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Trailblazing WA teacher and ACU graduate named inaugural Geoff Gallop John Monash Scholar

A passionate state school teacher from Western Australia will head to the world's highest ranking education research institute on a new John Monash Scholarship to learn from the UK's best minds on recruiting and retaining top teachers.

Australian Catholic University graduate Anish Badgeri is the inaugural 2025 Geoff Gallop John Monash Scholar and will study a Master of Education Leadership (in-Service) at University College London's Centre for Education Leadership, located in the world-leading UCL Institute of Education.

"UCL is well renowned for its education research and best practice which is why I have chosen to study there. I was also motivated to study in the UK because they have adopted some interesting and innovative solutions in addressing how we recruit and retain the brightest and most diverse teachers into our schools," Anish said.

"That's a growing challenge in the Australian context, and the UK has taken a few more steps in addressing that through mentoring programs but also by raising awareness about the importance of teaching more broadly."

Anish is one of 18 2025 John Monash Scholars and the first recipient of the perpetual Western Australian Government Scholarship. The perpetual Geoff Gallop John Monash Scholarship is funded by the Western Australian Government in recognition of the former Premier and is available to a graduate of a Western Australian university annually.

Being named the inaugural Geoff Gallop John Monash Scholar was humbling, Anish said.

"The profile of past Scholars tends to come from backgrounds in fields such as medicine, law, and STEM …so I was pleasantly surprised and humbled when I got the call," Anish said.

"I'm feeling energised to work collectively with other John Monash Scholars to make as much of an impact as possible."

The opportunity to pursue postgraduate studies to further his educational impact in Western Australia stems from Anish's passion for teaching.

After studying a Bachelor of Philosophy at University of Western Australia, Anish took the plunge into teaching by completing the Teach for Australia (TFA) program in partnership with Australian Catholic University (ACU). Over a two-year program, students earn a Master of Teaching (Secondary) (Leading Learning) and secure an immediate teaching role at a school serving low socioeconomic communities.

"For me, education is such a powerful mechanism to improving outcomes in our society and I really wanted to put my money where my mouth was and actually pursue that, rather than going into a field where I felt I wasn't going to make the difference I wanted to make. There's an unfortunate stigma around pursuing a career in education, and I'm hopeful that we can shift this perception as a society because we need our brightest minds in front of students in our classrooms," Anish said.

"TFA appealed to me because it was a really challenging and accelerated program, that had a strong emphasis on mentorship and collective impact.

"I had spent five years at university doing my undergraduate degree, so I wanted to jump into the workplace straight away and get some practical experience whilst learning about contemporary theories and approaches at the same time. I found that immersive model really worked for me."

As part of the program, Anish spent six weeks at ACU's Melbourne Campus with 120 other preservice teachers from across Australia, many of whom have become his closest friends.

Anish said the past seven years as a teacher "has been deeply rewarding".

"The everyday impact I make in the class when I have that face-to-face time with students feels really powerful and highly rewarding. However, my time working in a school context has made me realise the complexities the system is facing, and highlighted the need for a broader and systemic response to ensure we can make a meaningful impact," he said.

"I'm hoping to use my experiences of working in schools and in the classroom to better understand the nature of the challenges in our system and develop solutions to mitigate and address those challenges in the future."

In announcing the inaugural Geoff Gallop John Monash award, Chief Executive Officer of the General Sir John Monash Foundation, Paul Ramadge, said Anish impressed judges at every stage of the selection process because of his passion for education and his commitment to improve outcomes for teachers and learners.

Michelle Lopez, director of ACU's Graduate Research School, which oversees scholarship opportunities in postgraduate study, praised Anish for his achievement as the inaugural recipient of the Geoff Gallop John Monash Scholarship.

"Anish has shown great leadership potential as a teacher who advocates for inclusive and diverse learning environments," Ms Lopez said.

"ACU is proud to have played a significant role in shaping his aspirations as a teacher through our partnership with Teach for Australia.

"We congratulate Anish on being the 2025 Geoff Gallop John Monash Scholars and look forward to his continued contributions to the important profession of teaching."

As well as teaching, the 2025 Scholars will study in a range of fields of critical importance to Australia's future, including engineering, physics, artificial intelligence, photonics, defence, public policy, medicine, law, sign language and linguistics, education, conservation and sustainability.