On the 14^th of October 2022, the Melbourne Girls Grammar Institute, in collaboration with Melbourne Grammar School, was proud to host the first National Forum of the Research Invested Schools Network. 

The Research Invested Schools Network (RIS) is a network of schools that embrace research and innovation as key to their identity and enterprise. They have clear research and innovation priorities, engage staff in inquiry programs from practitioner research through to PhDs, and are creating new knowledge through original and collaborative research. They are challenging the common notion that teachers merely 'deliver the curriculum' developed by experts else where and are charting a new course for the future of innovation and leadership in education. 

With over thirty schools from around Australia represented in the RIS network, the first National Forum was a chance for research leads in RIS schools to gather and share their practice and progress on various collaborative projects that they have invested in. 

Beginning at Melbourne Grammar School, the attendees were treated to a tour of the new Science building and heard about the importance of research when designing teaching and learning spaces. They then listed to a showcase of student leaders discussing current sustainability projects at Melbourne Grammar School and the importance of student voice and agency within those research projects. 

At Melbourne Girls Grammar, Dr. Hugh Chilton and Caitlin Munday spoke about the importance of Research in schools and lead a collaborative discussion on the different ways that research leads within school enact their roles and inform the strategic direction and decisions of their schools.  

To end the day, we heard short presentations from different research leads from around Australia about an aspect of their work and how they are generating research to improve the experiences of students within their context. We heard form research leads from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.  

The Melbourne Girls Grammar Institute is proud to be a founding member of theResearch Invested Schools Network and to help facilitate the sharing of research and knowledge between schools. As active participants in research, it is important that the findings are shared so that all can benefit from the investments that schools make. The Research Invested Schools National Forum was an outstanding day and has helped to build connections between schools that share similar priorities and beliefs in research investment in the school context.