About Us

Our Story

The Indigenous Education and Research Centre's Indigenous Research Support Network (IRSN) is a community of leading and emerging research scholars working with Indigenous topics. We are brought together by our common interest in navigating the challenging dimensions of research that benefits Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

Established in June 2022, the network grew from postgraduate research students with Indigenous research topics and their advisors coming together to discuss the challenges they face, as well as sharing the exciting work they have been progressing. Since then, the IRSN has been meeting monthly to learn from each other through conversations and seminars. These cover topics such as:

• The interface of Indigenous and western knowledge positions
• Co-designing with Indigenous communities and NGOs
• The fear of getting it wrong
• Navigating ethics and protocols

At the heart of the IRSN is a shared commitment to grow the capacity of all researchers and research students to undertake cutting-edge research with social impact for Indigenous communities both in Australia and internationally. We provide leadership in high quality Indigenous research design and offer a range of workshops and events to help guide researchers in this space.

If you are interested in joining the conversation, or have questions about your own research, we would love to hear from you. Scholars from within and beyond JCU are invited to share their own work in our conversations and seminars. Visit the Get Involved page to find out more.

The IRSN is headed up by Professor Martin Nakata, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Education and Strategy) and the team at the Indigenous Education and Research Centre.