Half Time Scholars

Welcome to this episode of Half Time Scholars, where we delve into the world of circular economy and digitalisation with PhD candidate Agnes Toth-Peter. Joining us from the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, Agnes is a recipient of the QUT Postgraduate Research Award scholarship and is a part of the QUT ACE Centre and the QUT Centre for a Waste-Free World. In this episode,...

Vibhuti Rao, a PhD candidate from Western Sydney University, is researching Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a complex disorder affecting Indian women. She's exploring the potential of Ayurvedic diet and yoga therapy to manage the condition and provide alternative, sustainable, and effective lifestyle options. Her study focuses on assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of a standard...

Ryan Payne, a Ph. D. candidate from Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane Australia. Ryan's thesis looks at how biometrically tracking customers in real-time can be used to adapt the price of goods. His research also develops new privacy concepts such as individuals' collective privacy, privacy variance, and the novel use of eye tracking technology. Ryan is excited to be a part of the BEST...

Rubina Mulchandani is a graduate in Life Sciences and post graduate in Clinical Research, currently a PhD scholar in Clinical Research at the Indian Institute of Public Health, Public Health Foundation of India. Her research area is interdisciplinary and combines the fields of cardiovascular epidemiology and pharmacovigilance. Rubina is actively involved in teaching post graduate students and heal...

On this episode we speak with Isabella Gonçalves, a Brazilian second-year doctoral candidate at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, and a recipient of a DAAD Scholarship. Isabella currently researches the stereotypical framing of migrants and refugees in media coverage comparing Brazil and the United Kingdom (UK). Isabella is also the head of the Brazilian team on the Digiworld scientifi...

Enas Aref is a board-certified Ergonomist, researcher and instructor with experience in the areas of Ergonomics, Occupational Safety, Human Factors, Usability, Statistics Product Design, and Project Management. An Ergonomist designs or modifies the work to fit the worker, not the other way around. 

Lucas Whittaker is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology (BEST Centre) at the Queensland University of Technology. His research focuses on the application of synthetic media such as ‘deepfakes’ within marketing contexts and psychological factors which may influence consumer appraisal of such media. Recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine lea...

Dr. Pradyumna Jairam’s research is placed within the broader domain of how the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party constructs its idea of Indian history through an identity-centric rubric. Using history textbooks, the party prescribed in the north-western state of Rajasthan in 2017. His research uncovers how in order to branch out its national ideology of Hindutva to suit a regional context,...

Massimiliano Zanotto is completing a Ph. D. programme at the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) on Entrepreneurship and Innovation. I am working along with Prof. Teresa O'Hara, Prof. Paolo Landoni and Prof. Paul Liston and the title of my project is "Understanding Incubators and Accelerators: analysis of their social and economic impact on innovation and entrepreneurship. It is estimate...

On this episode we speak with Arnela Colic who is a doctoral fellow (PhD) in International and Comparative Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She examines education’s role in nation building in multiethnic, post-conflict contexts and the influence of international organizations on national education policies and systems. Her current work is focused on countries of the former Yugos...

On this episode we speak with Giuliano Sansone who holds a PhD in Management from Politecnico di Torino. He has been visiting Ph. D. Student at the MIT Sloan School of Management under the supervision of Fiona Murray in 2018.  Broadly, Guiliano's work focuses on working on Entrepreneurship in three distinct areas: 1. Organizations that support the creation and the development of startups (e.g...

Melissa Vasi is a doctoral candidate in Business Administration at Uninettuno University under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Vincent English.   Her research focuses on the influence of open innovation and dynamic capabilities on the resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involves the implementation of a practical framework that supports firms i...

On this episode we feature the work of Myuri Komaragiri (she/her) who is a first-generation Canadian, who is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). From field experience in Guatemala, Morocco, and Jordan, as well as her MA dissertation on higher education pathways for refugees, Myuri is interested in the intersections between forc...

Chronic respiratory disorders like asthma affect around 600 million people worldwide. although these illnesses are widespread, they can have several different underlying causes, making them difficult to treat. On this episode we chat with William Reay a researcher from the University of Newcastle, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, whose work focuses on integrating statistical genetics wi...

On this episode we explore how recently, governments have shown significant interest in disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). For example, recently launched national strategic AI plans. However, AI adoption in the public sector is an emerging trend, hence, there is enormous ambiguity about the optimal deployment. Our guest is Samar Fatima is a Ph. D. scholar in the Queensla...

On this episode we speak with Sudhir Selvaraj of King’s College London about his research study looking at religious freedoms for minorities in India. Article 25 of the Indian Constitution provides for the 'Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion'. However, in the recent past there has been an increase of violence against religious minorities. Sudhir’s study...

On this episode we explore how emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence offer great opportunities, but also pose existential threats to humanity and the natural world. Our guest is Rebecca Johnson a PhD researcher from the University of Sydney, Faculty of Sciences. Rebecca’s work specifically looks at the ethics of artificial neural networks; the deep learning side of AI with a view t...

In this episode we speak with Dr Amanda Källstig who did her PhD in Politics at the University of Manchester, whose research explored what stand-up comedy in Zimbabwe can tell us about resistance and subjectivity. Amanda's research interests include comedy, postcolonial international relations theory, resistance, and subjectivity particularly in the context of the African continent. Amanda’s resea...

In this episode, we explore how women pursuing flexible education frame their narratives of self-fulfillment in Chennai, India. My guest is researcher Meenakshi Krishnaraj from the University of Sydney, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Meenakshi’s study explores the relationship between women’s pursuit of flexible education frames their narratives of self-fulfillment and analyzes the perceived...

In this episode, we discuss the concerns of government-mandated teacher professional development programs of Indonesia on teacher self-efficacy beliefs. Where evidence indicates the minimum impact on teacher practices. These concerns are more apparent in mandatory professional development programs implemented in less privileged regions. My Guest is Dr. Ria Asih, from the School of Education @ UNSW...

The sublime is an ancient concept, one that constantly poses questions about humanity's relationship to nature. Nanda's thesis charts the development of the sublime from Kant's eighteenth-century theory in the Critique of the Power of Judgment to its presence within the field of contemporary environmental aesthetics in the form of the “environmental sublime.” Developments in the natural sciences h...

Development’ discourse in the mainstream, is often defined in terms of economic growth that privileges modernity, urbanization, and scientific expertise. Across the Global South, this model has been internalized and reflected in a national focus on science—and recently STEM—education. Our guest today is Aizuddin Anuar a researcher from the University of Oxford Department of Education specializing...

In this episode, we examine how the Australian and Taiwan governments produced higher education enrolment policies between 2005 to 2009. These policies transformed both country's higher education systems in an endeavor to meet the national priorities. My guest is Leo Ren-Hao Xu a researcher from the University of Sydney, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Their enrolment policies include the 200...

Grace Tidmarsh is a Researcher at the University of Birmingham, UK. The PhD is a collaborative project with St Basils’ housing support service for youth (16-25 years) experiencing homelessness. Grace’s PhD research is part of a wider project in which a mental skills training programme (MST4Life) is delivered to service users. Outcomes from the programme include improved mental health, improved lif...

Individualised Cognitive and Motor learning for the Elderly (ICOME) Motor sequence learning in the elderly is crucial to improve their motor function after serious health conditions such as strokes. Existing motor learning programmes neglect individual cognitive and motor differences, resulting in significantly varied improvements in motor function. An EU-funded project aims to offer a management...