Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice 2

Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award

REILLY, Fiona

Thesis Title

Hospital Stories: Narrative Medicine, Creative Nonfiction, and the Ethics and Limits of Writing about Patients

Supervisors

• Professor Kari Gislason (Principal Supervisor)
• Distinguished Professor Dietmar Hutmacher (Associate Supervisor)

Citation

Healthcare workers can reduce the risk of burnout and moral injury in their work, by writing about their complex and difficult clinical experiences. This research explores how such writing can be achieved with attention to ethical complexities, while maintaining creative freedom. By utilising a combination of narrative medicine and creative nonfiction as a framework, and by studying works from medical authors and the researcher’s own writing, this thesis demonstrates an approach that results in sensitive, creative and ethically told healthcare stories. It highlights the potential value of narrative medicine for Australian healthcare.

Doctor of Philosophy

DEARY, Isabella Frances

Thesis Title

Art–Science Collaborations: Challenging Anthropomorphic Bias in Installation Art Through Ecocentric Practice

Supervisors

• Dr Keith Armstrong (Principal Supervisor)
• Dr Rachael Haynes (Associate Supervisor)

Citation

This practice led research examines how contemporary eco-installation art and art–science collaborations can be used to question the dominant human-centred perspectives shaping the Anthropocene. The study critiques anthropomorphic strategies in contemporary visual art and develops ecocentric approaches that foreground interspecies entanglement and ecological awareness. The project draws on a long term collaboration with a marine ecological research team to establish a new art–science model of creative production. Through resulting installation artworks, the research aims to enhance public engagement with ecological knowledge and strengthen the accessibility and impact of environmental science.

GILL, Mindy Kaur

Thesis Title

The Intake Room: The Rise of Identity Literature: Identity Discourse, Australian Poetry, and the Shift in Reception of Literary Texts

Supervisors

• Adjunct Professor Sarah Holland-Batt (Principal Supervisor)
• Professor Kari Gislason (Associate Supervisor)
• Dr Ella Jeffery (External Supervisor)

Citation

Situated in the field of creative writing, this project examines identity, authorship, and literary reception in contemporary Australian poetry. The thesis comprises an exegesis that analyses how identity discourse shapes the reception of Australian writers from migrant and diasporic backgrounds, alongside a collection of poems, The Intake Room, which won the 2025 Thomas Shapcott Prize. Through practice-led research, this project investigates how expectations of cultural authenticity influence both the production and reception of literary texts, advocating for a literary culture that values ambiguity, complexity, and a nuanced engagement with authorial identity.

HAGUE, Kaitlin Mary

Thesis Title

Exploring Early Specialisation in Ballet Dancers in Australia

Supervisors

• Professor Gene Moyle (Principal Supervisor)
• Adjunct Associate Professor Ian Renshaw (Associate Supervisor)

Citation

Trends toward early specialisation in ballet are concerning due to potential physical and psychological risks. Sports research has shown this pathway is ineffectual in achieving long-term athlete success. Likewise, achieving success at early ages in sport is an unreliable predictor of adult sporting success. This project uses the Early Specialisation Index to examine the early training patterns of ballet dancers in the Australian context. A mixed methods approach was implemented over a two-year period. The ballet dancers were found to have engaged in domain-specific diversity in their early years, sampling many dance genres and engaging in multiple activities.

LOBWEIN, Guy Andrew

Thesis Title

Game Engines and the Gesamtkunstwerk: Reimagining the 1920s’ Avant-Garde Total Work of Art in Contemporary Art Practice

Supervisors

• Dr Daniel McKewen (Principal Supervisor)
• Dr Rachael Haynes (Associate Supervisor)
• Emeritus Professor Andrew Mcnamara (External Supervisor)

Citation

This practice-led research project explores how visual artists can use digital game engines to create immersive experiences influenced by the 1920s avant-garde approach to the Total Work of Art. It examines how applying these historical contexts to creative uses of game engines can enable critical reflection on the mass proliferation of virtual spaces in contemporary society. The research investigates how past experimental avant-garde methods and processes, such as Kurt Schwitters’ Merz, can be highly relevant for contemporary artists responding to our new state of digital immersivity.

