In 2021 and 2022, ISF continued to nurture the next generation of change-makers through our graduate research program. We also offered a series of short courses to share the latest sustainability and governance thinking with the broader community.
Graduate research at ISF
Over the past two years, ISF’s graduate research program has continued to attract Masters and PhD candidates from around the world, with student numbers growing each intake.
Our students benefit from immersion in a dynamic applied research setting that allows them to explore ‘out of the box’ transdisciplinary research.
PhD profile
Naomi Carrard (PhD)
Placing Sustainability at the Centre of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector: A Transdisciplinary Inquiry
Supervisors: Professor Juliet Willetts, Emeritus Professor Cynthia Mitchell
“My research investigates ways to bridge conceptual thinking about sustainability with what people are doing in practice on the ground, particularly focusing on the challenging development space in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
The transdisciplinary inquiry documented in my thesis explores how WASH professionals can translate and implement sustainability concepts in sectoral research and practice.
I hope that daily practices, actions and programs of work that are undertaken in WASH continue to address the important challenges of services for people. The research aims to strengthen this work by also bringing in imperatives around water resources, local environments and wider global sustainability challenges.
I chose to undertake my doctorate at ISF because the transdisciplinary approach to research really resonated with me. I was able to be quite ambitious in my scope and conceptualisation, bringing together different methods and ideas to tackle a complex challenge. I was supported to find ways to tell a story and knit connections together, and ISF’s encouragement of publication through your PhD is another real asset associated with the program."
PhD profile
Rupert Legg
A geography of the disruptive effects of contaminated sites on residents’ mental health: The regulation of PFAS sites
Supervisors: Professor Jason Prior, Dr Erica McIntyre, Distinguished Professor Jon Adams (UTS School of Public Health)
"My PhD explores how residents living around contaminated environments are psychologically affected by the experience and how the government currently manages and responds to cases of environmental contamination. This has involved interviewing and surveying residents in sites affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and the regulators and managers of these sites.
My research highlights exactly how the environment relates to mental health and what can be done to minimise the negative effects of environmental contamination. The aim is to improve current management approaches to protecting communities affected by environmental contamination.
A further outcome of the work is making the case for the need to better regulate the chemicals we produce, including preventing their leakage into the environment. Doing so will not only clean the environment, but also improve our physical and mental health. I was drawn to ISF when I came across some of the great sustainability research it has done.
The sheer breadth of the research and its unique approach to academia have inspired me to take on my PhD here at ISF. Having the pleasure of working at the forefront of sustainability science and conducting research that can have positive, real-world impacts is one of the most exciting things about doing my PhD at ISF."
Eleven students graduated from the program in 2011 and 2022, with three of them recognised on the UTS Chancellor’s List for their exceptional research dissertations.
2021 ISF graduates
- Ian Cunningham, PhD, Designing for Motivations in Rural Water Supply (2021 Chancellor's List)
- Katie Ross, PhD, Transforming the Ways We Create Change: Experiencing and Cultivating Transformative Sustainability Learning
- Momtaj Bintay Khalil, PhD, Women’s Role in Adaptation to Climate Change in Bangladesh
- Tani Khara, PhD, Exploring urban meat-eating practices with a view towards encouraging a reduced meat diet – a cross-cultural comparison
2022 ISF graduates
- Bishal Baniya, PhD, Global Environment-related Initiatives and Green Growth – Investigating the Integration of Their Goals into Government Policies and Prospects for Delivery
- Naomi Carrard, PhD, Placing Sustainability at the Centre of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector: A Transdisciplinary Inquiry
- Suzanne Dunford, Masters, The Governance of Local Climate Commons
- Michal Falla, Masters, Sporting mega-events and their influence on the social and physical capital of communities in the host city: The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games experience
- Bhathiya Kekulandala, PhD, Adaptive Co-management of Small Tank Cascade Systems in Sri Lanka in a Changing Climate
- Erika Whillas, PhD, Increasing Community Engagement In NYC’s Green-space Planning with PPGIS and Deliberative Democracy
ISF short courses
Systems Thinking for Systems Change
This short course, which ran in July 2022, explored Systems Thinking over four live online sessions. Participants learned six practical Systems Thinking skills:
- managing your own thought processes using trans- and metacognitive ability
- distinguishing complex situations or problems from complicated, chaotic and simple situations and their characteristics
- recognising and organising systems parts and wholes
- recognising relationships and interdependencies
- taking and switching perspectives – shifting worldviews
- embodying and applying systems thinking to complex real-world challenges.
Leading Deliberative Democracy and Doing Deliberative Democracy
This pair of complementary courses, aimed at upper- and middle-management professionals, broke down the basics of deliberative decision-making techniques. Through interactive online sessions and exercises, the course led participants through the various phases of designing deliberative process. Presented in partnership with NewDemocracy Foundation.
Masterclass: connecting climate and circular economy
Presented in collaboration with One Planet Consulting, this session was designed to support decision-makers in business, industry and government to address sustainability issues in all supply chains. With practical advice and guidance from guest speakers Mervyn Jones (UK) and Helen Millicer (Aus).
ISF enterprise learning
In October 2021, ISF partnered with the Australian Institute for Superannuation Trustees to deliver a series of masterclasses to help the finance system develop skills to navigate climate change.
The three sessions covered: COP26 and Superannuation, Net Zero and Superannuation and Australian Climate Risk Regulation.