Professor Birgit Loch left La Trobe University in November 2021 to join the University of New England in Armidale, NSW as Dean of the Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law. She remains an Adjunct Professor at La Trobe University.

Professor Loch worked at La Trobe as Chair Teaching and Learning, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Coursework and Deputy Provost Learning & Teaching in the College of Science, Health and Engineering from 2017 until 2021. She also held acting appointments as Pro Vice-Chancellor Learning Quality and Innovation and as College Provost.

In the Deputy Provost Learning & Teaching role she held the strategic leadership role in Learning & Teaching across all Science, Health and Engineering disciplines and was responsible for creating an outstanding student experience. This included retention, continuous quality improvement, the course portfolio, teaching innovation and development of teaching focused staff.

Professor Loch has over 17 years of experience in the higher education sector. Prior to joining La Trobe, she was Academic Director Digital Learning and Technologies at Swinburne University of Technology and also Head of the Maths and Stats Help Centre between 2010 and 2016. She was a Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor and Professor in Mathematics Education and is still an Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University. Prior to that, she was Principal Advisor Learning and Teaching in the Division of ICT at the University of Southern Queensland, in addition to her appointment as Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer.

Professor Loch is a Principal Fellow of AdvanceHE (PFHEA) and Fellow of the Australian Mathematical Society. Her academic qualifications include a PhD in computational mathematics from the University of Queensland, a Diploma in Mathematics (Dipl.-Math.) from the University of Essen and a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching & Learning from the University of Southern Queensland. Professor Loch is an expert in educational technology including online learning and in mathematics support, and she has driven innovative approaches in learning and teaching including virtual reality and 360 video projects. She has widely published on open educational resources, blended and online learning and pen-enabled technologies. She is the recipient of several university teaching awards for her teaching and for leadership in learning and teaching, an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation and the Australian Award for University Teaching.

Professor Loch is also a founding member of the WATTLE program, the Australian version of NZUWiL with currently 14 Australian university members.