Poche Research Program News
Research is one of our six areas of impact, through which we aim to accelerate the development of Indigenous health leadership, by fostering the next generation of Indigenous leaders and health researchers.
Our research program is undertaking several projects to enhance the impact and reach of our activities and strengthen our strategic goals.
Supporting doctoral pathways for Indigenous people in health disciplines
Associate Professor Shawana Andrews, Senior Researcher Odette Mazel and Manager of Indigenous Student Programs, Warwick Padgham have published a new research article, Enabling higher degree pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
The paper explores the value of a pre-doctoral program developed for Indigenous people interested in doing a PhD that provides the information they need to inform their choices about undertaking a doctoral project.
It contributes to the emerging literature on factors that have an influence on why Indigenous people choose to undertake PhD programs and the effectiveness of initiatives to support their pathway to higher degree research.
The outcomes build on the evidence base and highlight the need for
- tailored, Indigenous-led pre-doctoral support programs for Indigenous students
- the value of cohort experiences, and
- the importance of Universities that value Indigenous people and their knowledge systems.
Exploring Indigenous Scholars’ experience of their PhD journey
Associate Professor Shawana Andrews, Senior Researcher Odette Mazel in partnership with Dr David Gallant from the Department of Social Work, undertook in-depth interviews with current Indigenous PhD students and surveyed supervisors.
The research explores
- How Indigenous Scholars’ experience of their PhD journey
- What impact they have on research and research processes
- How universities can improve support
The study was conducted with an emphasis on strengths-based approaches, to understand the success of Indigenous doctoral students in the academic environment and the impact they are having on it.
Supporting emerging and established Indigenous leaders in the health sciences
Past participants from the Melbourne Poche Indigenous Health Leadership Program have been surveyed, to examine the benefits of the program and identify what improvements may be made into the future.
In addition, we are carrying out evaluations of the current leadership program, as it rolls out.
The history of Poche and the Nature of Philanthropic funding
A research project into the history of the Poche Centre and the nature of philanthropic funding of Indigenous projects with the university environment has also begun. Interviews have been conducted with people engaged in the development of the Centre and will continue in the coming months.
Employing Indigenous knowledges to understand the intersection between health and justice
In collaboration with the Indigenous law Hub at the Melbourne Law School, and partnering with Health Justice Australia, Associate Professor Shawana Andrews, Senior Researcher Odette Mazel and PhD Familiarisation Program Manager Warwick Padgham are engaged in a project to look at Health Justice Partnerships withing the context of Aboriginal Community Controlled Heath Care settings and how Indigenous knowledges inform practice of legal interventions in these settings.
The project is engaging with representatives from ACCHOs who are involved in a health justice partnership, as well as finalising ethics and beginning work on a literature review.
Indigenous History of the University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Shawana Andrews and Senior Researcher Odette Mazel are also engaged in papers that will form part of the two-volume publication that documents the Indigenous history of the University of Melbourne being published by Melbourne University Publishing.