Tiyana Jovanovic

Tiyana Jovanovic is a PhD candidate with the University of Queensland and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi's Academy of Research (UQIDAR.) Currently based at UQ's School of Communication and Arts, she has an academic background in sociology and philosophy, and a professional background in media and communications for a humanitarian and human rights organisations. Prior to starting her PhD mid-2020, Tiyana founded the Humanitarian Changemakers Network, a Brisbane-based social enterprise that works with secondary schools and youth groups to catalyse young Australian's to engage in the social change space, and utilising her passion for solutions-focused storytelling for social change, she edits the Changing Times newspaper, published a social change handbook for young people, and hosts the Changemaker Q&A podcast. Tiyana currently volunteers with a number of organisations, and is a member of the QLD Red Cross' Youth Advisory committee.

Tiyana's research is in the field of information and communications technology for development (ICT4D.) Developing important critical realism-inspired insights concerning the social and cultural relations, mechanisms and structures within technology, her study will look at two cases of technology-mediated social change concerning livelihoods, wellbeing, and agricultural productivity of rural farmers in India, to explore the ways in which structural conditions enable, constrain or nullify the capacity of ICT to lead to some sort of development, and what the possible generative mechanisms are that allow these ICT4D interventions to effect change for the intersections of gender equality, environments and marginalised voices. It is her hope that international travel is possible before the end of her candidature, to live and conduct her fieldwork in India, however she is looking forward to further engaging with local and global challenges through the Global Change Scholar Program.