
A message from Professor Andrew O’Neil
News 28 MayAn update from the Executive Dean of Law and Business Professor Andrew O'Neil.
07 June 2023
Share
Within the demanding context of academia, building a relationship with a mentor provides the opportunity to invest in your career trajectory mindfully and deliberately, especially in relation to research.
Mentoring does not adopt the deficit model, that a mentee is lacking and needs direction of a mentor to improve. Instead, mentoring involves building a collaborative space where the mentor is a sounding board for future planning and problem solving, focused on research and career development of the mentee.
In 2022, the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) ran a series of pilot research mentoring programs based on this collaborative model. We sought Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to match participants with a mentor from a different discipline, one academic step higher than themselves. Participants also had to provide mentoring to one or two academics a step below (also in a different discipline).
The 38 FHS early career researchers (ECRs) who self-selected to participate were invited in the EOI process to respond to the two questions outlined below. Each discipline in the FHS was represented by at least one ECR, with most belonging to Nursing (N=7).
How would you describe the research landscape at ACU?
Some ECRs described ACU as undergoing a rapid change in research strategy, with 'traditional' strategies such as focusing on citations and ‘publish or perish’ mentality no longer being the focus. Others described a feeling of change and excitement in research involving new opportunities, external collaborations, and an increasing focus on real-world problem-solving and impact. Many ECRs described using existing Honours and Masters research supervision to drive their research interests. Most ECRs described building a mentoring relationship with an ACU staff member by chance or building on a former supervisor relationship, such as PhD supervision, however for those who had not organically found a research mentor, they felt this was a gap in support.
What advice would you give a more junior research academic at ACU?
Practical advice included:
FHS is currently implementing a roll-out of the program in 2023 based on learnings from the pilot. No workload allocation is linked with participation in the pilot scheme. Each mentee-mentor pair is recommended to meet quarterly for up to an hour and contact the program coordinator to manage challenges as they arise.
The core challenges FHS ECRs identified to be targeted by research mentorship included balancing teaching and research workloads, identifying more senior staff both internally and externally who could provide support and coaching for grant writing, and finding time to devote to quality research.
Dr Madeleine Fraser is part of the ECR Advisory Group and was the FHS Research Mentoring Coordinator in 2022. She is working to handover the roll to Matt Penfold, Faculty Research Manager, in 2023.
We would love to share more ideas and opportunities for mentoring via the ECR Teams forum. In addition, the Research and Enterprise Updates Workplace group is a great place to connect with colleagues and upcoming opportunities.
An update from the Executive Dean of Law and Business Professor Andrew O'Neil.
Expect a few email notifications as we prepare to welcome you to Viva Engage next week.
ACU is developing a new Education and Student Success Plan to ensure our university continues to provide a high-quality, student-centred learning experience. Find out how you can contribute to the pla...
A reminder to all academic staff that the mandatory Notice of Intent, for those intending to apply for promotion in the 2025 round, must be submitted by 11.59pm this Friday (30 May).
Include an additional survey item in the Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching (SELT) survey for units that are offered in Professional Term 4 (202547).
Register for these 15-minute sessions to learn more about the variety of online researcher profile platforms and what is involved in setting up, linking and updating your profile.
Lecturers-in-charge can make a direct determination of Poor Academic Practice (PAP) for students who engage in minor forms of academic misconduct. Learn why they can be valuable to staff and students.
You're invited to join your Campus Community of Learning Advancement - a professional learning community focused on collaborative workplace learning.
A message from the Executive Dean Faculty of Education and Arts Professor Mary Ryan.
The Semester 1 2025 Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys will close on 29 June. Students say they are more likely to complete the surveys if they are reminded in class and unders...
ACU librarians have recently begun using Rayyan for screening and collaboration. It is a free alternative to Covidence that can assist with systematic review workflows. Read more about Rayyan and othe...
The Academic Board Digest from meeting 02/2025 held on 15 April 2025 is now available.
Tomorrow, 15 May, is International Day of Families. To celebrate, let’s hear from ACU staff member Martina Donaghy about how flexible working has helped her manage care for her young daughter after re...
Student Advocacy Service is running an information session designed to provide staff with a clearer understanding of the scope of support available to students.
Explore the future of assessment with Interactive Orals. We’ll be joined by expert, Danielle Logan-Fleming to share valuable insights into this transformative model and its impact across disciplines.
A message from the Executive Dean of Health Sciences Professor Suzanne Chambers.
Academic promotions provides an opportunity to recognise and reward your achievements at your current level of appointment that warrant promotion to the next academic level. Register to attend an info...
Advance HE is offering free webinars on Student Success and Advance HE Fellowships in May and June as part of their Australasian Member Benefit Series.
Recent cyber-attacks on Australian organisations have highlighted the need to protect yourself online. Learn more about infostealers and what you can do to stay safe.
As artificial intelligence tools become part of everyday academic work, questions around copyright are more important than ever. This workshop on 22 May will focus on the copyright implications of usi...
Visit Service Central to access Corporate Services.