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10 September 2019

Menzies welcomes three new Australian National Fellows

The Menzies Australia Institute welcomes fellows, Professor Neil Gunningham, Dr Ben Day and Dr Michael Cohen from Australian National University (ANU).

Australian parliament, Canberra
Australian parliament, Canberra

Three academics from the College of Asia and the Pacific at Australian National University (ANU) have received fellowships to King's College London thanks to the Menzies Australia Institute and the Australian Studies Institute.

Professor Neil Gunningham, Dr Ben Day and Dr Michael Cohen will each undertake a fellowship in London, where they will have the opportunity to conduct research in their respective fields.

Dr Ian Henderson, Director of the Menzies Australia Institute: “Our collaboration with ANU continues to grow and we are proud that the Menzies is at the centre of so much of that work. I am certainly excited to see what new research and engagement comes from this year’s fellowships."

Professor Paul Pickering, Director of the Australian Studies Institute: “I congratulate each of the three fellows. They embody some of important and diverse Australian studies research that is being undertaken at ANU and will greatly benefit from their time at King's."

Meet the fellows

Neil Gunnigham (002)

Professor Neil Gunningham
Professor Neil Gunningham from the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), ANU will be exploring Australia’s sustainable finance agenda and the roles financial regulators should be playing in climate finance. He is excited about the opportunity to study at one of the leading universities in the UK.

Professor Gunningham: “Kings College and the Menzies Australia Institute are the ideal research environment for a comparative study of climate finance regulation in the UK and Australia. London is a world leader in the field and Australia can learn much from the UK experience, in positioning itself for similar status in Asia.” 

Dr Ben Day

Dr Ben Day
Dr Ben Day, an associate lecturer in the Department of International Relations, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, ANU, will spend five weeks looking at the role of political leadership in international development. Dr Day’s appointment as an Australian National Fellow comes at an opportune time.

Dr Day: “This is an invaluable opportunity to expand and deepen my relationships with academics and policymakers in the UK aid sector at a time when both the UK and Australia are rethinking their aid policies as they each seek to step up their engagement in the Pacific."

Dr Michael Cohen (003)

Dr Michael Cohen
Dr Michael Cohen, a senior lecturer in the National Security College, ANU will be at the Menzies Australia Institute for six weeks researching the role of political leaders in the early years of the US-Australian alliance and the origins of alliances that were created in the early Cold War. Dr Cohen will spend time at the National Archives and is looking forward to learning from Menzies Australia Institute scholars and staff.

Dr Cohen: “I am thrilled to be awarded the fellowship as it allows me to continue archival work and share this research with leading scholars at King's. I’m also excited to hold two public events that will allow me to share ANU expertise and insight with the King's/London scholarly and wider community."

About the Australian National Fellowships

The Australian National Fellowships were established between the Australian Studies Institute at ANU and the Menzies Australia Institute at King's, in partnership with the National Museum of Australia and the National Archives of Australia. The fellows' profile scholarship on Australia and the world in the UK and Europe, as well as further collaborations between ANU and King's.

The inaugural Australian National Fellow, Dr Robyn McKenzie, completed her fellowship with the Menzies Australia Institute in June 2019, where she focused on Indigenous string figures.