MILLS, Colin

Thesis Title

The Liminal Lens: Contesting Essentialist Representations of Japan Through Expatriate Memoir

Supervisors

• Dr Rohan Wilson (Principal Supervisor)
• Professor Kari Gislason (Associate Supervisor)

Citation

This thesis examines how memoirs written by long-term Western residents of Japan can challenge simplified ideas about Japanese culture. It shows that writing from an “in-between” cultural position allows authors to offer more nuanced, human, and change-aware perspectives. Using literary analysis and the author’s own memoir of eighteen years living and working in Japan, the study demonstrates how personal stories can question stereotypes, highlight cultural diversity, and reveal how identity shifts through deep cultural immersion. It argues that memoir can be a powerful tool for understanding cultures as complex, dynamic, and lived rather than fixed or exotic.

TAKEUCHI, Reina Brigette

Thesis Title

Countermoves of the Transcultural: Curatorial and Choreographic Perspectives of Asian Australian Performance

Supervisors

• Associate Professor Charles Robb (Principal Supervisor)
• Professor Mark Ryan (Associate Supervisor)

Citation

'Countermoves of the Transcultural' explores how Asian Australian performance fosters community, challenges colonial legacies, specifically the ongoing ramifications of the White Australia Policy. By interviewing key artists, the research links historical archives to contemporary somatic practices, emerging technologies and perspectives. It positions the artist practitioner as a vessel for reclaiming migratory histories and evolving intangible cultural heritage, ultimately asking: How can performing bodies be sites of collection, reclamation, and reconstruction? 'Countermoves of the Transcultural' argues that the ongoing evolution of intangible cultural heritage is essential for cultivating the future of Australia’s diasporic landscape.

Undergraduate

Bachelor of Creative Industries

• AMARJARGAL, Ariunbayar
• BARRIE, Jazmin Lesley
• BENLIRO, Alexandra
• BISHOP, Adam
• BURGIN, Joel Roy Roberts
• CARO, Francine Andrea
• EGERTON, Thomas Gordon
• FELS, Aaliyah Ann
• GRAINGER, Dannielle Mary
• GREEN, Avery Simone
• HOUGHTON, Alyssa
• KIM, Jonghyun
• LEE, Jeongyoon
• LO, Wai Kei
• MACAYAN, Rafael
• MANN, Samantha Alma Viola
• MILLER, Phoebe Beryl
• MORANTE, Krystel Denisse Bracamonte
• PARK, Yeeun
• RYALLS, Zoe
• TAN, Gabriel Wei Jun
• WHITAKER, Poppy Grace
• WHITE, Tamika Lee
• WU, Ting-Yi
• YUNG, Tsz Ting

Bachelor of Creative Industries – with Distinction

• BLAZAK, Ella May
• CHIN, Lucy Lily
• CRAWFORD, Imogen Grace
• HARMAN, Rebecca Louise
• HOOKHAM-SCOTTER, Antonio Kenneth
• HUSSEY, Ruby Star Scott
• IWAMOTO, Rui
• MARTIN, Skye
• MCLAUGHLIN-TODD, Jonah Art
• RYAN, Bailee Grace
• RYAN, Holly Jo
• SELLICK, Riley Elliot
• TA, Khanh Linh

Bachelor of Business (Advertising)/Bachelor of Creative Industries

• BINTER, Raphael Jeremy

Bachelor of Business (Economics)/Bachelor of Creative Industries

• CANONIZADO, Mario Luis

Bachelor of Business (Marketing)/Bachelor of Creative Industries

• ALI, Nisrin Bashir Mohamed
• ANDERSON, Madeline Kate
• CHART, Hannah Jade
• HILL, Charlotte Emily
• KERTA, Miller Rose Nyoman
• NOTT, Eden Clare
• NOYES, Emily Grace
• WANG, Yalun
• WATSON, Hamish Daniel
• WESTMORELAND, Cali Grace
• WRIGHT, Morgan Elizabeth

Bachelor of Business (Accounting) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Creative Industries

• SHULTZ, Kristen Skye Patricia

Bachelor of Business (Marketing) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Creative Industries

