Associate Professor Melanie Fillios is an archaeologist that specialises in human-animal interactions throughout history, and is currently the Director of Place Based Education and Research at the University of New England. In this interview we chat about the changing role of universities and the expectations that students and society place on universities. We also chat about Melanie’s research as an archaeologist, including the reality of what a career in archaeology looks like. More recently Melanie’s research has been looking into the history of dingoes in Australia and what their status is as a native Australian animal. Using archaeological knowledge to help answer these questions is crucial for properly managing Australia’s animal populations and understanding our cultural and ecological history.