Prof. Dr. Eva Cheng is committed to advancing intersectional inclusion in STEM classrooms, addressing questions of pedagogy, didactics, and academic and teaching cultures. As the 2026 Audre Lorde Visiting Professor for Intersectional Diversity Studies, hosted at Technische Universität Berlin by Prof. Dr. Petra Lucht at the Center for Interdisciplinary Women’s and Gender Studies (ZIFG), Cheng has brought her expertise from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to Berlin’s vibrant academic landscape.

At UTS, Cheng serves as Head of School in the Faculty of Engineering and IT, where she leads research and teaching in sociotechnical professional capabilities across engineering and IT disciplines. Her work frequently bridges academia and practice through collaborations with non-profit and civil society organizations, with a focus on embedding inclusive approaches into (socio)technical education.

Since arriving in Berlin, Cheng has immersed herself in the city’s dynamic ecosystem of researchers and practitioners working on intersectional inclusion. “Time is flying by so fast! I have met so many people working in intersectional inclusion across different sectors. Berlin really is pivotally active in progressing this space,” she reflects, adding, “Continuing conversations in coming months to keep exploring how we can share and collaborate beyond the time here in Berlin is definitely a focus—I really appreciate the open mindsets to interdisciplinary collaboration.”

Cheng has already pursued a wide range of initiatives during her visiting professorship, including a contribution to BUA’s Diversity and Gender Equality Network (DiGENet) Symposium on Diversity, Participation, and Innovation Perspectives in Higher Education Teaching with the network's international guest Prof. Dr. Tanja Tajmel in May. In June, she participated in the panel discussion Engaging Democratic Societies in Science at the BUA Fellows Forum of the Fellows Club, held in collaboration with the Falling Walls Foundation. There, she advocated for incorporating diverse perspectives into public science engagement as a means of rebuilding trust in science. Cheng’s Inaugural Lecture, On Student Belonging, took place on Tuesday, June 30, at 4:30 PM, centering on how universities can create conditions in which students feel recognized, included, and a genuine sense of belonging.

Her engagement has also extended to international academic exchange. During a visiting delegation from Ghana, Cheng met with Prof. Angela Akorsu, the 2025 Audre Lorde Guest Professor, to exchange ideas on advancing inclusion in higher education. At TU Berlin, her seminar teaching has provided a platform to explore themes she hopes to integrate more firmly into STEM curricula, including the roles of power, privilege, and rights-based approaches in engineering and IT practices. These topics, she notes, also call for new pedagogical approaches, which need to deconstruct power dynamics in the classroom, foster student agency, and place the lived experiences and expertise of the students in the foreground.

Beyond academia, Cheng has actively sought connections with civil society, attending events such as the Humanitarian Congress Berlin, the Berliner Freiwilligenbörse, and activities with re:publica. She has also begun volunteering locally, using these engagements to explore future collaborations and opportunities for students to connect academic learning with societal impact.

The visiting professorship has offered Cheng something often scarce in Australia as Head of School: time. “This focused period in Berlin has enabled me to dive deep into reading, listening, and discussions,” she explains. “With my role and responsibilities at UTS—management meetings, budgets, and the constant need to respond to emerging challenges—making progress in research can be very slow.”

Looking ahead, Cheng’s program in Berlin continues to expand. She will contribute to a collaborative symposium session at the Gender & STEM Conference in July 2026, hosted at the University of Salzburg, alongside partners from UTS, TU Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, and Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin. In collaboration with the Berlin Center for Global Engagement, she is also planning to host a visiting scholar from the National Engineering School of Tunis, whose work on gender and inclusion in STEM will be featured in a seminar and a prospective BUA Meridian podcast episode.

For Cheng, Berlin offers a uniquely rich environment for this work. “Berlin really has a strength of research and practice in intersectional gender inclusion in STEM, and it’s not just at one university,” she observes. “A number of different universities across BUA and Berlin actively work in this space. The open, progressive, creative culture of Berlin also helps with building cooperations.”

She is particularly struck by the collaborative model enabled by the Berlin University Alliance. “The shared resourcing and collaborative culture that BUA enables is something I wish we had in Sydney,” she says. “It would be ideal for universities to deeply collaborate with shared resources rather than compete.”

At the same time, Cheng emphasizes that international academic cooperation extends beyond intellectual exchange. “We all benefit from learning different ways of working, thinking, and doing,” she reflects. “The visibility of working together across places and cultures makes a difference. While we may face similar challenges, there are also important differences. For example, the gender gap in STEM is not a challenge in all parts of the world.”

Through her work in Berlin, Cheng is not only contributing to ongoing conversations about inclusion in STEM, but also helping to shape new dialogues grounded in collaboration, critical reflection, and a commitment to transforming both classrooms and institutions.