• THORNTON, Tahlia Marie

Bachelor of Business (Marketing) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Creative Industries – with Distinction

• DJURANOVIC, Angelina
• EVANS, Eleanor Lucy
• FERNANDEZ-LEAL, Catalina
• LEE, Lydia Tze Ai
• PROCTOR, Molly Rose
• SPNOVIC, Emily Jane

Bachelor of Business (Public Relations) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Creative Industries – with Distinction

• O'BRIEN, Emily May

Bachelor of Creative Industries/Bachelor of Human Services – with Distinction

• BURKE, Cassidy Amythest

Bachelor of Creative Industries/Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Systems)

• MEAGHER, Noah Valentine Toftegaard

Postgraduate

Graduate Certificate in Education (Autism)

• BUDD, Jessie Ruth

Graduate Certificate in Education (Career Development and Counselling)

• CAMPBELL, Robyn Joan

Graduate Certificate in Education (TESOL)

• POLLARD, Norman John Edward

Graduate Certificate in Education (Trauma–Aware Education)

• OLDFIELD, Hayley

Master of Education

• AGAMPODI, Rajika Harshani
• BODARA GAMAGE, Hashika
• COOMANS, Alice
• CUMMINGS, Amelia
• DALZIEL, Belinda Jane
• FENECH, Antonella Maria
• GABRIEL, Charles
• GOSS, Anita-Mary
• IVICEVIC, Dane
• JAKOVLJEVIC, Ana Marija
• KIRIATI, Liana Sharon
• LINDER, Kate Jaclyn
• MCLEOD, Kirsty Lee
• MORLEY, Caroline Louise
• MORLEY, Danielle Louise
• NG WUN, Jessica Fetalai
• OLDFIELD, Hayley
• ONGPAUCO, Maniya Aura
• PAYNE, Belinda Joy
• ROSS, Angela
• VAN TIL, Ashleigh Louise
• WALAWE DURAGE, Dulani
• WALKER, Jody Lee
• WILLMORE, Casey James
• WILSON, Simone

Master of Education (Autism)

• BUCK, Ashling
• WITTSTOCK, Chene Shalynn

Master of Education (Career Development and Counselling)

• DAMEN, Nawaem Akkash
• IRWIN, Jadon
• STUBBS, Natalie Elizabeth

Master of Education (Educational Leadership)

• ARMITAGE, Kristen
• BARBETTI, Paul Anthony
• BARRIE, Ghata Dustin
• COWLEY, Samuel Joseph
• DANN, Jenna Louise
• FOSTER, Katie Anne
• GENDLE, Carmen Frances
• GOLDSTON, Lisbeth
• HUNTER, Jeremy
• KOLKA, Donna
• MERCHANT, Norveen
• NOBLE, Lauren Victoria
• WHITE, Jennifer Margaret
• YATES, Rowan Arthur James
• ZHAO, Fangjun

Master of Education (Inclusive Education)

• BUDD, Jessie Ruth
• DWYER, Annalise Mykala
• MAHER, Lindsey Fiona
• RESTREPO URIBE, Juliana
• ROSS KNIGHT, Raehana Leary
• RYAN, Rebecca Ann

Master of Education (Indigenous Australian Education for Teachers)

• ROE, Natasha Christine

Master of Education (Indigenous Education)

• ASH, Sarah Jane
• MCMINN, Bobbie-Lee

Master of Education (Innovative Learning Design)

• JABEEN, Sabeeha

Master of Education (Leading Early Childhood Education)

• IBRAHIM, Rhea Sy
• SMITH, Isabella Zoe
• WANG, Fei

Master of Education (School Guidance and Counselling)

