The Important Place of Indigenous Knowledges in Developing Global Competence in Higher Education

Global competence is a complex, “multi-dimensional construct” (OECD, 2018) which has taken a prominent place amongst the graduate attributes that universities around the globe prescribe and place value on for their students. An understanding of Indigenous Knowledges is also being increasingly recognised as an important attribute in higher education for both students and staff, particularly in settler-colonial nations such as Australia (Universities Australia, 2022). In Australia, it is common for universities to intertwine Indigenous Knowledges together with global competence as one construct covering cultural competence, in their lists of graduate attributes. In this chapter, I outline the central place of Indigenous knowledges in developing cultural/global competence that is rich in complexity and allows deep engagement with the intricate nature of the “perspectives and world views of others” (PISA, 2018). While students may gain foundational competence in Indigenous Knowledges and cultural understandings through online modules, which are often compulsory at Australian universities, I highlight the importance of place itself in Indigenous Knowledges and the effectiveness of on-country learning in becoming more radically open to “interactions with people from different cultures” (PISA, 2018). Drawing on my work at universities in two different Australian states, Western Australia and Victoria, I also discuss how these opportunities to engage with Indigenous Knowledges were impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.