Professor Sam Blay as Deputy Principal (Academic) effective from 1 July 2015

Following a rigorous competitive selection process, Top Education Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Sam Blay as Deputy Principal (Academic) effective from 1 July 2015.

Professor Sam Blay, LLB (Ghana), M Int. Law (ANU), PhD (Tasmania), has over 30 years of experience in the Australian tertiary education sector and brings a wealth of experience to TOP. He is a former Dean of Law, University of Tasmania. He is a foundation member of staff of the Sydney City of School of Law at Top Education Institute. Before joining TOP, he served as Professor of Law at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) for 18 years. He was also a member of the Australian Refugee and Migration Review Tribunals for six years. He is currently a member of the South China International Arbitration Commission (SCIA).

Professor Blay has a particular interest in China and the Asia-Pacific. He was the Director of the China Program at the UTS Faculty of Law and has served as a Visiting Professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.   

He is a specialist development practitioner and has served as a UNDP consultant on Rule of Law and Governance in Laos, Somalia, Vietnam and Sudan. He has also worked as a consultant to the governments of Vanuatu and Nauru where he assisted in developing a framework for resolving the conflict in West Papua (Indonesia).

Professor Blay has received several awards and fellowships in his areas of specialisation. The awards include a United Nations Fellowship in Geneva and an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellowship with the Max Planck Institute for International Law in Heidelberg, Germany (1992-3; 2003).