Writing a poem a day and acting by night, Professor Mary-Rose McLaren is a creative talent with so much more than teaching behind her name.

Mary-Rose weaves drama through all she does, including her classes. Drama games are central to shaking up her student’s learning experiences, and while they may start shy (or with resistance), Mary-Rose sees her students gain a sense of belonging, identity and trust.

In this way, Mary-Rose is nurturing the next generation of Early Childhood Educators – opening their minds to the possibilities of education and the interconnections between their influence and children's agency.

I had a truly insightful conversation with Mary-Rose about her background, her life experiences and what she sees for the future of Early Childhood. It is a critical sector – for children and their families and the Australian economy – but also one that has the opportunity to push boundaries.

In 1973, the Department of Foreign Affairs sent a cable to the ‘Australian mission to U.N. New York’ about Dr Helen Hill, noting that she “appears to hold strong opinions”.

To this day, Helen's "strong opinions" has led to significant social and political change. She has continuously advocated for the people of Timor-Leste and the young nation's global position, seeking opportunities for all those she encounters.

I was delighted to have Helen as this year's first People of VU podcast guest, where she reflected on her upbringing, her activism, and her time at VU teaching International Community Development.

After meeting at the tree-planting day a few months ago in Werribee, I knew I had to find out more about Tahnee Towers.

Tahnee is the first VU student to be interviewed on People of VU. I discovered more about her experiences as a biomedical science student, growing up off-grid on Bundjalung country and her big goals in life.

As we are embarking on our second round of 2022 graduations this week, there could be no better time to celebrate one of our students.

This year’s final episode of the People of VU podcast is a special one. My guest is the magic behind the podcast and someone who has sat by me recording this show for a year. He is also the joint winner of the One VU Award and People’s Choice winner in the 2022 VU Staff Awards.

I am delighted to introduce Stuart Clegg, Victoria University’s Senior Video Producer.

Our conversation traversed shipwrecks, rock music and commercial TV and highlighted the fact that there are many ways to bloom as an individual. Stu went from being a ‘coastie’ to a ‘westie’ and has deeply immersed himself in both the VU community and in the life of the region.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

VU Real-World Researchers are the driving force behind the University’s research and our new Research and Impact Plan. Dr Vasileios Stavropoulos is one of them.

In the latest episode of the People of VU podcast, Vasileios gives a perfect example of how his research has a profound impact on the world around him.

From identifying the cause of gaming addiction to developing games for health, his research is applied to the lived experiences of people. This is something VU researchers do outstandingly well.

Vasileos is the 2022 Victorian Tall Poppy Award winner, and I can see why. Our chat was truly fascinating and so timely as we navigate digital futures.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Artist, mentor, teacher, researcher, curator — Dr Paola Balla is all of this and more.

I had a fantastic conversation with Paola for the People of VU podcast. We unpacked the occupation she would list on a visa application; how it felt striding across the graduation stage to receive her PhD; and what gives the Footscray community its edge.

Paola imparted some incredibly uplifting and thought-provoking words in this episode. It is certainly one to listen to in great depth.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

This episode of the People of VU Podcast comes at a critical time for the tertiary sector.

Just a week ago the federal government was deep in discussion at the Jobs and Skills Summit. You will hear me speak with Anne Howard about the potential outcomes for Vocational Education and her views on what more can be done.

Anne is Victoria University Polytechnic’s Executive Director of the College of Education, Skills and Jobs. She is incredibly passionate about language, learning and setting people up with the skills to succeed. I discovered that her career has traversed regional Victoria, metropolitan Melbourne and industry — with her role as ‘educator’ enriching all she does.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

After a mid-year hiatus, it has been fantastic to get back in the recording studio for the People of VU podcast. And our first episode back is an absolute cracker.

I was joined by Dr Mary Woessner (PhD), one of our star researchers and lecturers in Clinical Exercise Science. Throughout our conversation, there were repeated themes of potentiality, the natural world and health underpinning everything.

Mary said that she wants to be known as “the researcher that I am rather than the research that I do”. This episode gives us a wonderful insight into her insightful and highly productive career.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

On the eve of the formal VU City Tower launch (31 May 2022), I had a fantastic talk with Kirsten Jeffery, Project Director, and Franziska Locher, Program Manager, for the tenth episode of the People of VU podcast.

As a former accountant and architect respectively, Kirsten and Franziska are passionate and highly-skilled individuals whose leadership was integral to the success of the VU City Tower – the largest vertical campus in Australia.

From construction to COVID; from design to daring-to-be-different: we get to hear directly from them about the highs and (rare) lows of a multi-million dollar, dual-sector construction project.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

At Victoria University, we have spent these past few weeks reconnecting with familiar and new faces through a series of on-campus events.

What better time than this to release a podcast with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor People & Organisation, Peter Radoll, who fondly describes his people-centred role with the words: “No one has a better job than I do!”.

Those who have met Peter would know his warm, generous and collegial nature. In this People of VU episode, he is incredibly candid. Peter shares his journey from his earliest days as a motor mechanic to his most recent positions as an academic and senior leader.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm