Program updates
Indigenous graduate research program
The Indigenous Graduate Research Program kicked off with a Welcome and Reconnection event in March. Throughout the year, we’ll run a series of events including writing sessions, masterclasses and get-togethers.
These will support Indigenous PhD candidates enrolled through the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences through their research journey, to build a cohort and develop a network of support at the University. The first session will be a supported group writing event and will be held in early May.
Research and evaluation program
This year we are continuing our research and evaluation projects, including Supporting emerging and established Indigenous leaders in the health sciences and Supporting doctoral pathways for Indigenous people in health. We are also collaborating with the Melbourne Law School on a project entitled Employing Indigenous Knowledges to understand the intersection between health and justice.
Notable highlights include
- Finalisation of data collection for the Supporting doctoral pathways for Indigenous people in health including interviews with current Indigenous PhD students and Post-doctoral Fellows; a survey of those who have participated in the PhD Familiarisation Program; and a survey of supervisors of Indigenous PhD students.
- Ethics approval for the Supporting emerging and established Indigenous leaders in the health sciences project.
Health Justice Australia
We are delighted to be jointly undertaking a project with the Indigenous Law Hub at the Melbourne Law School and partnering with Health Justice Australia to examine initiatives at the intersection of the health and justice systems using Indigenous Knowledges as a means for recasting deficit-based, siloed health and justice system approaches.
We will explore the health justice projects occurring in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to understand how these initiatives work, their processes of implementation and their impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The project aims to develop a deeper understanding of the impacts of health justice partnerships, and to frame the operationalisation of Indigenous Knowledges in their success.
This project is funded by the Indigenous Knowledge Institute at the University of Melbourne as part of their Research Theme Grants initiative.