David Zhang

Academic Chair for Undergraduate Studies,

College of Business, Murdoch University, Australia

Judge, Second Round, QS Reimagine Education Awards 2025

Dr David Zhang – Academic Leader | Sustainability Educator | Education Innovator

Dr David Zhang is a passionate and accomplished educator who has been part of the academic team at Murdoch Business School since 2005 and currently serves as Academic Chair for Undergraduate Studies. With more than 25 years of transnational experience spanning secondary and higher education, he brings deep expertise in business management, cross-cultural studies, sustainability education and educational innovation.

Throughout his academic career, Dr Zhang has taught a wide range of management and business units at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including Organisational Change and Development, Human Resource Management, International Management, Knowledge Management, International Business, International Business Negotiations, and Comparative Corporate Governance. His commitment to student learning extends to the Transnational Education (TNE) space, where he has supported the academic journeys of more than 10,000 students worldwide.

Driven by a belief in education as a catalyst for real-world impact, Dr Zhang has increasingly focused his academic work on sustainability education, international collaboration and transformative learning. He designs immersive, cross-cultural learning experiences that connect classrooms with communities—from Murdoch’s South Street campus to coastal villages in Indonesia—integrating sustainability, equity, intercultural learning and community empowerment.

As project lead for Australian Federal Government-funded Education for Sustainability initiatives, such as the Eco-Economy Project and Connecting Asia Literacy to Sustainability Literacy, Dr Zhang integrates sustainability and intercultural capabilities into business education for multidisciplinary cohorts. He employs innovative pedagogies—including HyFlex, multimedia and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)—to deliver experiential, project-based and work-integrated learning. These approaches immerse students in authentic contexts while developing global competence, employability, social responsibility and the capacity to address complex real-world challenges. Importantly, his initiatives extend their impact beyond the classroom by generating tangible social, environmental and economic benefits for partner communities.

Most recently, he led the development of Murdoch’s new Bachelor of Business Honours program—an ambitious one-year course integrating advanced coursework, research and international experiential learning to prepare students to address complex sustainability challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration and academic rigour.

Dr Zhang’s educational leadership and innovation have been recognised at institutional, national and international levels. In 2025, his team received an Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT) for Excellence in Enhancing Learning, recognising the impact of their innovative approach to student learning and engagement. His work has also been shortlisted in the QS Reimagine Education Awards and received a Special Commendation for Indonesian Studies and Cultural Leadership from the Australia-Indonesia Institute for innovative sustainability education. At Murdoch University, his contributions have been recognised through Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Enhancing Student Learning and for Living the University’s Principles and Values.

A committed changemaker and bridge-builder, Dr Zhang is passionate about creating educational environments where students grow, communities thrive and global partnerships flourish. Whether advancing sustainability education, strengthening employability, fostering intercultural capability or widening access to transformative learning, his goal remains clear: to build futures—not just curricula.