Personal profile
Biography
Delvin Varghese is a Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University and Action Lab. His expertise lies in using Action Research and Participatory methods (e.g. co-design) to design, develop and deploy web/mobile applications for community engagement and collective action, leveraging community lived experience.
Delvin has worked on public health and community development projects with government bodies, e.g., the Department of Families, Fairness & Housing (DFFH Victoria), international not-for-profits (IFRC, Oxfam, Caritas) and local multicultural community organisations in Victoria, Australia. He has conducted fieldwork and worked on projects in countries across Asia, Africa, South America, Europe and Australia.
Configured for “real-world impact”, this work has been recognised at both national and international levels. His work on creating a youth social media playbook for Victorian multicultural organisations was cited in Victorian Government’s Better Practice Guide to Multicultural Communications. Limitless (a global youth-first innovation campaign in partnership with Solferino Academy, IFRC, led by A/Prof Tom Bartindale which engaged 8000+ global youth volunteers) won Silver in the Global Good Awards.
Delvin’s PhD research at Newcastle University, UK (Digital Media & Community Voice Designing for Community Participation in Training and Monitoring & Evaluation) resulted in the creation of the Indaba toolkit (https://indaba.dev) for community media, a groundbreaking process for community-led, mobile video creation within international development work. Indaba is now part of the M&E toolkit of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the 192 countries in which they operate.
Monash teaching commitment
FIT2081 - Mobile Application Development (UG unit, 1000+ students)
FIT5032 - Internet Applications Development (PG unit, 300+ students)
Previous Roles
FIT5136 - Software Engineering (Lecturer)
FIT5125 - Research Methods in Information Technology (Content development)
FIT2095 - Full-stack Web Development
Consulting
Delvin carries out consulting and pro-bono work for organisations interested in gathering community voice and conducting sensemaking in Australia and overseas.
Education/Academic qualification
Computer Science, BSc (Honours, First Class), Bangor University
Computer Science, MSc (Distinction), Bangor University
Digital Civics, MRes (Master of Research), Digital Civics, Newcastle University (United Kingdom)
Human-Computer Interaction, PhD, Utilising Community Voice within Organisational Processes in International Development, Newcastle University (United Kingdom)
Research area keywords
- Digital Health
- Co-design
- Action research
- participatory media
- Lived Experience
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Interactive Governance Playbook for Indigenous Corporations
Varghese, D. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
30/01/26 → 30/11/28
Project: Research
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CSIRO Next Generation AI in Mental Health: 12-NGAI-R1: Designing and developing an LLM-enabled tool to generate insights into workforce development needs of alcohol and other drug counsellors and managers
McNaney, R. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Olivier, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Varghese, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Connolly, K. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Balasubramanian, L. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/07/25 → 31/12/28
Project: Research
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Supporting Healthy Remote Stores - Health Benchmarking and monitoring for the National Code
Brimblecombe, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Fredericks, B. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ferguson, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pollard, C. M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Cubillo, B. (Chief Investigator (CI)), McCarthy, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), McMahon, E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Christian, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Varghese, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Lee, A. J. (Chief Investigator (CI))
18/06/25 → 30/11/28
Project: Research
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A Health Services Directory for Healthcare Navigation and Social Prescribing
Olivier, P. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Altun, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Boyle, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lim, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Varghese, D. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/04/25 → 30/06/26
Project: Research
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Mapping Australian Homemade, Amateur & Do-it-Yourself Cultural Economies.
Long, P. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Watson, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Alizadeh, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Homan, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Varghese, D. (Chief Investigator (CI))
ARC - Australian Research Council
27/07/24 → 26/07/27
Project: Research
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Adapting Co-Design for Crisis Contexts: Lessons Learned Engaging Nonprofits
Varghese, D., Seguin, J. P., Tebourbi, M., Bartindale, T., Ratnam, C., Powell, R., Wickes, R. & Olivier, P., 19 Sept 2025, In: Electronics (Switzerland). 14, 18, 22 p., 3720.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Bridging the Technical Gap: A Unified Representation Framework for Voice-based Community Engagement Platforms
Islam, M. A., Varghese, D., Richardson, D., Saputra, M. R. U., Saha, M., Bartindale, T., Mukta, M. S. H., Kaniaswari, R., Yousuf, M. & Olivier, P., 16 Oct 2025, In: Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. 9, 7, 39 p., CSCW277.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Diaspora Dynamics: Methodological Innovations in Community-Based Research for Crisis Response
Alagh, A., Fernandez, B., Lazzati, L., Olliff, L. & Varghese, D., 2025, Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Yatani, K. & Ding, X. (eds.). New York NY USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 7 p. 190Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review
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Diaspora Humanitarians: How Diaspora Communities Respond to Humanitarian Crises
Rejón, R., Fernandez, B., Olliff, L. & Varghese, D., Apr 2025, In: Voluntas. 36, 2, p. 191-203 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
2 Citations (Scopus) -
HCI Across Borders: Building a Collective Vision for the Future
Moin, S., Cannanure, V. K., Mthoko, H., Rivera-Loaiza, C., Kano, T., Varghese, D., Till, S. C., Gautam, A., Wong-Villacres, M., Gaytán-Lugo, L. S., Dray, S. & Sturm, C., 2025, Extended Abstracts of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Yatani, K. & Ding, X. (eds.). New York NY USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 5 p. 785Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Other
1 Citation (Scopus)
Prizes
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2024 - Dean’s Award (Community Research)
Varghese, D. (Recipient), Angelucci, M. (Recipient) & Bartindale, T. (Recipient), 5 Sept 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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2024 Monash Student Association (MSA) Teaching Excellence Award
Varghese, D. (Recipient), 14 Nov 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Best paper honorable mention award: ACM Designing Interactive System
Seguin, J. (Recipient), Varghese, D. (Recipient), Anwar, M. (Recipient), Olivier, P. (Recipient) & Bartindale, T. (Recipient), 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
File -
Best paper honorable mention award: ACM Designing Interactive Systems
Grierson, M. (Recipient), Varghese, D. (Recipient), Bolton, M. (Recipient) & Olivier, P. (Recipient), 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
File -
Dean’s Award for Excellence: Community Research
Varghese, D. (Recipient), Seguin, J. (Recipient), Tebourbi, M. (Recipient), Bartindale, T. (Recipient) & Olivier, P. (Recipient), Sept 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Press/Media
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Volunteer translators and interpreters play a vital role in Shepparton but union says there are significant risks
Angelucci, M., Varghese, D., Wilson, R. & Bartindale, T.
28/11/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Research helping to amplify Ukrainian refugee voices
Bartindale, T. & Varghese, D.
27/04/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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The new digital playbook helping organisations better reach multicultural youth [SBS]
Varghese, D., Seguin, J., Tebourbi, M., Bartindale, T. & Olivier, P.
10/11/21
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Voicing the voiceless: The Shift media
Bartindale, T. & Varghese, D.
10/12/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature