Adam Wollins
Director of Technology & Education Strategy Leader
Technology executive with 25 years of experience in Australian education — in classrooms, in school leadership, across 2,200+ government schools, and in some of the country's most complex higher education environments. I lead at the place where strategy meets people: developing AI frameworks that staff and parents trust, building teams that move from reactive to proactive, and translating the complexity of modern technology into language that boards, principals, and communities can act on. My work is anchored in one belief: that technology only matters if it makes education better for the people inside a school.
Writing and delivering multi-year technology strategies for schools
Developing responsible AI frameworks communities can trust
Bringing complex, multi-year programs to life on time and on purpose
Advising boards and leadership teams on technology risk
Delivering large capital works and infrastructure programs
Redesigning how technology teams serve their school communities
Finding smarter ways to handle repetitive work and reduce manual effort
Planning for AI adoption with purpose, care, and governance
Building high-performing teams from the ground up
Mentoring, coaching, and growing capability in others
Communicating with parents, staff, and community on technology change
Procurement and vendor management at every scale
Deep Thinker
Prepares carefully. Brings depth.
Activator
Moves ideas to action.
Achiever
Relentless drive for outcomes.
Connector
Sees the whole picture.
High Standards
Holds self to the highest bar.

Read the full leadership profile →

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True North ICT Strategy — Hills Grammar School

Authored a five-year technology strategy that repositioned technology from a maintenance function into a strategic partner in the school's educational mission. Three pillars — Educational Excellence, Operational Efficiency, and Community Engagement — each with multi-year investment plans, governance structures, and measurable outcomes embedded into the school's wider strategic planning cycle.

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COVID-19 Learning Continuity Response — NSW Department of Education

Formed and led the statewide ICT Incident Coordination team that kept 800,000+ students learning when schools closed. Deployed more than 40,000 emergency devices to students without home internet or equipment. Built new relationships across the school system under extraordinary pressure — and left them stronger than they were before.

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New School Readiness Program — NSW Department of Education

Established and led a multi-million-dollar program to ensure every new and refurbished NSW public school was fully equipped and technology-ready from day one — as part of the NSW Government's $7.9 billion school infrastructure commitment. Developed the frameworks, standards, and processes that the Department continues to use.

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AI Adoption & Governance Program — Hills Grammar School

Led the school's first AI adoption program — including responsible-use frameworks, staff capability uplift, parent communication, and a chatbot-powered service desk. The school's AI policy and community communication approach received direct, unsolicited commendation from parents. A model other schools have since requested to learn from.

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$16M Digital Learning Transformation — University of Sydney

Directed the university's education technology portfolio, including migration to Canvas LMS, deployment of learning analytics, curriculum mapping tools, and survey platforms. Standardised the project management approach across the ICT division. Delivered on time, in budget, and with measurably higher staff adoption rates than previous programs.

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Team Transformation — Hills Grammar School

In 12 months, restructured the ICT team from a reactive help-desk function into a proactive, service-oriented team trusted by staff and respected by leadership. Introduced clearer roles, a published service catalogue, structured project delivery, and a culture of continuous improvement. Staff survey results improved significantly within the first year.

Director of Information Technology Hills Grammar School July 2023 – Present
Executive Leadership Team Member · Sydney, NSW · 8 direct reports

Hills Grammar is an independent K–12 school in Sydney's Hills District. As Director of IT and a member of the Executive Leadership Team, I own the school's complete technology direction — from the classroom and the staffroom to the boardroom and the parent community.

  • Authored the True North ICT Strategy 2025–2030 — a three-pillar roadmap (Educational Excellence, Operational Efficiency, Community Engagement) with multi-year investment plans and governance structures aligned to the school's broader strategic goals
  • Established an Education Application Review Board — a values-led process that evaluates every new technology against educational and pastoral criteria before adoption
  • Led the school's AI adoption program — responsible-use frameworks, Microsoft Copilot rollout, staff training, parent engagement, and an AI-powered service desk for routine support queries
  • Transformed the technology team through restructured roles, clearer service delivery models, and a culture shift from reactive to trusted strategic partner — completed within 12 months
  • Delivered a comprehensive cyber security uplift — multi-factor authentication, phishing simulation, independent audit program, incident response protocols, and board-level risk reporting
  • Currently leading technology delivery for the school's major capital works program
Regional Education Solutions Lead — ANZ & Japan Lenovo April 2022 – July 2023
ANZ and Japan

A deliberate move to the vendor side — to understand how technology platforms are designed, sold, and adopted at scale across education, and to develop commercial perspective that made me a sharper buyer and advisor on return.

