From school teacher to state politician - the life of Iwan Walters

The Scholars Podcast - Conversations with Inspiring Leaders

Iwan Walters is a 2012 John Monash Scholar and the Foundation's first elected politician. He returned to Australia in late 2015 after completing an MPhil in Economic and Social History at the University of Oxford, and a Master of Public Policy at Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government. Before going to Oxford, Iwan was a secondary school teacher in Victoria's Grampians region and an inaugural Associate of the Teach for Australia program. Iwan's subsequent research at Oxford focused on the economics of education and was particularly concerned with improving access to higher education from socially and economically disadvantaged areas. Since returning to Australia, Iwan has consulted to universities and state governments to strengthen Australia's education systems by improving funding structures and the effectiveness of central government support for schools, principals and classroom teachers. In 2022, Iwan was elected to the Victorian Parliament as the Labor Member for Greenvale. In addition to his studies as a Monash Scholar, Iwan holds a Bachelor of Arts with first-class honours in History from the University of Melbourne, where his thesis was awarded the Wyselaskie Scholarship. He also holds a Diploma of Teaching (Teach for Australia) from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, where he was dux of his graduating cohort.

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