Recognising the people and projects advancing inclusion across IT: Dean’s Awards for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The Monash University Faculty of Information Technology’s 2026 Dean’s Awards for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion recognise the people and teams embedding inclusion into education, research, community engagement and Faculty culture.
This year’s recipients are helping make technology and technology education more accessible and inclusive – from supporting educators to embed EDI in their teaching, to amplifying the experiences of neurodivergent women and improving mental health access for Deaf communities.
“Equity, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to creating an environment where people can learn, contribute and thrive. This year’s recipients show the impact that thoughtful, inclusive practice can have across education, research and our broader community,” said Professor Rashina Hoda, Associate Dean (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) at the Faculty of IT.
This year, the Faculty recognises recipients across four award categories.
EDI & Education Award
Recognising work that embeds equity, diversity and inclusion into education and student learning.
ICT Education Project Team
The ICT Education Project Team embedded EDI into ICT education through an ACDICT-funded national project spanning 11 units across six Australian universities. The team also developed and publicly released GenEDIt, a generative AI tool designed to help educators integrate EDI into teaching materials and support more sustainable, inclusive curriculum development.
The project was delivered by Aamir Cheema, Afaq Ali Shah, Ajanie Karunanayake, Antonette Shibani, Anwaar Ul-Haq, Aster Cosmos, Chetan Arora, Isma Farah Siddiqui, Jinchun Du, Naeem Khalid Janjua, Sadia Nawaz, Urooj Raza Khan and Vasu Malhotra.
EDI & Research Award
Recognising research that advances equity, diversity and inclusion and strengthens understanding of underrepresented experiences.
Invisible Coders Team
The Invisible Coders Team conducted pioneering global research into the experiences of neurodivergent women in software engineering. Their human-centred study generated internationally recognised evidence on the systemic barriers faced by this underrepresented community, helping inform more inclusive practices across computing education and the software industry.
The research was led by Isma Farah Siddiqui, Dulaji Hidellaarachchi, Munazza Zeb and Wei Wang.
EDI & Community Award
Recognising work that strengthens inclusion and creates meaningful impact with communities.
MindSigns Team
The MindSigns Team co-designed the first Bangla Mental Health Sign Language Bank, enabling Deaf communities to express and discuss mental health in their own language. Developed alongside Deaf people, clinicians, interpreters and community organisations, the resource has improved access to mental health information for more than 20,000 Deaf people.
The project was delivered by Md Khalid Hossain, M Tasdik Hasan, Manika Saha and Delvin Varghese.
EDI & Environment and Culture Award
Recognising work that builds more inclusive, supportive and equitable environments and cultures.
Project Management Teaching Team
The Project Management Teaching Team embedded EDI into one of the Faculty’s largest core teaching areas through inclusive curriculum design, compassionate teaching, industry engagement and student partnership. Reaching around 3,000 students each year, their approach fosters belonging, psychological safety and inclusive leadership while helping students prepare to work effectively in diverse teams.
The team includes Sanaz Nikfalazar, Eehui Lim, Farheen Siddiqui, Stephen Paull, Sulaiman Al Sheibani, Manika Saha, Rumana Ahmed, Emy Elyanee, Yi-Shan Tsai, Anthony Wong, Monoar Hossain, Karen Vella, Hengbo Cai, Negar Hosseini, Tasdik Hasan, Viktoriia Ignateva, Bhagya Maheshi, Liza Khwaja, Ekram Islam, Swami Swaminathan, Gary Ng, Lisa Seabrooke, Zoe Henderson, Anastasiia Blizniuk, Khalid Hossain, Karan Raman, Yiting Xie, Basil Koli, Devanuj Raina, Meet Sharma, Jungang Fu, Evian Zhuang, Chris Mennen, Aria Bie, Kim Ko, Jayden Yang, Minh Vo and Vasu Malhotra.
Congratulations to all of this year’s recipients and nominees, whose work is helping build a more inclusive, equitable and welcoming Faculty and creating impact beyond Monash.