In February, the Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership celebrated the graduation of Karajarri Yawuru man Dr Mark Jones and Kamilaroi and Dgungatti woman Rachel Woodford.
Dr Jones and Ms Woodford recently completed the Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Business Leadership (GCIBL) program which is designed to enable Indigenous business sector practitioners to build on their own leadership and business practices.
Ms Woodford and her husband Garry flew to Naarm from Queensland for the celebration. She has dedicated more than 20 years of her working career to the self-determination of First Nations people through the business, education, and employment sectors.
Dr Jones is a lecturer of Indigenous Programmes at the University of Melbourne and is Dilin Duwa’s Programs Stream Lead and MURRA Director.
Dr Mark Jones, Dr Michelle Evans and Rachel Woodford
A host of MURRA alumni, University of Melbourne colleagues, Kinaway Chamber of Commerce partners, and community organisation representatives also attended the special event.
Facilitated by the Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership, the Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Business Leadership is designed to enable Indigenous business sector practitioners to build on their own leadership and business practices.
It is 100% Indigenous content and designed for Indigenous business owners, professionals and managers at different stages in their careers, including recent graduates, established practitioners and those seeking to move in new directions.
Learn more about the Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Business Leadership
The online course is taught by internationally renowned First Nations experts and is unique in Australia with scholarships available to students to remove barriers to access.
“The GCIBL is unique in Australian university business program offerings in that its student cohort, academics, course delivery and content exemplify being for, with and by Mob,” said Dr Jones.
It allows students from across the world to delve into issues around culture, trauma and the impact of colonialism in a safe learning environment.
Dilin Duwa's Director, Dr Michelle Evans, hosted the lunchtime event with graduates' friends and family in attendance at the University of Melbourne’s Parkville campus.
"It was a really special day for Rachel and Mark, for their families and for us at Dilin Duwa. Rachel and Mark bring their intellect and experience as business leaders to the Indigenous business sector; enhancing it, building and contributing towards Indigenous business excellence,” said Dr Evans.
"We're at a time in this country where we need Indigenous business leadership, and strong, dynamic and generous leaders like Rachel and Mark will be a part of the generations of leaders to take us into the future.”
Dr Evans is a Koori woman, Fulbright scholar and Associate Professor in Leadership at the University of Melbourne.
As Australia’s foremost expert in the subject, she teaches Indigenous Business Leadership in the program, one of three core subjects, pulling from her unique combination of professional experience in management, community engagement and facilitation coupled with her excellent track record in research.
The two other compulsory subjects in the course are taught by international academics who bring a global perspective to the issue of Indigenous business and economic participation.
Dr Rick Colbourne, Anishinaabe Tribe, Assistant Dean, Equity and Inclusive Communities at the Sprott School of Business, teaches International Business Ecosystems which aims to support students to build a framework for the practice of Indigenous entrepreneurship.
Dr Joseph Scott Gladstone, Blackfeet/Nez Perce Tribes, Assistant Professor at Washington State University, guides students through Indigenous Philosophy of Business, which covers the philosophical foundations of contemporary business practice performed by Indigenous people.
Students elect their fourth subject from a range of business topics, including analytics, accounting, economics, research, finance, and marketing.
Dilin Duwa is committed to the pursuit of equity for Australia’s First Nations people in the economic life of the country.
In the Woi Wurrung language of the Wurundjeri people on whose land the Centre is based, "Dilin Duwa" means everlasting flow. It signifies the convergence of the three activity streams—engagement, research and programs—into a centre of impact.
Under the cultural and strategic guidance of an Indigenous Advisory Group, Dilin Duwa is a collaboration between the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Business and Economics and Melbourne Business School.
Learn more about the Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership
-
Dr Joseph Gladstone | International academic
As one of the international academics for the Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Business Leadership, Dr Joseph Gladstone brings a Native American perspective to his subject, Indigenous Philosophy of Business.
-
The Three Streams of Dilin Duwa
Dilin Duwa means ‘everlasting flow’ in the Woi Wurrung language of the Wurundjeri people whose lands the Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership stands on.
-
Indigenous Economic Power Project Snapshot 2.0
Read the latest report from the Indigenous Economic Power Project at the Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Leadership.
-
Reconciliation needs meaningful action from businesses, not photo ops, says Director of Dilin Duwa
Australian businesses that want to make a difference for First Nations Australians should pursue systemic changes while holding themselves accountable