Kinship Is a Design Principle for STEM

Culturally safe psychology, Indigenous Data Sovereignty and decolonising innovation

Dr Emily Darnett (Palawa) is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Clinical Psychology Registrar at QUT. Her work centres First Nations social and emotional wellbeing and transforms psychology education and practice so it serves mob.

Innovation isn’t neutral.

It reflects the values of the people who design it. If we want science that strengthens relationships, we start from kinship – not just code or clinical protocols. That’s the heart of Emily’s work in psychology and higher education. She focuses on community empowerment, mental health equity and research translation that benefits Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in real life, not just in journals.

Emily’s message is clear: Indigenous‑led approaches must be at the centre of STEM; culturally safe practice is the baseline; and Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Data Governance need to be nailed down from day one. When communities co‑govern data – how it’s collected, stored, interpreted and used – science becomes accountable and useful.

Her lived experience shows why this shift matters. School felt like a mismatch. She later learned she is neurodiverse and dyslexic. Entry barriers, fees, failed subjects, a move to Naarm for fourth‑year psychology, maxed‑out HECS and years of working full‑time alongside study – none of it stopped her. Those detours built the grit that now underpins her research and clinical work.

What good looks like

• Govern with kinship. Move from “consulted” to in governance across research ethics, service design and product roadmaps.
• Embed Indigenous Data Sovereignty early. Agree consent, storage, access and interpretation before the first dataset exists.
• Measure community benefit. Track safer services, stronger relationships and knowledge returned to community, not just citations.
• Resource lived experience. Pay for time and leadership. Build placements and career pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

When we build this way, STEM becomes a pathway to collective healing and future‑focused change — not just a pipeline of products.

Call to action: If you lead a lab, a course or a product team, put Indigenous governance on your next decision and publish what changed.