Western Sydney University
Dr Chand was recognised for her journalism and research at the House of Commons in London in October, 2018 with the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman award, followed by the 2019 Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) award on the eve of India’s Republic Day in Delhi.
She is a 2015 recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s excellence in teaching award for her role in developing hybrid online courses at Western Sydney University.
Asha also won the 2006 Carrick Australia Award for University Teaching. The citation was for outstanding contribution to student learning and sustained commitment to vocationally oriented, ethically informed student learning and industry engagement by undergraduate journalism students.
She was successful with two federal government funded National Colombo Plan grants and took seven students to Nepal a year after the 2015 earthquakes to report on the rebuilding efforts. In 2018 she led a similar tour with 15 students to West Bengal, India. The students were in residence at Adamas University, Kolata and travelled to Visva Bharati University, a brainchild of Rabindra Nath Tagore, for three days of immersion and cultural experiences. The team travelled to Darjeeling to see first hand the work of Fair Trade.
Asha’s Work
Projects
Dr Asha Chand is currently researching and writing about online dating which is built within the context of a postmodern society which is networked, mobile and global.
Asha’s research examines the use of new media technologies in finding a match for marriage, known to the Indian Diaspora as a way of life.
The research attempts to gauge an understanding of the sociological impacts of hyper-communication, especially the use of dating sites in forming intimate relationships online while evaluating marriage (which also feeds migration) for Australia’s political and social economies.
Selected Publications
Chand, A. (2017), ‘It’s Time…a speech that shaped a life and Australia’, Media Development, vol 4 , pp 29 – 33.
Chand, A. (2017), ‘Digital story telling gives voice to Sydney’s senior Blacktown legends’, International Conference on Journalism and Mass Communications, Singapore.
Chand, A. (2013), ‘Reinventing the media sphere : Fiji Indian voices down under’, Bridging Imaginations : South Asian Diaspora in Australia, Readworthy 9789350182796.
Chand, A. (2009), ‘Political Activism: The New Mantra for Fiji Indians in Global Sydney’, The Global Studies Journal, vol 2, no 2 , pp 117 – 130.
Media
Conference presentation:
Global Girmit Museum
A glimpse into Asha’s Chutney Generations exhibition
Journalism’s changing dynamics
Asha’s take on Solutions Journalism and Constructive News
Book review: Constructive News
A three month exhibition and publication on the Australian Fiji Indian cultural extravaganza
A $21.2 million Commonwealth Government
funded Bridges to Higher Education programme
Biography
Asha is Associate Dean International with a focus on South Asia, in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts. She is an academic and journalist with a combined industry experience of more than 35 years. Her PhD research was titled Migration, Match-Making and the Media: Fiji Indians in Sydney.
Asha’s research interests are in culture, society, migration and marriage. She has also published on journalism research and the use of media technologies in story telling.
Dr Chand has won Australian national recognition for excellence in tertiary teaching. She is a 2015 recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s excellence in teaching award for her role in developing hybrid online courses at Western Sydney University.
Asha was recognised for her journalism and research at the House of Commons in London in October, 2018 with the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman award, followed by the 2019 Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) award on the eve of India’s Republic Day in Delhi.
Asha is also Senior Lecturer and journalism area convenor. Her research work has been published in national and international journals.
Online
Dr Asha Chand 