Latest news, research and events from the Melbourne Disability Institute at the University of Melbourne
Dear Friends,
The end of the year often brings a time of reflection. With the holidays just around the corner, we want to take a moment to look back at 2022 and let you know about some exciting developments for the year ahead.
First - we are really pleased to announce the successful recipients of this year’s MDI seed funding round. In a very competitive field, our panel selected eight fantastic projects to receive funding. The projects are very diverse and cover such important areas as the impact of COVID19 on people with disability, how children in the early intervention stream of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are faring and an examination of the ways in which people with disability use digital technologies (including voice assistants) in their daily lives. We congratulate all the successful researchers and look forward to supporting their important work. Please take the time to read more about all of the projects in the news item below.
We are also excited to announce that we have two new Research Fellowships which will be advertised this week. The successful candidates will work with academics across the University with support from MDI, to develop a multi-year, multi-project program of work related to the NDIS and the Australian Disability Strategy. We strongly encourage people with disability to apply for these new fellowships, part of our commitment to establishing partnerships with the disability community and creating career pathways for researchers with disability.
This newsletter also contains an update from each of the newly created disability research hubs within the university. Throughout this year we have worked with schools and faculties to set up collaborative interdisciplinary hubs focused on disability research. This year saw three hubs get up and running. The Children and Youth Hub is based on the Children’s Campus and brings together researchers from the Department of Paediatrics, the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. The Families and Communities research hub is based in the Department of Social Work in the School of Health Sciences. The third collaborative is based in the Melbourne School of Graduate Education. There are three further hubs in development and plans for more. You can read more about the fantastic projects underway in each of the existing hubs by following the links in newsletter below.
We are working with representatives from these hubs as well as researchers from across the university to form a new Executive Committee for MDI in 2023. The aim of the Committee will be to deepen connections between the hubs and other researchers and to create more opportunities for collaborative work across schools and faculties - an important part of our work as an interdisciplinary institute. Complementing MDI’s existing research projects and research partnerships within and outside the university, the Committee will also provide strategic advice on MDI’s broader work and activities.
Finally, many of you would have seen the announcement from the Albanese Government of a new year-long independent review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). I am honoured to have been nominated to co-chair the Review, along with Lisa Paul AM. The work of the review is being supported by a panel of experts, including long time disability advocates Dougie Herd and Kevin Cocks and MDI’s Kirsten Deane.
While I will be spending much of my time next year on the NDIS Review, Kirsten’s time commitment will be smaller. Kirsten and the whole team at MDI therefore look forward to continuing all of MDI’s initiatives and activities next year. Kirsten and the team will continue to support the work of the disability hubs, foster and support new disability research across the University and build further collaborations and deepen relationships with the disability community. All of MDI’s regular programs such as seed funding and support for new PhD students will also continue. If you have any questions about these or any other aspects of MDI’s program of work please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Kirsten or any member of the MDI team.
Most important of all - everyone at MDI would like to thank you for your support this year. We consider ourselves fortunate to be part of such a passionate community of researchers, collaborators and partners and look forward to all we can do together in the year ahead.
We wish you all a happy holiday season and hope you are able to enjoy a restful and relaxing break after another busy year!
Bruce
Congratulations to MDI's Seed Funding Recipients
We extend our congratulations to the deserving recipients of MDI's 2022 seed funding round. Eight exciting new projects have been selected to receive funding of up to $30,000 each. The interdisciplinary, disability focused topics explore a diverse range of topics, and we look forward to sharing progress with everyone. To read more, please check out our website.
Coming Soon! Disability Research Fellowships
Next week we will advertise two new exciting postdoctoral fellowships. We are looking for two researchers interested in joining a community of researchers and experts working together across the University looking at the impact and outcomes from the introduction of the NDIS. Successful candidates will work with this community to develop a multi year multi project program of work across both the NDIS and the Australian Disability Strategy. Researchers with disability are strongly encouraged to apply. Keep an eye on the news section of the MDI website - we will let you know when the positions have been advertised. Any questions in the meantime please get in touch with Kirsten Deane at kirsten.deane@unimelb.edu.au.
Disability Research Hubs
A vital part of our work at MDI is partnering and collaborating across the university to set up disability focused hubs or collaboratives. These initiatives bring together a diverse and inclusive group of researchers with community partners all focused on designing and delivering research that has impact and reach.
Three hubs are already up and running and have a raft of fantastic projects underway. You can read more about each hub and the wide ranging work that has already begun on the MDI website.
New Research! Impact of COVID-19 remote learning on Victorian students with disability
Significant challenges for school systems around the world rapidly came into focus as the global COVID-19 pandemic materialised in early 2020. This study looked at the impact of remote learning on families of students with disabilities in Victoria during 2020 and 2021.
MDI was proud to support this project through a seed funding grant in 2020.
Celebrating International Day of People with Disability
Let Us In, a new podcast from Kurt Fearnley and Sarah Shands
We recently partnered with the ABC, Kurt Fearnley and Sarah Shands on the fabulous podcast “Let Us In”. Let Us In looks at the experience of Australians with disability across a wide range of issues including identity, housing and the impact of COVID.
To celebrate IDPWD the ABC has produced Auslan videos of the podcast episodes. Two videos are already up looking at inclusive education and housing, with more to come. You can see the videos here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEWHyAzMNS8
The Ableist Cities Symposium
Thurs, 8 December 9:00 - 5:00 PM
We are pleased to sponsor this full-day FREE event where academics and other experts will come together to discuss how we can reshape inaccessible buildings and infrastructures in Australian Cities.
Dr Raelene West, who is a Research Fellow at MDI, will be moderating a discussion on housing design with Dr. Kirsten Day from the Neurodiversity Design Studio and Ilan Wiesel from the School of Geography at the University of Melbourne.
We hope to see you there. You can see the full details of the program on the link below.
MSHS Presents webinar, “Learning Together: Sharing knowledge through Partnerships”
Wed, 7 December 5:30 - 6:30 PM
The online webinar will focus on health researchers, clinicians, industry and those with lived experience of disability working together to foster partnerships, improve practice and advocate for change. Further details regarding speakers and registration are available at the link below.
Find out about opportunities and events that are happening in the community below. Interested in promoting your event, sharing a job posting, research opportunity or another item of interest? Send the details through to Sara.Donaldson@unimelb.edu.au.
The Melbourne Disability Institute was established in 2018 to build a collaborative, interdisciplinary and translational disability research program at the University of Melbourne.
Questions? Contact us at md-i@unimelb.edu.au
