Luan Williams is an author, psychological scientist and strategic coach who consults in the field of Gifted and Talented. Luan uses an approach to self-enrichment called ‘Collective Individualism’ that utilises an individual’s best self in order for them to be most effective within their future field of endeavour  – with a special focus on the areas of medicine, philanthropy, peace tech and education.

In coaching and advising children, parents, educators, entrepreneurs and executives on how to reach their full potential, ethically and in line with mental and emotional well-being, Luan puts special focus on helping clients attain personal excellence, along with deep learning and key milestones. Her coaching philosophy incorporates the principles of neuroplasticity and the evolved developmental niche (EDN) to help people become more well-rounded and well-grounded within themselves. She has found that a person’s aspirations are more naturally attained by aligning themselves with the greater good in a way that provides measurable feedback, and this has proven especially effective with gifted and talented individuals in all life areas. Luan’s approach to self-betterment can also be applied directly to enhanced memory techniques and to preparations for interviews and public speaking events.

After working for the Dalai Lama, Luan has developed a passionate interest in how evolutionary science prepares us with all the best, human tools we need to attain happiness. From her psychological consultancy on the Gold Coast, Australia, she has tapped into people’s own inbuilt, natural talents so that they can best help themselves, working alongside executives, entrepreneurs, international personalities, parents and students using the power of science.

Luan’s background is in psychological science (BPsychSc.), play therapy, psychometrics, positive psychology, language, strategic design, and self-development. She won the ’Griffith Award for Academic Excellence’ for studies in psychology in 2012 and has qualified with ACER in the top 1% to 3% in Verbal (humanities and social science) and Qualitative (mathematical and scientific) competencies throughout the country. Luan uses her understanding of these standardised measures, along with her appreciation of multiple intelligences that include music, nature and the arts, to bring balance and intrapersonal understanding to the Gifted and Talented population.

Luan presents at seminars and talks in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth where she lectures about emotional intelligence, verbal reasoning, decision-making, quantitative reasoning, abstract reasoning, situational judgement, interview skills and career planning in line with best values. In October 2018, she presented in Europe to the School of Banking and Finance at the University of Malta showing students how they can help collective blockchain technologies improve the global economy for everyone.

Luan writes psychometric questions for the measuring of various intelligence for educational organisations. She is a co-author of the first Australian textbook on interview skills specifically for medical entry, ‘Interview Techniques’. Alongside other leaders in the medical field and the National Institute of Education, Luan is currently designing a new psychology-based model of MMI (Multiple Mini-Interview) Design with the aim of bringing equity, reliability and meaningful standardisation of marking criteria to the global medical entry interviews industry for tertiary providers.

Functioning as part of a brains trust, Luan directs the Neurochild Community (www.facebook.com/NeuroChildHQ) project, which focuses on self-improvement and collective empowerment of gifted individuals via scientific methods. For the past decade, Luan has assisted hundreds of gifted and talented people to achieve their goals. She has a special interest in helping exceptional people attain dream-life balance and realise their goals for gaining entry to become doctors, some of whom she mentors until this day.

“Sometimes a gifted person can be their own biggest limitation– but ‘overthinking’ can transform into self-belief when that same energy and effort is re-focused to rest on the big picture. The key for those who are irregularly talented in one special area is to learn the methods that will get them to where they desire, without getting lost in the attention to detail that seems rife alongside talent. It all begins with knowing and accepting yourself.”
 – Luan Williams

Rebekah is a specialist NIE trained Medical Admission Interviews Coach as well as Kaplan Certified and Trained UCAT educator with over 20 years of experience in Education and Training. Most of Rebekah’s teaching career has been spent at top-ranking NSW selective schools, which see large numbers of high achieving students, many of whom end up in highly competitive degrees in medicine, law, science and engineering at top-ranking universities worldwide.

Rebekah has authored, assessed and evaluated selective school entry tests, developed comprehensive Gifted and Talented teaching and learning programs, been on numerous interview panels in Corporate, Academic and DET arenas and is currently training in the area of Careers Advisor through University of New England with specialist interest in motivating students to developing the best version of themselves for applications to University and beyond. Her interest in Kaplan and the Medical Aptitude test developed as the need of her students required more specialist education. Her theory of “you cannot teach what you do not know” led her to NIE, Kaplan and the desire to impart her knowledge to a wider audience, therefore distributing the concepts, strategies and understanding that is required for success in the UCAT and the University Medical entry interview processes. Combined with a current working knowledge of the Department of Education, work experience, scholarship applications, and University entry requirements there is a strong student/ teacher connection demonstrating an understanding of the demands of the senior years of secondary school and the commitment required to succeed in UCAT and beyond.

