MrDr. Mehr Mohsin Raza

I am consistently interested in exploring and advocating for public higher education. I believe if you want to have a healthy society, you must give young people equal opportunities for higher education. Higher education is one of the sectors that can offer many opportunities for people to change their circumstances through better jobs, entrepreneurship, and even by developing their civil and social skills.
My research focus is on how governance practices take place in higher education institutions, which are governed at multiple levels, and how these are aligned or not aligned with the constitutional structures of those institutions. 
Deakin has provided me with the best learning experiences in research and academics and has also helped me develop my leadership skills. In my first year of PhD, I secured a placement with the National Parliament of Pakistan as part of a Deakin International Career Development Placement supported by the Victorian Government’s International Education Resilience Fund (IERF). It cost $15,000 to carry out the placement. In my second year, I contested the election and was elected as a member of the Faculty Board (2024-2025), Faculty of Arts and Education. In my third year, I secured a position as an International Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Political Science at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, through RWTH Aachen’s Advanced Research Opportunities Programme (AROP), with funding of 6400 euros. 

I have presented my research at major international conferences, including the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) 2024 and the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) 2025.

Before joining Deakin in 2022, I served a regional public university in Pakistan in several roles, including Secretary of the Admissions Committee, Assistant Director Academics, Deputy Director Planning, and Founding Manager Facilitation Center. During that time, I also achieved my first PhD, which focused on service quality and higher education services. Recently, the Office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan appointed me as the Focal Person for the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme in Australia, where I promote educational partnerships and international collaboration, further strengthening connections between Australia, Pakistan, and broader global research communities.
I have now submitted my doctoral dissertation under the supervision of REDI’s Professor Dr Radhika Gorur and Senior Lecturer Dr Shaun Rawolle.