Engaging people and engaging communities in education and research in regional Australia

In the past university work with Indigenous Australians has been generally framed from a service model or within an inclusion, equity or social justice agenda. In this way, Indigenous Australians have often been positioned as in need, marginal and often disadvantaged. We are often seen as ‘taking’, ‘receiving’ and being offered something ‘different’ or ‘more than’ others within the university environment. This is similar to how Indigenous peoples are positioned in other regions of the world.This paper will argue that we need to do turn the gaze away from the positioning that has been cast for us to show how we value add and give to university students, staff and environments and how universities benefit from engaging with us as Indigenous peoples. Moreover, how by engaging with us, universities can strengthen their research, teaching and engagement nexus and contribute towards the strengthening of communities and universities. In this way, they can partner with us in Indigenizing the academy, rather than limiting and weakening it.This paper seeks to challenge how we might work in collaborative ways that address Indigenous needs and opportunities while also enriching the teaching, learning and research objectives of universities. It will do so by drawing on curriculum, research and governance examples as case studies.