Rebekah has also led a creative life outside of UCAT where she worked and trained as a performer and actor which developed her own communication skills and self-guidance to the possibilities of stepping out of the “comfort zone”. Additionally, Rebekah is trained and has presented programs in Customer Service and Manager/ Client potential to corporate clients across Australia. This area of Rebekah’s expertise goes beyond the academia and places value on the importance of communication through practice and interview performance to enhance the natural academic strengths. Rebekah understands that there is more to an interview than merely answering the questions. The areas of communication and intrinsic individual details are the key components of exploring the growth and development of the students whom she works with in order to explore the full potential for future employment and study. Rebekah values the concept of individuality and encourages each student to explore their limitations then stretch themselves to become more aware of their potential.

Over the past 20 years, Rebekah has assisted in developing student potential through goal setting, strategy training, striving for excellence, and self-awareness. Rebekah maintains a strong connection with her students, past and present, and enjoys nothing more than seeing them achieve their potential and succeed in their area of interest.

Anne Lam is currently completing her 6th (final) Year of her Medical studies at the University of Adelaide. She graduated high school with a perfect ATAR of 99.95 and received a UMAT (now UCAT) score of 97th Percentile. She has worked with the National Institute of Education for over 5 years, regularly assisting with the NIE Medical Interview Workshops, Medical Pathway seminars as well as being NIE’s Schools Liaison Representative in Adelaide.

When preparing for her own medical admission process, Anne left no stone unturned, gaining work experience in a variety of ways.  To gain more direct exposure of a career in medicine, Anne shadowed multiple specialists in a variety of medical settings including an obstetrician and a general practitioner in Adelaide. She also shadowed rural health care providers in rural settings including a GP and a dentist. Still yearning to gain more work experience, Anne also travelled to Nepal with Projects Abroad. She was able to gain hands-on experience and insight into front-line medicine that was essential to her success during her admission process.

After attending the interview workshop herself in both Year 11 and Year 12, Anne was offered interviews for medicine and dentistry in all states around Australia and was successful in obtaining an offer for medicine in all respective universities. Through this Anne became exposed to several methods of interviewing and in the past year, through working with the company and undergoing professional training, has developed a keen sense of knowledge into the mind set of an interviewer. She is highly specialised in giving constructive criticism to students preparing for the interviews and is passionate about helping students achieve their full potential.

For the past two years, Anne has also worked in the field of extracurricular education, working with tuition companies in Adelaide and giving private tuition in English, Physics and Chemistry. She is currently involved in peer mentorship programs through Adelaide University and is passionate about sharing her knowledge with others. 

Senara is currently completing her Bachelor of Medical Studies / Doctor of Medicine at the University of New South Wales. Senara initially started working with the National Institute of Education in 2017 where she was assisting senior Interview workshop trainers in the facilitation of events in Adelaide. During this time she was also studying for the Bachelor of Health Sciences degree at the University of Adelaide, which made her a great asset to NIE as she was able to mentor young students about the foundations of a medical degree and university life as a whole.

After her first year at the University of Adelaide, she completed the year with the highest level GPA score of 7 and UMAT (now UCAT) score of 96. In her UMAT she especially excelled in the non-verbal reasoning section (similar to the current  Abstract Reasoning) and the understanding people section (somewhat similar to the current SjT). She received interview offers in multiple states and has completed both panel interviews and MMIs in this process. In the more recent years, she underwent intensive advanced interview coaching training with NIE, and together with her own past experiences, she has proven to be a highly proficient trainer, coach, mentor, and an invaluable member of the NIE team.

Senara’s involvement in medicine stretches beyond her studies where she has undertaken work in GP practice and is also a John Flynn Placement Program scholar which has enabled her to shadow a rural medical practitioner, learning about the provision and delivery of clinical health care to rural communities.

Srishti completed her Secondary education in Adelaide with an impressive scaled ATAR of 99.95. For the first year of her undergraduate studies, she took a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Adelaide during which time, she sat the UCAT and received outstanding scores of DM-890, QR-880 and AR-890 (Total 98th percentile). Her UCAT score along with her competative GPA of 6.9 got her the offer to the  Medicine degree at the University of Adelaide, where she is currently enrolled.

Srishti teaches her students the proven strategies that she has developed, with the aim of helping them maximise their UCAT own scores. Students that worked with Srishti in the past had a median UCAT score of 3000 and the highest score amongst them was 3210.

'Watching my students develop their skills and confidence, and then tackle the once-horrifying UCAT Test like absolute top-of-the-game athletes is so rewarding for me, and I’m passionate about helping each student develop in this way.'

Her involvement in medicine outside of studies includes working at a rural clinic, where she has had the opportunity to engage with patients from all walks of life, and shadowing surgeons in theatres, where she has developed her industry knowledge and skills. But Srishti promises that she is not just a work-hog! When she is not studying, working, or teaching, you can find me training for taekwondo, hiking, bouldering, or woodworking. As a Taekwando Black belt, she also coaches younger children in this martial arts skills. 

Stephanie is currently studying a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical)/ Doctor of Medicine degree at La Trobe University/The University of Melbourne in Bendigo. She grew up in rural southwest Victoria, in the coastal town of Port Campbell. Stephanie graduated from high school in 2016 and went on to complete a Bachelor of Science (Majoring in Neuroscience/Human Physiology) at the University of Melbourne. Later, she also completed a graduate certificate in Public Health at Flinders University with Distinction majoring in Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Health, Contemporary Health Issues in Australia, Health Issues in Disability, Mental Health, and Health Promotion.

