Vice-Chancellor and President
Charles Darwin University
I am delighted to welcome you to the 2025 Charles Darwin University (CDU) Higher Degree by Research Conference. As research students, you are at the heart of our vision to become Australia’s most connected university.
Your courage, determination, and commitment to innovation are driving transformative change across the Northern Territory, Australia, and beyond. At CDU, we are proud to support and empower you—our emerging scholars—as the next generation of thinkers, leaders, and creators.
Each year, this conference brings together more than fifty research students from across CDU to share groundbreaking methodologies, transformative ideas, and pioneering research outcomes. This vibrant showcase is a testament to how your work is shaping a brighter, more sustainable future.
With campuses spanning hundreds of kilometres—from Darwin to Katherine, Nhulunbuy to Alice Springs, Sydney, and beyond – we unite a diverse community of scholars from within and outside the Northern Territory in a bold pursuit of innovation and progress.
This year’s conference theme, “Higher Degree by Research for Sustainable Futures,” challenges us to design our impact from the very start. At CDU, we pursue ambitious, purpose-driven goals that are deeply embedded in our unique context.
We believe that transformative training, education, and research can revolutionise lives and catalyse societal progress. That is why our commitment is unwavering. We ensure that every learning experience is delivered by visionary educators and innovative researchers and that each initiative is accessible, meaningful, and of the highest quality.
What we do isn’t just important; it matters deeply to our communities, powering sustainable futures and creating lasting change.
Your innovative insights, bold ideas, and unwavering passion have propelled this program to new heights. You are the catalyst for transformative change, consistently raising the bar of excellence and inspiring progress every day.
You make CDU.
Professor Scott Bowman AO
Vice-Chancellor and President
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Community Connection
Charles Darwin University
At CDU, we don’t just conduct research—we tackle the complex challenges facing our communities and remote regions.
As the university for northern Australia, our mission is clear: we drive progress in the fields crucial to regional prosperity, cohesion, wellbeing, and sustainability.
Across our Faculties, Institutes and Centres, our researchers are breaking new ground on the global stage.
From advancing Indigenous and tropical health to exploring environmental science, enhancing AI and cybersecurity, and shaping forward-thinking public policy, our research isn’t just breaking barriers—it’s crafting sustainable futures.
Our Higher Degree by Research Conference has rapidly become a cornerstone of our annual program, a compelling showcase of research excellence dedicated to nurturing resilience and sustainability.
Here, HDR students are more than mere participants; they are the trailblazing innovators harnessing transformative fieldwork, sharp inquiry, and groundbreaking projects that illuminate the path toward a resilient, thriving future for our communities and the world.
Each year, our conference offers invaluable exposure to student work, creating a vibrant forum for peer feedback and the cross-pollination of ideas.
These events are more than just presentations—they are essential practice grounds where our students refine the presentation skills that will serve them throughout their careers.
Thank you to everyone whose passion and dedication made this year’s program an outstanding success.
Professor Steve Rogers
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Community Connection
Dean of Graduate Studies
Charles Darwin University
Higher Degree by Research for Sustainable Futures
Welcome to the 2025 HDR conference – Higher Degrees (by Research) for Sustainable Futures. This year’s conference encapsulates the importance of CDU researchers’ real-world impacts.
The 1987 Brundtland Report defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Future sustainability therefore depends upon creating economic growth, while ensuring social inclusion and environmental protection.
Almost 40 years on communities and organisations around the world are facing an ever-growing array of urgent economic, environmental, and social sustainability challenges. This is despite over 190 countries signing up to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were introduced in 2015 to provide a framework for guiding responses to global sustainability challenges.
Now more than ever the world needs its innovative thinkers to come up with solutions to the sustainability grand challenges. Hence this conference.
The conference will help all participants to reflect on their own research, and its contributions and impact in creating positive environmental, economic and social outcomes.
HDR conference presentations are often a starting point in the research dissemination process, serving as practice runs for national and international conferences, as well as platforms for discussing key themes that can be further developed in journal articles.
Effective dissemination also includes promoting research outputs via media, which often kick starts wider interest, debate and citations, as well as leading onto other research opportunities. The CDU media team can assist in this regard, especially if you can relate your research to topical real-life themes. To support our HDR students in this endeavour our Research Communications Officer (raphaella.saroukos@cdu.edu.au) will be using the conference to help identify HDR researchers to feature in CDU press releases. Please also feel free to reach out to Raph for media article writing support if you believe you have a newsworthy story.
This year’s conference comprises a mix of short and longer presentations. Both provide an opportunity for our HDR students to showcase the importance of their research. We have a range of awards this year including best papers in each track and overall. Most awards are voted by participants so please do engage in this.
Finally, well done to everyone presenting at and attending the conference. It is great to see so many of our HDR students taking advantage of this opportunity to share their research with others. Enjoy!
Professor Steven Greenland
Dean of Graduate Studies