  • Co-designed and launched EdVision — a holistic Microsoft and Lenovo digital learning ecosystem for K–12, university, and government education across Australia, New Zealand, and Japan
  • Developed ICT maturity assessment tools and hybrid learning frameworks used by education leaders to benchmark and plan their technology environments
  • Delivered strategic advisory and professional learning to school and government leaders across the region
Director, ICT & Infrastructure Coordination NSW Department of Education July 2019 – November 2021
Executive Leadership Team Member · Sydney, NSW · 6 direct, 170+ indirect reports

The largest education IT operation in the Southern Hemisphere — 2,200+ schools, 800,000 students, and 65,000 teachers across NSW. A role combining strategic leadership with operational accountability at a scale few education technology leaders encounter.

  • Led the COVID-19 ICT incident coordination response — established and led the ICT Coordination team that enabled learning continuity for 800,000+ students; deployed 40,000+ emergency devices and rapidly scaled digital learning access across NSW
  • Established and directed the ICT Operational Readiness Program — the multi-million-dollar initiative ensuring new and refurbished NSW public schools were fully technology-ready from opening day, under the NSW Government's $7.9B infrastructure commitment
  • Developed and implemented ICT policy, governance frameworks, and technical standards across 2,200+ school sites
  • Provided advisory briefings to NSW Parliament and senior government officials on digital education strategy and infrastructure
ICT Program Manager NSW Department of Education 2018 – 2019
  • Managed concurrent capital works and technology programs — including the $26M annual device rollout, server refresh across 2,000+ school sites, and school technology readiness uplift
ICT Program Manager — Education Portfolio University of Sydney 2017 – 2018
  • Accountable to the CIO for a $16M+ digital learning transformation — Canvas LMS migration, learning analytics platform, enterprise curriculum mapping, and survey platform renewal; delivered AWS integrations and a standardised project management methodology for the ICT division
Senior ICT Project Manager — Learning Spaces University of Sydney 2015 – 2017
  • Delivered the Physical Learning Spaces program — AV and technology upgrades across approximately 700 general teaching spaces; established a sustainable, cyclical rollout model that moved the work from ad-hoc project to managed ongoing program
Earlier Roles — NSW DoE, TAFE NSW 2000 – 2015
  • ICT Service Relationship Manager, NSW DoE (2014–2015) — led Level 2/3 technology support across 511 school sites; created the NSW Schools Software Catalogue, which remains in active use today
  • ICT Relationship Manager, TAFE NSW (2013–2014) — delivered technology uplift projects and operational support across 304 campuses and 110,000+ students
  • Regional Technology Project & Portfolio Manager, TAFE NSW (2008–2013) — coordinated regional technology programs and provided expert advice on classroom and e-learning technology; worked closely with principals and curriculum leaders
  • Teacher — Information Technology, Western Sydney TAFE (2000–2003) — began my career in education as a classroom IT teacher; this experience shapes how I engage with teaching staff and design learning-centred technology programs to this day

Formal

  • Advanced Diploma of Management (Distinction)
  • Diploma of IT: Network Engineering (Distinction)
  • Certificate IV in Training & Assessment
  • Certificate IV in Business (Frontline Management)

Professional

  • MSP — Managing Successful Programmes (Practitioner)
  • PRINCE2 Project Management (Practitioner)
  • ITIL OSA v3 & Foundation v3 — IT Service Management
  • Kepner & Fourie: Problem Root Cause Analysis
References available on request.
I am happy to connect you directly with executive leaders from Hills Grammar School, NSW Department of Education, or the University of Sydney.

adamwollins@me.com