D2L Connection: Cape Town

John Baker

John founded D2L in 1999, at the age of twenty-two, while attending the University of Waterloo. He strongly believes that learning is the foundation upon which all progress and achievement rests. 

He is a member of the Business Council of Canada, board member of the Business Higher Education Roundtable, member of the Industry Strategy Council in Canada, Chair of the Digital Economic Strategy Table in Canada, has served on the Governing Council of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, is the Past Chair of the board of Communitech, and is a board member of Canada’s National Ballet School. 

John was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross, the EY Entrepreneur of the Year (Ontario for Software and Technology), Young Alumni Achievement Medal from University of Waterloo, and Intrepid Entrepreneur of the Year in Waterloo Region Hall of Fame. 

John graduated from the University of Waterloo with an Honours B.A.Sc. in Systems Design Engineering, with First Class Honours and an option in Management Sciences. 

Linda van Ryneveld

Linda van Ryneveld is the Director of the Comprehensive Online Education Services and a Professor in Computer-integrated Education at the University of Pretoria. She is also the Head of Residence at House Mopane, one of the male residences at the university. Linda has published widely on topics relating to elearning and the use of technology in teaching and learning, and she successfully supervised more than 20 postgraduate students in this field.

Linda’s current research interests include all types of learning (with specific focus on fully online learning), distance education, instructional and curriculum design, open educational resources, game-based learning and gamification, as well as the academic development of university teaching staff.

Linda believes that it is not what you teach, but what your students learn that matters. As such she is passionate about creating learning environments that are authentic and real, and prepare learners for their future careers.  

Stewart Watts

 A graduate of The University of Nottingham, Stewart has worked in the software industry within Education since 2011 gaining a good understanding of the intricacies of FE/HE institutions, the challenges they face and the common goals and objectives across the sector. Stewart moved to D2L in January 2016 having previously run the sales operation at Blackbaud Europe helping schools, colleges, universities and charities grow their revenue through fundraising and alumni relations technology.  

 At D2L, Stewart manages the EMEA sales operation and has overall responsibility for the retention and growth of D2L’s customer base within both the education and enterprise sectors. Since joining D2L in early 2016, Stewart has worked closely with a large number of universities across Europe and acts as D2L’s Project Sponsor for any new implementations of Brightspace within the region.

Sukaina Walji

Sukaina Walji is the Director of the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She oversees operational functions to support and shape digital education, blended and online learning, working with UCT’s faculties to support teaching and learning. She provides strategic advice for university senior leadership for digital education and educational innovations. Her research interests include learning design, MOOCs, higher education business models and assessment practices. 

Surekha Rao

Surekha Rao is a seasoned Senior Manager, Product Management at D2L. She has been in the technology industry for over 20 years. She has a deep passion for education and technology and has devoted much of her career to educational technology.

Throughout her career, Surekha has demonstrated exceptional leadership and expertise in driving the development and launch of innovative productions. Her extensive experience in ed tech has equipped her with a profound understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities within the education sector. Her inclusive and customer-focused leadership style creates an environment that encourages innovation, problem-solving and continuous improvement.

She always stays abreast of emerging technologies and market trends in the ed tech industry. Recognizing the transformative potential of AI, she is proactively exploring opportunities to integrate AI technologies, such as natural language processing, machine learning, and predictive analytics, into her products to deliver engaging learning experiences. 

Diane Grayson

Professor Diane Grayson is Senior Director: Academic Affairs and Personal Professor in Physics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She is responsible at institutional level for teaching, student learning and success and quality. In her over 30 years in higher education she has played a number of roles. For many years her focus was on STEM education, including academic staff development, designing curriculum to help academically talented students from disadvantaged communities to succeed, and researching effective STEM teaching and student learning. She spent 5 years as a director at the South African quality assurance body for HE, where she led a national quality enhancement project in which she worked with all universities to systemically promote student success. At Wits she has used systems thinking extensively to align people, processes and policies to enhance teaching and student learning and success, underpinned by quality.