ADI well-represented among Deakin DECRA success
ADI well-represented among Deakin DECRA success
Kathryn Tafra
We are thrilled to announce that two of ADI’s early-career researchers – Dr Charishma Ratnam and Dr Sophie Adams – have been awarded 2025 funding under the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) prestigious Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards (DECRA). They are among only nine Deakin University researchers to be funded under this round of the scheme.
According to ARC Acting Chief Executive Officer, Dr Richard Johnson, DECRAs “offer exciting opportunities for Australia’s promising early career researchers to develop in supportive environments … DECRA projects result in new technologies and ideas, often leading to new jobs, economic growth, and ultimately an improved quality of life for Australians.”
The DECRA scheme provides focused research support for early career researchers over a three-year term.
“This is a significant measure of success for our ECRs and for the research support we provide at ADI. I congratulate Dr Ratnam and Dr Adams for their marvellous success and look forward to their contribution to scholarship and the intellectual vibrancy of the Institute”
ADI’s successful DECRA projects for 2025 are:
Dr Charishma Ratnam: “Understanding how refugees use digital technologies during resettlement” ($444,929)
Dr Ratnam will investigate how Sri Lankan refugees use smartphones and digital applications to successfully resettle in Australia. The resulting empirical evidence-base will inform service providers as to how these technologies can improve resettlement outcomes for refugees.
“This research will enable me to continue working with refugees to better understand how digital technologies help or hinder resettlement, and how smartphones and apps feature in refugees’ everyday lives. I’m excited to contribute to the emerging field of digital migration studies by integrating a new conceptual framework. I hope the research will have broader impact in the settlement sector”.
Dr Sophie Adams: “Modelling the energy transition: the making of socio-technical futures” ($390,296)
Dr Adams’s project will draw on social sciences theory and methods to investigate the potential social implications of alternative future energy systems. Aiming to contribute to a smooth transition to a renewable, affordable and reliable power system, the project hopes to engage the public in deliberating the future of energy in Australia.
“I am most excited to have the time and resources necessary to delve into this enormously complicated and interesting transformation in how we power our society. I am hoping to both advance some exciting conceptual work on the relationship between models and the real world, as well as generate insights helpful to the energy sector and government”.
This DECRA round saw many high-quality applications from ADI in an extremely competitive field of contenders from around the country. We recognise all the hard work that went into these applications and offer heartfelt congratulations to our two recipients.
The full list of funded projects can be found here.