About

Matt Riddle.

Educator, designer, builder. 25+ years across Cambridge, Melbourne, La Trobe and CQUniversity. RocketShoes is my after-hours studio, run from Melbourne.

Portrait of Matt Riddle

Short story

I’ve spent most of my career at the messy edge of learning and technology — helping educators, designers, and institutions figure out what actually works when the tools keep changing underneath them.

For the last few years the question has been the same: what does good learning design look like when AI is part of the workflow? That’s the problem I’m most interested in helping teams solve — usefully, without the hype.

On the side, I build small software. Project Hail Money is the first of those. Photon is next.

Current role

Now
Deputy Director, Learning Design Futures
CQUniversity
Mar 2025 – present

Previously

  • Director of Learning Experiences
    Curio
  • Acting PVC & Director of Ed. Innovation
    La Trobe University
  • Research Associate
    Cambridge — CARET
  • Educational Designer
    University of Melbourne
Spaces for Knowledge Generation — line drawing postcard of a tree, seated figures, and open books
Selected work

Spaces for Knowledge Generation

A national research project on the design of informal learning spaces in Australian universities.

Co-led with colleagues from La Trobe, Melbourne, and CQU, SKG examined how the physical environments of higher education shape — and are shaped by — the ways students actually learn. The project produced a widely-used survey tool, a framework for evaluating learning spaces, and a body of work that has informed campus design across the sector.

“Extremely able, creative, hardworking and collegial, and well able to work with a team to bring a project to completion.”
— Assoc. Prof. Kay Souter
“An outstanding educational designer who was involved in a number of award-winning multimedia productions.”
— Dr Michael Keppell
“Deep knowledge of curriculum theory, as well as the relatively rare ability to apply that theory in very practical ways.”
— Prof. Russell Hoye
“Highly organised and pro-active… key to the success of the project.”
— Rod Rivers