The podcast raising the bar for Australian universities. Clever thinkers from the Australian universities community tackling the big questions about systemic change. Students, advocates, academics, and refreshingly honest senior leaders come together to envision how higher education can genuinely serve staff and students from traditionally marginalised and underserved backgrounds - and chart the path to get there. Produced on Ngunnawal and Ngambri lands by Ebe Ganon.
Episode 7: Part-time Student Experiences with Kelly Linden
Part-time students make up 31% of all Australian university students, yet university policies and systems remain designed for full-time school-leavers. Associate Professor Kelly Linden shares preliminary findings from her research with almost 1,000 part-time students about their experiences, needs and the policy barriers they face. Ebe and Kelly talk about: Research findings on what supports part-time student success, including access to engaging lecturers and clear expectationsPolicy barrier...
4 Jan 2026
Episode 6: The Neurodiversity Paradigm in Higher Education
In this bonus episode, Ebe shares the recording of her November 2025 ADCET webinar on the neurodiversity paradigm, which drew over 500 registrations from across Australia. The session covers the foundations and principles of the neurodiversity paradigm as articulated by Dr Nick Walker and Sonny Jane Wise, contrasting it with the pathology paradigm that currently dominates university support systems. Ebe explains key concepts including neurodiversity, neurodivergent identity, neuronormativity,...
7 Dec 2025
Episode 5: Placement Equity with Amani Bell and Lachlan Sibir
In this episode, Ebe speaks with Associate Professor Amani Bell (University of Sydney) and Lachlan Sibir (classroom teacher and researcher) about placement equity and placement poverty in Australian higher education. The conversation explores what placement equity means and why it matters for students from equity-deserving backgrounds. We discuss the strengths and limitations of the Commonwealth Prac Payment, which currently supports students in education, nursing, and social work but exclude...
9 Nov 2025
Episode 4: Keeping Disability Rights on the National Agenda with the DIIU
In this special episode recorded at UNSW's Diversity Fest, we examine the rising global threats to diversity and inclusion through a disability lens. Join Ebe Ganon in conversation with Professor Jackie Leach Scully (Director, Disability Innovation Institute UNSW), Professor Alistair McEwan (former Disability Royal Commissioner), and Dr Supriya Subramani (University of Sydney) as they unpack everything from Trump's harmful rhetoric to Australia's NDIS challenges, university diversity strategi...
19 Oct 2025
Episode 3: Indigenous Knowledge in Learning and Leadership with Tracy Woodroffe
In this conversation, Ebe sits down with Dr Tracy Woodroffe, a Warumungu Luritja senior lecturer at Charles Darwin University, to talk about what it really means to embed Indigenous knowledge in Australian universities - and why our current approaches keep falling short. Tracy shares her journey from childhood, to teacher, to academic, explaining why Indigenous perspectives can only be owned and delivered by Indigenous people, and what happens when non-Indigenous academics try to speak for co...
28 Sept 2025
Episode 2: Universities and the Disability Discrimination Act
The Disability Discrimination Act review is happening right now - and it could fundamentally change how disability rights work in Australian universities. But only if the sector actually gets involved. In this episode, Ebe unpacks four game-changing reforms proposed in the DDA review and why every person in our sector needs to engage with this once-in-a-generation opportunity for change. What you'll learn How universities have historically been absent from disability law reform conversationsF...
21 Aug 2025
Episode 1: Student Advocacy and Disability Inclusion with Gemma Lucy Smart
In this inaugural episode, we dive into the power of student collectivism and what it actually takes to build genuine advocacy movements within universities. Host Ebe Ganon sits down with Gemma Lucy Smart, a PhD candidate and seasoned disability advocate who serves as both Disability Equity Officer and HDR Equity Officer for the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association, plus represents postgraduate students with disability nationally through the Council of Australian Postgrad...
27 Jul 2025
Episode 0: Introducing Higher Hopes with Ebe Ganon
Welcome to Higher Hopes, the podcast raising the bar for Australian universities. In this trailer episode, host Ebe Ganon introduces a new kind of conversation about systemic change in higher education - one that genuinely centres student voices, lived experience, and solutions to move our sector forward. Tired of surface-level solutions and feel-good initiatives that don't actually shift the dial? Same. This podcast brings together students, advocates, academics, and progressive leaders for ...
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