Associate Professor Helen Thompson
Director, Centre for eResearch and Digitial Innovation (CeRDI)
Campus
Biography
Distinguished Professor Helen Thompson is Director of the Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI) at Federation University Australia and provides university-wide leadership in eResearch and digital innovation. She commenced as CeRDI Director in 2002 and has led the centre’s development into one of the University’s most successful research entities, with a strong national and international reputation.
Helen’s work focuses on the application of information and communications technology to support knowledge management, data interoperability and digital research platforms. She specialises in building digital capability within industry, government and academia, with a long-standing commitment to regional and rural Australia. CeRDI has facilitated more than a hundred long-term partnerships, and supports substantial, programmatic research projects across agriculture, environmental management, spatial science, regional development and community engagement.
Helen has extensive experience leading collaborative, industry-embedded research and has overseen significant research funding, with CeRDI research income representing a substantial proportion of Federation University’s total research income. She is an active leader within the University community and contributes to a range of university and community-linked committees and initiatives.
Her research interests include digital literacy, eResearch infrastructure, spatial and environmental data, and measuring the long-term impact of digital innovation initiatives.
Fields of research
- Agriculture, land and farm management not elsewhere classified
- Database systems
- Distributed systems and algorithms
More about Helen
Qualifications
- Doctorate of Business Administration, University of Ballarat
- Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) with Distinction, University of Ballarat
Areas of interest
- eResearch and digital research infrastructure
- Information and communications technology
- Knowledge management systems
- Digital literacy and capability building
- Spatial and environmental information systems
- Regional and rural innovation
Areas of expertise
Helen has expert level experience in delivering and governing digital research platforms and knowledge management systems. Her expertise includes strengthening organisational digital capability, supporting data driven research and enabling long term, cross sector partnerships that deliver social, environmental and economic impact.
Projects and partnerships
- Long term partnerships with industry, government and regional organisations
- Leadership of award-winning spatial, agricultural and environmental digital platforms
- National collaboration in eResearch and data infrastructure initiatives
- Contributor to government and industry reports on ICT, digital innovation and regional development
- Invited speaker and panellist on eResearch, digital transformation and research infrastructure
- Media engagement on the application of digital technologies in regional and rural contexts
Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI)
- Publications
The application of digital tools for knowledge sharing in agriculture: A longitudinal case study from four Australian grower groups
- Journals
- DOI reference: 10.1016/j.compag.2024.109843
The Opportunities and Challenges Associated With Establishing a National Soil Data Repository From Public and Private Actors
- Journals
- DOI reference: 10.1111/sum.70075
An Observations Framework for data interoperability: Enabling descriptive regional data for soil and land management in the Australian context
- Journals
- DOI reference: 10.1016/j.geodrs.2025.e01029