Unlocking Collaboration: Successes and Insights from the Youth Co-Research Masterclasses
“Really valuable and informative”, “so useful” and “worthwhile” were just a few of the words participants used to describe the Youth Co-Research Masterclasses recently delivered by the Young and Resilient Research Centre and the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY).
All three masterclasses across Sydney (Parramatta) and Melbourne (Southbank), as well as online via Zoom were sold out, and well received by supporters of young people including researchers, educators, and leaders from both industry and the community.
Hosted by Y&R’s Co-Director Professor Amanda Third, Y&R Research Officers Louisa Welland and Mia Cox, and CMY’s Edmee Kenny and Michelle Lim, the masterclasses showcased a new Youth Co-Research toolkit for researchers, a key output from a collaboration generously funded by the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies. The masterclasses empowered participants by providing tools and knowledge for effective collaboration with young people in research roles.
This is the second toolkit on this topic, complementing an existing Youth Co-research toolkit for young people created by the same team.
Attendees enjoyed:
- Presentations on the work of Y&R and CMY including background information on our collaborations, and case studies from both an academic researcher and a youth co-researcher perspective,
- Networking and Q&A opportunities through breakout discussions, collaborative activities, and lunchtime conversations, and
- Guided activities and scenarios that leverage tools from within the new toolkit including the Youth co-research readiness self-assessment tool as well as existing resources such as the Package of Thanks, Value and Remuneration guide which is taken from the Wellbeing, Health & Youth publication - Youth Engagement in Health Research Guidebook.
Participants said they gained “purpose, connection and [access to] the huge amount of toolkits that can be picked up and implemented.”
The 3 workshops were delivered to 143 registrants representing the sectors of higher education (both in Australia and New Zealand), not-for-profits (specialising in mental health, rural and urban health services, and women’s health), peak bodies (focused on sport and young people), charities, state government, local council, Federal Commissions (eSafety in Australia and Mana Mokopuna - Children and Young People's Commission in New Zealand), software, business consultancy, research institutes (focused on medical research) and performing arts. Several postgraduate and undergraduate university students across Australia and Indonesia also tuned in driven by ambitions to engage in co-research themselves.
To increase the accessibility of this experience, an event recording of the online masterclass is now available below. This recording offers a high-level overview of the new Youth Co-research toolkit with some examples of real-life application and insights into the discussion questions attendees were given.
Your thoughts and opinions are very important to us. We want to hear about your youth co-research case studies, how this toolkit could improve, and how this toolkit has helped you in your work. To submit a case study or feedback on this webpage please email r.lewis@westernsydney.edu.au and let us know what section of the toolkit your experience is related to.
You can also join the waitlist for similar future events. Those on the waitlist will be the first to receive updates and invitations to future masterclasses hosted by the Young and Resilient Research Centre. Click here to join the waitlist.
We also encourage you to stay in touch with the Young and Resilient Research Centre by checking out our website, following our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts and subscribing to our newsletter.
