Gillian Kidman is an internationally recognised education scholar whose work bridges neuroscience, STEM and geography, STEM education. She holds a Principal Fellowship of AdvanceHE (UK), recognising her sustained impact on institutional teaching and leadership excellence. She currently serves as Lead Co-Chair of the International Geographical Union Commission on Geographical Education (IGU-CGE) and Lead Editor of the journal International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education (IRGEE). Through these roles, she has advanced international research collaboration, global policy dialogue, and disciplinary renewal across geographical and environmental education.

Gillian’s research redefines STEM and STEAM education as integrative, inquiry-driven, and design-thinking-oriented pedagogies that build teacher and student agency for sustainable futures. Her transdisciplinary work spans cognitive science, geography, and design thinking, leading to innovative models and frameworks. She has led multi-country research collaborations across Australia and Southeast Asia that address teacher professional learning and curriculum reform, working closely with ministries of education and international partners to shape policy and practice.

Within Monash University, Gillian has been a transformative academic leader, serving as School Research Lead and fostering an interdisciplinary research culture through mentoring, capacity-building initiatives, and international partnerships. She has supervised numerous doctoral students to completion and received multiple nominations for Monash’s Supervisor of the Year and teaching awards.

Gillian’s current projects focus on integrative STEAM pedagogies, climate-responsive education, and transnational teacher capacity building, positioning her as a leading voice in shaping how education can respond to complex planetary challenges.

Gillian has research interests in both science and mathematics education. She is particularly interested in inquiry forms of teaching and learning and the potential inquiry has in terms of the integration of science and mathematics. She is currently working on the interpretation of 'inquiry' and STEM Makerspaces in terms of disciplinary thinking.