Voices of the Alliance
Voices of the Alliance features professional and personal experiences from our communities and describe how the Alliance has contributed to individual careers and ambitions. If you'd like to add your voice please contact:
Sonali Patel
After hearing about the MWA AISP programme, I knew it would be a great way to learn something different while meeting new people from both Warwick and Monash. The module itself also fascinated me as I have always been interested in history and the arts.
Yi Ting Loo
I was one of the University of Warwick Student Directors for ICUR 2021, and my main responsibility was coordinating with staff members to help organise the event throughout the year in multiple ways, for example handling social media pages for promoting ICUR, reviewing abstract submissions, inviting guest speakers, chairing sessions, etc.
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.
Sean Mulcahy
I loved the research aspects of my undergraduate, and that is what motivated me to participate in the International Conference on Undergraduate Research. I also wanted the chance to study abroad, ideally in the United Kingdom, towards the end of my degree. Warwick seemed a perfect fit because it was close to the Royal Shakespeare Company and their Law School had a reputation for interdisciplinary research and scholarship on law, literature and humanities.
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.
Emma Barker
I joined IATL as the Managing Editor for Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research just 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 I 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 met Associate Professor Fred Dahlmann from Warwick Business School at an Academy of Management Conference in 2018. We were both aware of the Monash Warwick Alliance funding and decided it was a great opportunity to collaborate on some new and interesting research, drawing in other researchers from Monash and Warwick universities to investigate how purpose ecosystems in business could act as a private governance mechanism to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Associate Professor Basia Diug
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.
Dr Minni Singal
I came across Monash Warwick alliance via Monash University web page while looking for a research position after migrating to Australia. I thought of it as an opportunity to be a part of the research activities with two well reputed institutes. I was highly motivated with the idea of working with two world-class institutions that were coming together to accelerate the exchange of ideas and information
Dr Jason Ong
When I was a post-doc in the United Kingdom, I attended a workshop where Professor Ivo Vlaev from the University of Warwick was a speaker. I was fascinated by the applications of behavioural economics he discussed. When I returned to Australia, the stars aligned as I was pleasantly surprised to find out about the Monash Warwick Alliance!
Ivan Yotzov
The Monash-Warwick Alliance provided a perfect way to organise the Applied Young Economist Webinar (AYEW) series in April 2020. We were aiming to create a platform where young researchers (PhD and Post-Doctoral students) from across the world could present their work and receive feedback. Having a European/US East coast edition hosted by the University of Warwick and an Australasian/US West coast edition hosted by Monash University allowed us to cover practically all time zones and reach a global audience.
Dr Frederik Dahlmann
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
As a MWA Joint Professor since 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
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
Professor Allie Clemans, Monash University, and I collaborated to 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!
Dr Emily Pilkington
I designed my research to have a six month 'rotation' between Australia and the UK over two years, so I could take advantage of the resources and facilities between the labs and, more importantly, gain a guaranteed two years of summer.
Professor Rob Raven
The Monash Warwick Alliance allowed us to deepen our connections with the Global Sustainable Development Institute at Warwick University and explore a collaborative agenda on sustainable development of informal settlements.
Professor Ulrik Egede
The particle physics group at Warwick and that of Monash are relatively new in the field. Working together give us opportunities to achieve the breadth within the filed that otherwise can take decades to achieve.
Veronique Campion
I completed a double Masters of Arts (MA) in Journalism, Politics and International Studies (specialising in International Security) through the Monash Warwick Alliance.
Inca Hide-Wright
My name is Inca, and I am now in my final year of studying psychology at the University of Warwick. I became involved with the Alliance through TeaMWork.
Professor Shirin Rai, 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.