Hear from our staff

Hear from researchers, educators and staff about how the Monash Warwick Alliance has shaped their ambitions and careers.

Dr Irwyn Shepherd

Dr Irwyn Shepherd is Academic Lead and Senior Simulation Specialist working with colleagues, such as Dr Paul McIntosh, Innovation Lead, to develop the profile and activities of Virtual and Augmented Reality Services (VARS).

Dr Nadine Normand-Marconnet

As an early career researcher, and a newcomer in the Australian Higher Education sector, working with Warwick colleagues on an intercultural education project was a fantastic opportunity to connect with local and European colleagues.

Professor Christopher Thompson

My first interactions with Warwick were through the IATL group. The opportunity to not only work with chemists at each end, but collaborate with performance and theatre academics on the same project was completely unique. What we achieved over more than half a decade was eye-opening, and really changed my conceptions of what was possible in chemistry learning and teaching. This relationship opened up new collaborations with Warwick staff in the Department of Chemistry, and new (and ongoing) projects evolved as a result.

Dr Debbi Marais

I wanted to broaden my network, especially internationally as I had recently started at Warwick. I had made a major move from South Africa a few years before that to Scotland, and then again to England. It was wonderful to hear that Warwick already had an alliance which made this networking so much easier. It was suggested that I first apply for visiting educator funding and start building some connections while at Monash to enable a successful funding application to the MWA.

Dr Sue Kleve

There are many influencing and interrelated factors that contribute to food insecurity including (but not limited to) adequate income, employment, housing, cost of living expenses. A joint research and education project undertaken with Dr Martine Barons (Warwick) was supported by MWA grants and progressed our research agenda and developed a food security education series that is used in our under-and postgraduate programs at Monash and Warwick.

Emily Barker

I joined IATL as the Managing Editor for Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research just as it became a joint project with Monash University as part of the Monash-Warwick Alliance, so I have been working with the Alliance since my very first day at Warwick. I later became Journal and Conferences Manager in IATL and now work with a team to run Reinvention and the International Conference of Undergraduate Research (ICUR) jointly with colleagues at Monash in a continuing Monash-Warwick Alliance sponsored collaboration, as well as supporting undergraduate research related projects in the department and wider university.

Associate Professor Wendy Stubbs

I was very keen to get involved with Monash Warwick Alliance after meeting a visiting fellow Associate Prof Debbi Marais. After a few meetings we realised that we shared a common approach to our work and planned to work together on a number projects which we have successfully done.

Associate Professor Basia Diug

Dr Frederik Dahlmann Associate Professor of Strategy and Sustainability

Speaking to another researcher at an international academic conference, we realised that we both shared a variety of research interests. We also remembered that our respective universities had formed a strategic alliance. We continued our conversations and when we heard about the Monash Warwick Alliance Catalyst fund, we saw this an ideal opportunity to pump prime our research partnership. Moreover, we felt the funding allowed us to connect with a much wider network of researchers at our respective universities and thus to strengthen our collaboration in the field of sustainability.

Professor Helen Skouteris, Joint Professor of Health and Social Care Improvement and Implementation Science

As a MWA Joint Professor since November 2017 my motivation to work with the Alliance has been on addressing the compelling problems affecting the quality of healthcare systems internationally and the challenges of health care improvement, including the lack of integration between research, education and healthcare; multiple silos, especially between health and social care; and the failure to engage relevant stakeholders and the voice of those with lived experience in health and social care improvement.

Professor Sascha Becker, Xiaokai Yang Chair Department of Economics, Monash

After working for 9 years at Warwick, I was approached by Monash to join their Economics Department. While moving continents would usually be an enormous challenge, the Monash-Warwick Alliance offered the opportunity to have a joint appointment, in my case the larger share being at Monash while keeping a part-time appointment at Warwick. Together with other academics with joint appointments, I am honoured to represent both institutions at the same time.

Dr Letizia Gramaglia, Director of WIHEA

It all started in July 2018 when I met Prof Allie Clemans at the Educational Leadership Development Symposium in Prato (Italy). The symposium was organised by WIHEA and the Monash Education Academy with the aim to encourage ongoing partnerships, projects and research opportunities. We discussed the possibility of a collaboration which would enable Monash to gain institutional accreditation with Advance HE and develop programmes leading to HEA Fellowship modelled on the Warwick pathways for professional recognition. The MWA was the catalyst to make this happen!

Professor Shirin Rai, Professor in the department of Politics and International Studies

My collaboration with Monash is based on links between Warwick Interdisciplinary Research Centre for International Development and Gender, Peace and Security Centre at Monash. Through the Alliance we were able to fund original work that was underpinned by my work on depletion through social reproduction and Prof Jacqui True's work on the political economy of gendered violence.