Professor Philippa Collin
Principal Research Fellow
Co-Director Young and Resilient Research Centre
Co-Director Intergener8 Living Lab
Professor Philippa Collin is a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University. She Co-Directs the WSU Young and Resilient Research Centre (opens in a new window) and the Intergener8 Living Lab (opens in a new window). She is a Stream Lead for the Wellbeing, Health and Youth NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (2017 - 2022). A social scientist, Philippa researches the role of the digital in the social, cultural and political lives of young people, with a focus on the implications for health and wellbeing. Her work is also concerned with new forms of political participation, identity and governance as they relate to the dynamics of elitism and exclusion.
Prior to joining Western, Philippa was the Managing Director of Research and Policy at Reachout.com (opens in a new window) having held various roles in programs, policy and research (2002-2010). From 2011 – 2016 Philippa was a Research Program Leader for the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre examining how new technologies can promote safe and supportive environments and promote the safety and wellbeing of young people aged 16 - 25. Philippa has led or been a key investigator on more than 30 funded projects with community, government and industry partners including the Multicultural Youth Action Network (NSW), Alannah and Madeline Foundation, Foundation for Young Australians, Google Australia/NZ, the Office for Youth, and a number of NSW and Federal Government Departments. In 2015 she was awarded the WSU Deputy Vice-Chancellors Award for Research Excellence through Partnership, recognition of her deep commitment to building effective collaborative relationships across sectors for engaged research that has impact.
Her recent projects include: When People Protest: Understanding and explaining student climate activism; The Ethics of Engagement with Young People in Health Research (NHMRC, 2017-2022); Young People and Democracy: What Matters? (Whitlam Institute, 2019 - 2020); Child-Centred Indicators for Violence Prevention (End Violence, 2019); a study of the conditions for a Young People, Technology and Wellbeing Research Facility (Australian Research Council, 2010–15); a five-year study of The Role of Online Campaigns for Promoting Young People's Safety and Wellbeing (Young and Well CRC 2011–16). A passionate advocate for participatory and intergenerational approaches, Philippa sits on the scientific and advisory boards of the Raising Children Network and The Smith Family Digital Futures and is a judge for the Whitlam Institute's national essay competition for school students: What Matters?
Qualifications
- PhD, 2009, University of Sydney
- Honours (1st Class), 2003, Communications, University of Technology Sydney
- BA, 2002, Social Science and International Studies, University of Technology Sydney
Awards and Recognition
- 2017: Western Sydney University Research Impact Competition, Winner
- 2015: Western Sydney University Research Excellence through Partnership award: Safe and Well Online team (with Dr Teresa Swist)
- 2010: Australian Political Studies Association – Best PhD Dissertation Prize for 2009
- 2010: Institute of Social Sciences, University of Sydney – Best PhD Dissertation Prize for 2009
Selected Publications
Swist T., Collin P. (2021) Innovating Youth Engagement and Partnerships to Progress the SDGs. In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., Lange Salvia A., Wall T. (eds) Partnerships for the Goals. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71067-9_113-1
Collin, P. Matthews, I. (2021) ‘School Strike for Climate: Australian Students Renegotiating Citizenship’ in Bessant, J., Mejia Mesinas, A., and Pickard, S. (eds). 2020. When Students Protest. (Vol 1): Secondary School students. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield: 13-24.
Collin, P. Swist, T. Taddeo, C. & Spears, B., 2020, ‘Working with Complexity: Between Control and Care in Digital Research Ethics’ in P. Billet, M. Hart, D. Martin (eds) Complexities of Researching with Young People, Routledge.
Third, A. Collin, P., Black, R. & Walsh, L., 2019, Young People in Digital Society: Control/Shift. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.
Swist, T., Collin, P. & Third, A., 2019, Children's data journeys beyond the 'supply chain' : co-curating flows and frictions, Media International Australia, vol 170, no 1, pp 68-77.
Collin, P., Lala., G & Fieldgrass, L. 2018, ‘Participation, empowerment and democracy: engaging with young people’s views’ in P Alldred, F Cullen, K Edwards & D Fusco (eds), The SAGE handbook of youth work practice (opens in new window)
, Sage, pp. 183-196.
Collin, P., Notley, T. & Third, A. 2018, 'Cultivating (digital) capacities: a role for social living labs?', in M Dezuani, M Foth, K Mallan & H Hughes (eds), Digital participation through social living labs (opens in new window), Chandos Publishing, Amsterdam, pp. 19-36.
Swist T. & Collin, P. 2017, Introducing a ‘networked-capability approach’: the role of platforms, people and places for children’s rights in the digital age. New Media and Society 19(5): 671-685 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1461444816686319
Third, A. & Collin, P. 2016, “Rethinking (Children’s and Young People’s) Citizenship through Dialogues on Digital Practice”, in Anthony McCosker, Sonja Vivienne and Amelia Johns, (eds) Negotiating Digital Citizenship: Control, Contest and Culture, Rowman and Littlefield International, London.
Collin, P. 2015, Young Citizens and Political Participation in a Digital Society: Addressing the Democratic Disconnect, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.
