Dr Kath O'Brien

PhD (University of Queensland)

Dr. Katherine (Kath) O’Brien is a performance development-technology leader with a strong interest in adult and adolescent learning. Her cutting-edge designs for performance development using AI-enhanced video feedback and 360-degree camera vision resulted in Kath being recently named in the Power100 List as one of Australia’s leading women shaping sport’s innovation by the Australian Sports Technology Network. Kath's applied research and current collaborative projects with both recreational and high-performance sports is framed by her background as a long-standing National Coach, State Coaching Panel Chairperson, and role as a Health and Physical Education teacher. Her work has been showcased nationally and internationally through the AIS-Sport Australia Sports Technology and Applied Research (STARS) Symposium, International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) Conferences, Exercise Science Symposiums, and International Congress of Sport Psychology events. Kath recently won the prestigious QUT Technology Innovation Pitching Competition (ExCOLO) and an Australian University Award for Teaching Excellence. Kath was also awarded the Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence, being named the QUT David Gardiner 'Teacher of the Year' and recently, the QUT Researcher Symposium Oral Presentation Competition. Aiming to create deeper discussion and research around how sport officials develop their craft, Kath created the Australian Sport Officiating Summit (ASOS) hosted online at QUT. Kath is also the co-founder of the QUT Women in Sport Leadership Conference in partnership with QUT Sport.

Kath’s research interests include:

• Impact of digital technology for learning practical content online.
• Artificially Intelligent (AI) methods for analysing 360-degree vision.
• Extracting head impact events from 360-video using AI techniques.
• Female athlete learning - coaches, sport officials & athletes.
• Social-neuroscientific influences on coach learning & development.

Kath is currently a member of the International Journal of Sport Coaching (ISCJ) Editorial Team (social-media manager), Exercise & Nutrition Science School's Leadership Team and Learning and Teaching Committee. Her research higher degree students are examining bone stress related to the Female Athlete Triad, conversational patterns of semi-professional rugby union referees, and teacher perceptions of physical education in primary school settings.

Project/Publication Highlights:

• Reimagining the role of technology in sport officiating: how AI supports the design of ecologically dynamic learning environments
• The Element of Surprise: How Predictive Processing Can Help Coach Practitioners Understand and Develop Skilled Movement in Sport Settings
• Seen but not heard: missing the mark in conceptualizing high performance officials
• The issue of unconscious bias in referee decisions in the National Rugby League
• The development of craft in Australian National Rugby (NRL) league referees

Award Highlights:

• 2023 - QUT Researcher Symposium Oral Presentation Competition (FoH)
• 2022 - QUT Research Innovation Grant - Pitching Competition
• 2022 - Australian Universities Award for Teaching Excellence (AAUT) - ECR
• 2021 - QUT Faculty of Health - Early/Mid Career Research Grant Scheme
• 2020 - QUT Vice Chancellor Award - David Gardiner QUT Teacher of the Year

Projects (Chief investigator)

• Evaluation of the QAS Generation 2032 Coaching program
• Transitioning from teammate to coach: exploring how elite AFLW athletes navigate a fast-tracked transition from player to coach in a semi-professional sport
• Understanding the learning and work of female sport officials

Additional information