DrBalaji Trichy Narayanaswamy

Dr Balaji Narayanaswamy is an Interdisciplinary Lecturer within the Division of Curriculum Futures. His work focuses on building strong connections between academia and industry, collaborating with external partners (including ANSTO, JLL, Terracycle, Powerhouse Museum and Jacobs Solutions) to design student projects that address real-world challenges. He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA).

Balaji brings international experience from higher education institutions in Australia, New Zealand, and China, with a particular interest in innovative engineering education pedagogies. He holds a PhD in Materials Engineering from Deakin University (2017), awarded under the Deakin University Postgraduate Research Scholarship, and has a background in mechanical engineering.

In 2018, Balaji joined The University of Waikato as a Teaching Fellow supporting an offshore teaching program in China. Over three years, he strengthened his expertise in engineering education for ESL (English as a Second Language) learners and progressed to the role of Lecturer.

In 2021, Balaji returned to Deakin University as an Associate Research Fellow with Conflux Technology, a start-up specialising in additive manufacturing of heat exchangers. His research focused on alloy development for advanced manufacturing applications. Following this, he held a Teaching Scholar role in the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) space, where he developed programs to enhance research scholars’ employability and prepare them for successful academic careers.