• BANNERMAN, Andrew Scott
• BELDE, Anthony Daryl
• BRANDENBURG, Nils
• BROOKS-CAREY, Aisling
• BROWNING, Jade Kara
• CAMPBELL, Robyn Joan
• CONDON, Renay
• D'AQUINO, Thomas Patrick
• DAVIES, Anthony James
• DEKRUYF, Antje Louise
• EALES, Stephanie Michaela
• GRIGG, Jessica Ruth
• HITCHINGS, Stephanie
• HOLZAPFEL, Beth Erin
• HOPPER, Paige Elizabeth
• HUGHES, Rhiannon
• LAWSON, Lauren
• LIGHT, Daniel Vincent
• MCKILLOP, Madelyn Charlotte
• POULSEN, Ann Louise
• RIGSBY-JONES, Jesse Sean
• SAXBY, Glenn Robert
• SCHMID, Sabrina Andrea
• STILES, Matthew
• SWIFT, Suellen Margaret

Master of Education (STEM in Education)

• PAUL, Leleana Linda

Master of Education (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)

• HIGGINS, Angela
• HILLA LIYANAGE DONA, Tharani Amalika Perera

Master of Education (Trauma–Aware Education)

• CARLSON, Andrea
• HERCULES, Lana
• LONGINO, Nicole Alisa

Master of Education – with Distinction

• BOYCE, Jason Hugh
• COLLARD, Helene Marie
• CRAIG, Melanie Rose
• MCKEOWN, Penny
• SCOTT, Rachel Emma
• WILSON, Krystel Rose

Master of Education (Early Childhood Teaching) – with Distinction

• LOGAN, Kristy

Master of Education (Educational Leadership) – with Distinction

• MCKENZIE, Madeleine
• POLUME, Paula Niandros
• PRATT, Amelia

Master of Education (Educational Leadership)/Master of Education (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)

• POLLARD, Norman John Edward
• POLLARD, Norman John Edward

Master of Education (Indigenous Education) – with Distinction

• HORROBIN, Angela Jane

Master of Education (School Guidance and Counselling) – with Distinction

• AHERN, Kelly Maree Napier
• BOYLAN, Becky Jane
• BYRIEL, Carrie
• DENMEAD, Melanie Rebecca
• DEVLIN, Eireann Frances
• EBNETER, Nadia Louise
• ECKART, Erin Marie
• HOGAN, Tessa
• LAMBERT, Danielle
• PALMER, Kaitlyn Paige
• WATTERSON, Rachel Elizabeth
• WILD, Emme Victoria

Master of Education (STEM in Education) – with Distinction

• FURUYA, Mika

Master of Teaching (Early Childhood)

• CAO, XIANGHUA
• CHOI, Ying Ching Eunice
• GAO, Junjia
• GINGOYON, Kathyrine
• NGUYEN, Thi Diem Quynh
• NI, Xiamin
• NIZAR, Haleema
• SHEN, Ke
• SHEN, Xin
• THASOD, Chanikran
• WANG, Dan
• WANG, Xiao
• WILKINSON, Natsumi Mukaiyama

Master of Teaching (Primary)

• BATHAM, Joel Lea
• BECKER, Amy Kara
• BILTON, Samantha
• JAYANTHAN, Janani
• KHAIRI, Shamama
• KNIGHT, Aaron Lee
• LUCAS-THORNTON, Terena Elena
• MONTEMAYOR, Jeyar
• PARK, Jeoung Min
• PEREIRA, Anita Nicol
• ROBERTS, Jennifer Rose
• SPIES, Nicole Amy
• STEER, Jodie
• TOMISICH, Carla
• WARD, Elizabeth

Master of Teaching (Primary) – with Distinction

• CURRELL, Kia Margaret
• GREENWOOD, Charlotte
• KOCH, Jacinta
• RENTON, Sarah
• TULLOCH, Ayesha

Master of Teaching (Secondary)

• ARDILL-WALKER, Luisa Belle
• ASHWORTH, Karike Ann
• CALLOW, Annabelle Holland
• CARLOS, Meneleo Angelo Iv
• DWYER, Alexander Owen
• GASTON, Lucas Edward
• GRECH, Jaime
• KIM, Geon
• NASH, Matthew
• SAUNDERS, Courtney
• SCHMIDT, Benjamin Frederick
• SILAT, Huma Zafar
• STEVENSON, Charlotte Rose

Master of Teaching (Secondary) – with Distinction

• BAILEY, Kendyl
• HIELSCHER, Teneille
• SNELLEKSZ, Shannon Ashleigh