generation of students."
We are very grateful to have such a tenured expert join us at Workday. Workday Student has already been selected by more than 200 institutions in North America (more than 85 of which are live in production), and I know Michelle will be integral in helping us bring that success to higher education institutions across ANZ.
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