2026 Fellows

Jye Marshall’s fellowship examines the imbalance within the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), where knowledge has been prioritised over skills and vocational education positioned below higher education. In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the fellowship recognises the growing importance of advanced design skills to Australia’s sovereign capability. It investigates how vocational education can be better scaffolded within dual-sector universities to create equitable pathways for students from diverse backgrounds. Engaging with leading international design institutes, the fellowship aims to develop models that harmonise vocational and higher education, ensuring skills-based learners lead in design innovation and excellence.

Laura Fitt proposes to investigate international models of industry‑funded, subscription‑based upskilling that enable workers to gain nationally recognised, stackable micro‑credentials while remaining employed. Her Fellowship will explore systems such as Germany’s Chambers of Commerce (IHK) and Singapore’s SkillsFuture, focusing on how they coordinate industry, government and training providers to keep qualifications current in rapidly evolving clean‑economy trades. Laura aims to translate these insights into a Victorian context, where Skills First funding delivered across 12 autonomous TAFEs creates a highly diverse landscape of micro‑credential approaches. Her goal is to design a viable TAFE‑consortia model that delivers responsive, industry‑aligned micro‑credentials and establishes a sustainable revenue stream for public providers, strengthening workforce transition as clean technologies accelerate.

This Fellowship will focus on strengthening Australia’s vocational education and training response to the emerging offshore wind industry, with particular emphasis on subsea cable jointing and turbine-related skills. As offshore wind becomes a critical component of Australia’s renewable energy transition, there is an urgent need to develop specialised skills that are currently limited or emerging within the local workforce. Through engagement with leading international training providers, research centres and offshore wind operators, the Fellowship will examine advanced training models, safety frameworks and approaches to industry integration in mature offshore wind markets. The research will inform the design of high-quality, industry-aligned training programs within the Victorian TAFE sector, supporting workforce transition from traditional energy industries into clean energy roles. By strengthening curriculum design, industry partnerships and educator capability, the Fellowship will contribute to building national workforce capacity and supporting Australia’s progress toward net zero targets.

This Fellowship aims to strengthen Australian early childhood education by investigating internationally recognised nature based and social pedagogical approaches—particularly Scandinavian models—and translating them into practical, context specific strategies for the Victorian VET and ECEC sectors. Australian research shows clear developmental benefits of nature rich, play based learning, yet current teacher education and practice remain inconsistent, risk averse, and poorly aligned with this evidence. By studying high quality Danish outdoor programs and their relational, child led pedagogies, the Fellowship will address these gaps and develop best practice guidance, educator tools, and curriculum enhancements. The purpose is to build early childhood teacher/educator capability, reframe risk as a learning opportunity, and embed culturally responsive, nature centred practices that support children’s agency, wellbeing, and holistic development. Through professional learning, open access resources, and strong local partnerships, the Fellowship seeks to influence training quality, enrich program design, and contribute to long term pedagogical innovation across the VET and early childhood sectors.

This Fellowship, Growing the Clean Economy Workforce: Boosting Engagement in Future‑Ready Agriculture, seeks to strengthen how vocational education engages and supports learners in agriculture and horticulture at a time of significant environmental and economic transition. These sectors are central to Victoria’s clean, resilient and circular economy, yet continue to face workforce shortages, ageing demographics and low learner completion rates. Through an international study program, the Fellowship will explore proven approaches that place learners at the centre of climate‑aware, technology‑enabled and regenerative agricultural training. It will examine applied learning environments, industry‑embedded education, digital capability, wellbeing‑informed pedagogy and place‑based models that build motivation, relevance and persistence. The insights gained will inform practical improvements to curriculum design, learner engagement strategies and workforce development within the Victorian VET context. The Fellowship will also consider how elements of these approaches could be adapted, where appropriate, to support engagement and retention challenges in other VET industry sectors.