Jack Kennedy has joined our growing research team, stepping into a brand new role dedicated to lobbying and campaigning on behalf of graduate students. Read on to learn more about Jack and what he can do for you!
Published Date 31/03/2026
About Jack
After completing an undergrad in his hometown of Dublin, Jack moved across the world to Australia – where he has familial ties – to pursue a new life in Melbourne. He began his career here working in market research until he decided it was time for a change and enrolled in a Masters of International Relations at the University of Melbourne.
Though Jack is an Australian citizen, he likens much of this experience to the journey of international students, while noting the extra challenges they face.
“I spent two years as a full-time coursework student while also working full-time, paying rent and volunteering,” he explains. “I was very lucky, because I received study support payments and rent assistance. I had a low income healthcare card. So while it was financially difficult and stressful, I did have support; whereas my international friends had none of those things and were paying much more than I was.”
Throughout his studies in Melbourne, Jack was also volunteering for various political campaigns. So, by the time he’d graduated, he was very familiar with the systemic challenges of graduate students – both domestic and international – in Australia and our local democratic processes which can push for meaningful change.
“Since it's all so fresh in my mind, I'm really motivated now to advocate for postgraduate students at Monash,” he says. “Because I do think that there are a lot of things that could be improved on a systemic level.”
Now, onto his current role as a campaigns officer.
One important distinction to make is between advocacy and campaigning at the MGA. Our long-running advocacy service provides 1:1 advice and support to students facing a number of challenges on an individual basis, usually academic or personal.
Campaigning falls under a different umbrella, within the research branch of the MGA, and focuses on big picture issues affecting all graduate students, with a view to lobbying for structural solutions to systemic problems. Our research team is responsible for things like our student surveys and reports. From the data and insights collected through these channels, Jack is able to better understand which issues are most affecting grads and come up with solutions to bring forward to policymakers – whether it’s at the university, state or federal level. Jack’s role, therefore, is to collectively engage students to speak up for change.
“I know from my own experience that there are a lot of things grad students would like to be better, but they're time-poor," he says. "So my role, the way I see it, is to get students as involved as possible, while recognising that they may not always have that much to give."
So, what are the campaigns that he’s working on?
First and foremost, Jack has relaunched the MGA’s campaign to the State Government to provide permanent public transport concessions to full-time graduate students.
Though longstanding efforts to achieve this have been unsuccessful in the past, Jack has good reason to believe that this time will be different.
“We've got a Victorian state election coming up in November, and we think this is a really good time to revisit this issue,” he explains.
That’s why Jack has launched a petition to the Parliament of Victoria to have this permanently enshrined in legislation – ensuring that affordable transport is made available to grads long after April when full fares are expected to resume.
The best part? We only need 10,000 signatures – that’s 1 in 3 Monash grads – to bring forward a debate in the State Parliament on this issue. This is very achievable with your help.
SIGN OUR PTV PETITION HERE
You can expect to hear more from Jack down the line as the MGA launches further campaigns on behalf of the graduate student community here at Monash.
“My long term goal is to increase students’ awareness of their own influence and power,” he says.
Want to get involved in MGA campaigns? Get in touch with Jack to help him help YOU.