ACSES is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 First Nations Fellowships are Ms Lauren Tynan from Macquarie University and Dr John Doolah from the University of Melbourne.
Lauren’s project, “Kin and Country learning: developing Indigenous pedagogies for Australian higher education”, aims to address the issue of inadequate Indigenous perspectives and pedagogies in higher education teaching and learning.
Lauren shares that developing resources that prioritise Indigenous perspectives, knowledges and pedagogies will contribute to cultural safety for Indigenous students, in turn assisting in more equitable participation in higher education.
“To address this issue, I propose developing a suite of Indigenous pedagogical resources that will be crafted with Indigenous knowledge holders and pedagogy experts,” she said.
“I intend to develop a website, teachers’ resource, and media to accompany the resources, ensuring the highest level of accessibility across the higher education sector.”
John’s project, “Understanding Torres Strait Islander Knowledge and Shifting Attitudes”, will research the situation of Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems in Australian education to determine how best to apply Torres Strait Islander knowledge through Indigenous perspectives in classroom lessons.
John highlights that his research will examine both the short- and long-term benefits of incorporating Torres Strait Islander knowledge into the national education curriculum, as well as the importance of amplifying the voices and contributions of Torres Strait Islander communities, both on the mainland and in the Torres Strait Islands.
“This research will genuinely collaborate and partner with Torress Strait Islander people to capture their truth, traditions, and unique knowledge to advance Australian education system in Torress Strait Islander knowledge,” he said.
The 2025 First Nation Fellowship program aims to strengthen the quality, capability, scale, and capacity of Australia’s First Nations researchers and practitioners. The new First Nations Fellows will lead projects that implement evidence-based best practices to improve access to and participation in Australian higher education.
