Oceania Institute Student grants
The Oceania Institute supports the activities of University of Melbourne research higher degree students from the Pacific Islands, students of Pacific Island heritage, and students whose research focusses primarily on the Pacific Islands. PhD fieldwork grants supplement funding available through Schools and Faculties to help cover expenses of research in the Pacific. Conference grants support students attend conferences related to their Pacific-focused research and career development.
Awardees included:
Chris Paul, a PhD candidate in the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, who will undertake the first phase of fieldwork in Solomon Islands for research on monitoring the impacts of climate change on wellbeing in the South Pacific.
Dorothy Foliaki, a PhD candidate in the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, to undertake research on the sustainability of land reclamation in Tonga.
Chethna Ben, a PhD candidate in Architecture, Building, and Planning, who presented her research on “Connecting and Contesting Disconnections: Urban Dispossession and Displacement,” at the European Society for Oceanists conference held in June 2025.
Rupert Azzopardi, Master of International Relations, who joined a delegation of Australian and Papua New Guinean scholars for a short course on Australia-PNG relations hosted by the Deakin Centre for Contemporary Histories and Australia Awards Papua New Guinea in Canberra in June 2025.
Grace Morita Manuleleua, Master in Education student, who presented “From policy to practice: Evaluating factors shaping bilingual education in Samoa” at the annual Oceania Comparative and International Education Society conference at the University of Canterbury in Otautahi/Christchurch in November 2025.
Representatives from the University's Pacific Islands Student Association (Keyonce Lee Hang, Antonina Lee Vegar, and Gerard Tuii Anapu to attend and present a paper at the Australian Pasifika Educators Network conference held in Brisbane in November.
Gerard Tuii Anapu, Master of Environment student, who attended an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Writeshop in Samoa in November 2025.