In summary

  • Applications are now open for the first Swinburne Beyond the Fault Lines Liffman Fellowship. 
  • The program will be encouraging and exemplifying respectful debate, open-mindedness, and critical thinking, within the university and in the wider community. 
  • The selected Fellow will receive a $10,000 award and provide mentorship, student master classes, a public lecture, and the launch of a specialist student media project on the major contemporary social issues and debates of our time. 

Applications are now open for the first Swinburne Beyond the Fault Lines Liffman Fellowship. This is an opportunity for an eminent journalist to engage with Swinburne undergraduates to explore and discuss fault lines – polarising challenges we face as a society – and canvas the many perspectives that come with them. 

Established by Swinburne Adjunct Professor, Dr Michael Liffman AM, the program will be encouraging and exemplifying respectful debate, open-mindedness, and critical thinking, within the university and in the wider community. Participants will be sharing this through journalistic writing, thought leadership and opinion pieces.  

“With the world in a state of flux it is becoming increasingly difficult to be able to find common ground in addressing the grand challenges we face as a society,” said Dr Liffman.  

“It is the role of a university to make sense of these challenges and having a revered journalist facilitating that understanding and mentoring students on how to communicate about these topics in the most respectful and articulate way to all audiences, will be powerful for our next generation of graduates.” 

The selected Fellow will receive a $10,000 award and provide mentorship, student master classes, a public lecture, and the launch of a specialist student media project on the major contemporary social issues and debates of our time. 

The Fellowship will be a flexible program across a 12-week period in Melbourne, Victoria to support a current journalist who will be based in the Department of Media and Communication at Swinburne.    

To apply for this Fellowship, the applicant must have: 

  • Demonstrated 5+ years of experience in journalism  
  • Passion for creative thinking and educating our next-gen graduates  
  • Evidence of achievement through published or broadcast pieces 
  • Australian citizenship or permanent residency

Applications will be assessed against: 

  • A brief rationale for how journalistic practice has instigated a deeper questioning of a social, cultural, or modern complex problem, ideally the drawing together of people or communities to create positive change 
  • A 200 word (approx.) proposal for a themed mentored multimedia project  
  • Current CV 

Applications close 30 June 2022. 

Contact: 

For further information about the Fellowship or to apply, please contact Professor Therese Davis, Chair of Department of Media and Communication, School of Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education. theresedavis@swin.edu.au 

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