Join Professor Leanne Holt for a keynote examining the immersion of Indigenous knowledges within engineering curricula through the intertwined lenses of culture, sovereignty and identity. While engineering often seeks clear exemplars or proven models before adopting new approaches, Indigenous knowledge systems offer millennia of evidence-based engineering practice, grounded in observation, adaptation and relational accountability. Using case studies this keynote demonstrates that Indigenous knowledges contain sophisticated environmental and spatial engineering insights.
Anchored in an Indigenous theoretical frame, this presentation challenges universities to reposition Indigenous peoples not as subjects of a history of trauma, but as sovereign knowledge authorities whose intellectual traditions predate and enrich contemporary engineering. The address offers practical guidance for engineering educators seeking to respectfully embed Indigenous knowledges in curriculum design and suggests pathways towards a university culture that recognises Indigenous sovereignty, longevity, and relationality. The keynote will demonstrate how Indigenous and Western engineering knowledges can interact and strengthen one another when guided by deep respect and shared purpose.
---
Engineering Education Festival
This keynote talk is part of the Engineering Education Festival. View full program here.
---
Tickets
---
Professor Holt, a Worimi/Biripi woman, is Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous at UNSW. With over 28 years experience in higher education, she was previously PVC Indigenous Strategy, Macquarie University and prior to this co-Director of the Wollotuka Institute, University of Newcastle.
Professor Holt’s educational and research interests are in leadership and Indigenous education and health policy. She is a member of professional national and international Indigenous education committees and expert panels, as well as Chair of Yadha Muru and Director for other local Indigenous community not-for-profit boards. She has shared her experience and expertise Chairing external reviews of Indigenous programs and services at universities nationally and internationally.
Professor Holt is the author of the book ‘Talking Strong’ that tracks the development of all levels of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education policy in Australia. She has been recognised for her leadership in Indigenous higher education and community contributions, receiving local, national and international awards.
