Justin Wilkey First Nations Officer

(he/him)

Justin is a proud Ngarrindjeri man who grew up on Kaurna Country in Adelaide. He is a PhD candidate in the School of Education at the University of Melbourne, a casual lecturer and is involved in a number of education projects that promote the importance of including First Nations perspectives, histories and cultures throughout the University of Melbourne’s teaching and learning environments.

He has worked in primary, secondary and university sector education spaces as a teacher and educator for many years and has experience working as a multi-media journalist with the ABC. He believes universities must become more adept at understanding the needs of First Nations graduate students and more broadly the needs of all First Nations peoples attending or involved in the university sector. As First Nations Officer appointed to the Representative Council, he is focused on amplifying the voices of First Nations graduate students at the University of Melbourne and by doing his aim is to ensure their input is centred in the experiences that involve them.

In 2023 he held the role of Indigenous Student Ambassador at Murrup Barak where he advocated for the needs of First Nations students and mentored first year undergraduates to ensure their transition into university was welcoming and supportive. He identified that as a First Nations graduate student, his support needs are different than those he relied upon during his undergraduate studies. This lived experience drives him to seek out new ways to continue improving the graduate student experience in the hope that it inspires more First Nations peoples to view the University of Melbourne as a place that respects Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing and incorporates them across the university.

Some other matters that interest him include the impact cost of living pressures are having on First Nations students remaining in graduate studies, potential barriers for First Nations prospective students taking up graduate studies and the nuanced support needs identified by First Nations graduate students that they believe will support them as they undertake graduate research and/or coursework. If you would like to share your thoughts and suggestions regarding issues that impact First Nations graduate students, please get in contact at firstnations@gsa.unimelb.edu.au.