Social Work Education, Research and Practice: Perspectives from India and Australia

Ilango Ponnuswami is currently a Professor of Social Work and Chair, School of Social Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India. His areas of interest are mental health, gerontology and community development. He has been actively involved in the field of ageing since 1995 after attending a short-term training course on income security for the elderly in developing countries conducted by United Nations International Institute on Ageing (INIA, Malta), with a scholarship from UNFPA and successful completion of a Post Graduate Diploma in Gerontology and Geriatrics at the University of Malta with a fellowship from the UN-INIA, Malta. He represented India at the BRICS forum on Ageing held along the side-lines of the IAGG World Congress in Seoul, South Korea, during the year 2013. He has published a book on Ageing and Mental Health brought out by Nova Publishers, New York, in 2016, along with co-editors from USA, Australia and New Zealand. Abraham P. Francis is an Associate Professor and Head of Academic Group in Social Work and Human Services at James Cook University, Australia. Dr. Francis is a research fellow at the department of social work, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and an Adjunct Faculty with Prasanna School of Public Health, MAHE, Manipal. He has established many international partnerships and research collaborations with universities and non-government organizations. He has extensively contributed to the literature on social work practice in mental health through his publications, convening conferences, establishing research networks, and developing consortiums. His other research interests are in the field of communities, criminal justice, international social work, and gerontological social work. In 2018, he received the NAPASWI (National Association of Professional Association Social Workers in India) lifetime achievement for his outstanding contribution to social work education as a Social Work Professional of Indian Origin who addressed the social work issues globally and strengthened Social Work Education and practice at international level.