About the Indian Ocean Research Centre

The Indian Ocean Research Centre (IORC) was established at Sheridan Institute of Higher Education, Perth, Western Australia in 2022 in response to the urgent need to further develop our understanding and appreciation of the Indian Ocean region. 

A key aim of the IORC is to encourage teaching, collaboration, research and publications concerning human activity, past and present, within the Indian Ocean region. These initiatives may include:

Historical perspectives
Contemporary security, strategic and defence issues
The development and challenges facing cultures and countries
International cooperation and conflict
Transnational agencies and organisations
Region and island development and interactions
Transport and economic considerations
The relationships between people and their environment

The IORC embraces a multidisciplinary approach to the study and understanding of the Indian Ocean region. 

IORC Directors

Dr Mark Fielding holds a doctorate from The University of Western Australia on the internationalisation of education and is currently senior lecturer at Sheridan Institute of Higher Education in Perth, Western Australia. During the last ten years he has travelled extensively throughout the Indian Ocean region speaking at conferences and consulting in many local schools and universities. He has a particular interest in building opportunities for collaborative action on improving schools and teacher education in the region. He also has a passion for the maritime history of the region and how early Europeans viewed, interacted and learned from Indian Ocean people. Dr Fielding sees the Indian Ocean Research Centre as a wonderful opportunity to further develop cross-cultural engagement and regional learning and understanding. With Dr Joshua Esler, he has edited the multi-discipline book, Indian Ocean Imaginings: People Time and Space (Lexington, 2022). 
Dr Joshua Esler holds a doctorate in Asian Studies from The University of Western Australia. He is a Director of the Indian Ocean Research Centre at Sheridan Institute of Higher Education, where he is also a lecturer and researcher in Asian Studies. His research is focused on the diffusion of Tibetan Buddhism among Chinese communities, both in historic and contemporary contexts, the subject of his recent book Tibetan Buddhism among Han Chinese (2020). His wider research interests include the diffusion of Buddhism across maritime and land trade routes, and how this in turn influenced developments in both Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism. With Dr Mark Fielding, he has edited the multi-discipline book, Indian Ocean Imaginings: People Time and Space (Lexington, 2022). 

Quicklinks

TEQSA Provider ID: PRV14012
CRICOS Provider Number: 03391M
ABN: 22 506 508 071

Find us

South Wing Building
Suite 1, 10 Nash Street
Perth WA 6000

West Wing Building
Suite 18, 7 Aberdeen Street
Perth WA 6000

PO Box D178 Perth WA 6849