Dr Caroline Ellison (pictured left) from Flinders University’s Disability and Community Inclusion Unit has won a national award for her outstanding achievement and contribution to the field of developmental education.

Dr Ellison, a Senior Lecturer based in the School of Medicine, was named the inaugural Dot Mills Developmental Educator of the Year by Developmental Educators Australia at an awards ceremony on October 27, beating four other nominees.

Bachelor of Disability and Community Rehabilitation student Emily Schultz was also named Student of the Year.

Dr Ellison said she was surprised to win the award, and equally pleased that Flinders had received recognition for being one of the few universities in Australia to offer developmental education training for disability professionals as part of the Disability and Community Rehabilitation course.

“Flinders has really become the focus of training for disability professionals in Australia and overseas,” Dr Ellison said.

“Developmental Educators are highly-trained professionals who act as a link between people with disabilities and inclusion in their communities, and Flinders is the university in Australia that has the longest standing program to train disability professionals,” she said.

“We also have one of the highest ratios of PhD students in the whole School of Medicine so there’s certainly a lot of interest in what we do.”