Stephanie sat the GAMSAT and the UCAT in 2021 and was offered post-graduate interviews and undergraduate interviews across Australia. Stephanie was interviewed by Sydney’s Notre Dame University, which is a portfolio university. Stephanie was also interviewed by Charles Sturt University, the Joint Medical Program, the Joint Program in Medicine, and La Trobe University/The University of Melbourne. She accepted a place in the Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical)/Doctor of Medicine with La Trobe University and the University of Melbourne. Stephanie is currently placed at the La Trobe regional campus in Bendigo. 

Stephanie has held several leadership roles in her community and at University. She is currently based in regional Victoria in Bendigo, studying at La Trobe’s Rural campus. Stephanie is a committee member of the La Trobe Rural Health Club, that aims to provide an insight for students into rural health, to promote a multidisciplinary approach to health, to serve the wider community through events and to assist rural students in considering a career in health sciences. Stephanie has held leadership roles in many Sports, captaining hockey, swimming and cycling teams. In 2019, Stephanie was the head of Sports at Newman College and a member of the General Committee of the Students Club at Newman College. Within the leadership group she was responsible for organising student events, annual dinner’s and all the college sports. Due to her commitment and involvement in leadership within the college, she was awarded the Saint Ignatius Community Service Award which acknowledges and rewards outstanding community service, generosity, and compassion to those in need.

Along with her studies, Stephanie also trained as a National Level Road Cyclist and was also awarded an Elite Athlete Scholarship in 2018 and 2019 at the University of Melbourne for Swimming and Triathlon. In 2018 she was named Female Athlete of the year at Newman College. In 2022, Stephanie was accepted onto the La Trobe University Elite Athlete program, for Cycling and received the La Trobe Elite Athlete Scholarship for competing at a National Level in Road Cycling. Stephanie’s goals in cycling are to compete in the Australian National Series and hopefully race overseas.

Sean is currently in his third year of a dual Bachelor of Biomedical Science/Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Queensland. He graduated from the Sydney Grammer School with an ATAR of 99.80 and has taken the UCAT twice, scoring 3340 and 3400 (both times in the very high 99th percentile). Recently he has also achieved a 99th percentile score (71/85/78) on the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT). 

Since starting his university degree at UQ, Sean has helped students with tutoring across a wide range of subjects and year groups, in both 1-on-1 and classroom settings.

Details coming soon

Clayton has just completed his studies for the  Doctor of Medicine degree program at Griffith University, Gold Coast QLD. In leading up to his medical degree he also completed a Bachelor of Medical Science undergraduate degree at Griffith University, a Graduate Certificate in Public Health, and received a Graduate Medical School Admissions Test score (GAMSAT) of 95th Percentile. He graduated high school in Adelaide in 2015 with an ATAR of 99.80, with subject merits in Maths, Chemistry, and Music. Currently, he has over 6 years of experience in helping coach students to achieve success in their med prep journey and to enable them to reach their fullest potential.

During his medical studies, Clayton has been successful in being inducted into Griffith Honours College, and the Golden Key International Honour Society. He also received academic excellence awards in both years of his Bachelor of Medical Science Degree. In 2019, he held the role of the Vice-President of the General Practice Student Network at Griffith University. Through these experiences, Clayton has become a confident communicator and highly competent in assisting those junior to him.

To further his interests in medicine, Clayton has been proactive in undertaking various research projects and presented them at numerous conferences, including Gold Coast Research Week. He has also done elective medical placements with GAP Medics (to Tanzania) and Projects Abroad (to Shanghai).

Clayton is a dedicated individual and currently provides private tuition in English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry at both high-school and university levels. Having also attended numerous medical school interviews around Australia, Clayton is highly seasoned at tackling difficult interview topics and systematic ways in approaching them. He is hopeful to share his knowledge with all students that are keen to pursue a medical career to allow for their application to be the very best it can be.

Sasha started her work with the National Institute of Education in 2007 and by 2009 she was appointed as the National UMAT Preparation Program Coordinator. One of her 1st major achievements was the introduction of the Simulated UMAT (UCAT) Day, which over the years saw thousands attend the program in order to become better prepared for the university clinical aptitude tests. 

More information about Sasha coming soon.

Zobair started working with NIE in 2008, initially as a Health Industry Consultant and shortly after as a UMAT workshop presenter in 2009. Zobair became directly involved in NIE's medical interview training program in 2011 and by 2014 he revised the interview training curriculum in its entirety as well as having introduced an extremely effective interview training workshop, which over the years has seen countless successful applicants entering their dream universities and many working in the field of medicine and dentistry. 

Mr, Bary currently holds the position of Academic Director and Principal at the National Institute of Education and works closely with many medical professionals in order to improve current programs and to develop revolutionary future training programs, which will help medical candidates enter their desired professional field.