![](/-/media/feature/micrositesnewsandevents/staffnews/suzanne-chambers-460px.jpg)
Innovation in practice
News 24 JulyA message from Executive Dean of Health Sciences Professor Suzanne Chambers: Winter has so far been a season of future-thinking and action for the Faculty of Health Sciences.
02 December 2020
Share
ACU lecturer Syed Muhammad Fazal-e-Hasan has been awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award for Community Engagement for his work with asylum seekers and migrants.
When Syed came to Australia in 2009 as a PhD student with an interest in positive emotions, little did he know that a dramatic change in life circumstances would render him unable to return to his homeland of Pakistan.
Syed’s brother – a well-respected university professor – was tragically killed by the Taliban in 2012.
As it was no longer safe for Syed’s family to remain in Pakistan, he applied for asylum to bring them to Australia. These few short and devastating years taught Syed how crucial positive emotions are to resilience and recovery from traumatic experiences.
Syed says the love and support he received from his PhD supervisor during this time inspired his giving to others: “Someone does good to you, you do good to someone else, and then they can go and do good to someone else.”
Drawing on his academic and personal experience, Syed designed a 10-day free workshop that helps marginalised and vulnerable people to apply the skills of positive emotions in their lives.
Most recently, he has run this workshop with migrants and refugees – many from a South-East Asian background – to help them find their place and thrive within Australian culture.
“Australia is multicultural, and many of them do not come from a multicultural context, so they have no way to know how to connect with others from a different culture,” Syed says.
“In their homeland, these people are deeply connected to community, and relationships are very important. Australia is a very individualistic society. They don’t see their traditions or their rituals, or know how to find like-minded community. So they can get into mental stress and develop anxiety or depression.
“Many of the women don’t want to leave the house. They have come from a culture where they are not used to having a job or weren’t allowed to go to certain places. I tell them, ‘You can come out of the home, you can go out and wear your hijab, no one is stopping you’.”
Syed currently works as a Senior Lecturer (Management) in ACU’s Peter Faber Business School, and has been supported by ACU’s Community Engagement Time Release Policy to offer his workshops to around 200 migrants and refugees in Canberra.
The workshops combine research-backed advice with references to spiritual teaching to help people cope with a broad range of issues, such as making new friends, navigating public institutions and raising children. Participants focus on one practical exercise every day to apply the principles of positive emotions.
“People from South-East Asia are very religious, so you need to find a way through the language and the story of the divine words to connect with them,” Syed says.
“I use examples from the scriptures, from Jesus, Muhammed and other prophets, to help them reframe their beliefs about what they can do to connect with others in this society. I show them they can see religious values as global – not only confined to the culture of their homeland.
“Negative emotions can’t bring enduring change. This is where positive emotions like hope, gratitude and resilience are very important. I talk to them about the benefits of changing their mindset and behaviour, and we look at how these outweigh the costs of not changing.
“I show them that if you can return to using positive emotions, you will come to love people.”
Syed, who speaks both Urdu and Hindi, also teaches people how they can go to a library to improve their language skills, and how to ask for help. He encourages people to find their voice to address oppression and discrimination.
“In their homeland, some had been targeted by the Taliban, so they are already very fearful,” Syed says.
“I tell them that if you are being oppressed, you need to speak out, raise your voice. And I give examples of where the prophets have done so in the scriptures. We also cover information about their rights. Their rights when they go to Centrelink, their rights for their kids, when they go to a place of worship, when they go to the park.”
Syed says his community engagement informs his ongoing research: “When they share with me their stories of how they came to Australia on a broken boat, their struggle to survive, I learn about resilience from them.
“These workshops are the essence of my whole life. I feel so satisfied to know that these people are not just coming to a workshop, they are going somewhere.”
Syed Muhammad Fazal-e-Hasan
A message from Executive Dean of Health Sciences Professor Suzanne Chambers: Winter has so far been a season of future-thinking and action for the Faculty of Health Sciences.
From Monday 22 July to Friday 9 August, Service Central will be available for extended hours to support staff.
A message from Vice President Father Anthony Casamento csma: From 5 – 9 August we will celebrate Mission Week across our campuses. This is an opportunity for us to come together as a community to cele...
Are you going to be a grandparent soon? Did you know ACU offers personal leave for staff to care for their child or grandchild after birth or adoption?
Discover the learning and career development opportunities that are available online, including the brand-new leadership development program, 'The Edge Series'.
Join ASCILITE and become a member of one of Australasia’s most vibrant professional technology enhanced learning communities, with more than 2200 members from tertiary institutions across Australia an...
Phones will be removed from all classrooms over the mid-semester break, from 23 September to 27 September.
Include an additional survey item in the Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching (SELT) survey for units that are offered in Professional Term 5 (202455).
Australia’s first five-time diving Olympian, a Kiwi gymnast and the woman who taught actor Chris Hemsworth to row will be among 15 ACU students and alumni to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Para...
A message from acting Executive Dean of Theology and Philosophy Associate Professor Richard Colledge: Recently, the faculty has hosted opportunities for reflection on the possibilities for reconcilia...
Are you on your parenthood journey? A practical guide is now available to support staff, and their supervisors, through the stages of becoming a parent and transitioning back to work.
Embark on an exhilarating journey into the mysterious world of enrolments. Register to attend an enrolment information session for Semester 2, 2024.
Join upcoming online workshops in preparation for Semester 2. Secure your spot today to learn how you can utilise Canvas and its features to enhance your teaching practices.
A limitless professional horizon awaits ACU students after its three IT programs were awarded certification by the nation’s most trustworthy player in the tech sector, the Australian Computer Society.
Following evaluation and voting by a panel of ACU judges, Co-Lab is delighted to announce Thomas Clark and Xavier Chalkley as the winners of the $1000 prize for the ACU Co-Lab Social Enterprise Pitch ...
ACU Library staff will participate in professional development activities on Thursday 18 July. While away from their usual posts, they'll be working together across three locations to plan our future ...
Applications for 2024 Teaching Development Grants, Citations and Awards are open. Explore guidelines and resources to enhance your teaching project’s impact or gain recognition for your contributions.
As we sit in this small window of the winter break gearing up for Semester 2, it's important to recognise that not everyone experiences this period as downtime. For many, workloads and busy lifestyles...
This week is NAIDOC Week, an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
ACU staff who are also members with UniSuper can now access free expert medical advice and services to support their health and wellbeing through MetLife 360Health.
Visit Service Central to access Corporate Services.