Organisational and Staff Development Services

About On Track

Feedback from past participants:

Enjoyed the programme and think if will prove very useful during this early stage of my career. Was useful in terms of highlighting the broad responsibilities of being an academic (not simply teaching and writing papers!). Also feel like I have a better understanding on how UWA works and where to go to seek advice. Perhaps most importantly, it was a great opportunity to meet other early career academics at UWA and realize that you are not alone in the process.

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Overall, I really enjoyed the program. The format is great as it provided an integrated approach to many important aspects of academic life. It’s also a bonus to have the company of the same group of people. Most importantly, the program reminds me of the need of conscious career management = be strategic! I’m much more aware of my overall time commitment on teaching, research and service. I also feel more comfortable with the notion of compromise. I’m learning to focus on priorities and stay output oriented!

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The programme has had some impact on me through:
Formalizing a mentor relationship
Meeting other ECRs in engineering
Learning more about ARC Discovery grant process
Understanding the role of the academic in UWA
Being made aware of the wide variety of research, technical, legal and other support services available to researchers at UWA.

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It’s been great. I had no idea there were so many other early career academics in the faculty. I thought all the skills were very useful and will have a practical benefit to both my career and the university. The course has also been very valuable in helping me to focus on and prioritise different aspects of my career. Going through this process with other people in a similar position has been very useful.

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Great to learn what needs to be done to survive as an academic! Both to have the benefit of the experience of so many others distilled and handed to us on a plate and meet other people in a similar position. Feels like I now know the rules of the game and can build a career much more effectively / efficiently.

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I see enormous benefits of the program for early career academics. The program would empower them to do the right thing from the very beginning. Unless one knows the priorities, the expectations the available resources and the usual traps (e.g. overcommitment in teaching duties), from the start, time can slip away quietly while one’s career stays put.

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The programme gives you all the information and resources to make the most out of your career opportunities. It also allows you to become more involved with the University and faculty communities. You get to meet a lot of people in a similar position, and a lot of people who have been through the same challenges that you are currently facing.

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Provides you with a better idea of where you fit in the uni system. Gets you thinking about your own career path, how to manage projects and time and the importance of networking.

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It’s good to take the time to think about my career and get some ideas on how to approach my career more strategically.

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As postgrads we are trained to be academic, but not taught how to survive! Personal benefits aside, we can be of much more value to UWA!

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The On Track Academic Development programme has been offered to early – mid career academic and research staff within the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics and is currently in progress for Life and Physical Sciences staff. It has been agreed that the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry will host the next programme.

On Track encourages participants to explore their own capabilities and career preferences, build effective mentoring, teaching and research strategies, develop stronger networks with industry and senior researchers, and enhance their academic work-role management. It includes opportunities to discuss academic / research issues with senior staff in the faculty and to explore research opportunities and strategies with university experts and industry representatives. The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry programme will explore teaching-research issues as well as the changing nature of academic work; building an academic profile; career management strategies; time, priority and project management; research strategies and industry partnerships. The programme includes a mentorship component which has been rated very highly by past participants.

While there is no stipulated level for entry into the programme, it is particularly well-suited to those with less than five years experience as an academic staff member or who wish to develop more effective strategies toward their career management and research strategies. There is a limit of 25 participants per programme. Those who are accepted are expected to participate fully in the scheme.

Goals

The On Track programme encourages academics to explore their career strategy and to develop skills and capabilities to effectively manage their various roles. Six main foci relate to:

Academic career management
Research management and practice with a focus on Research Linkage Grants
The Teaching-Research-Service process
Research strategy
Mentorship, and
Relationship management within a research community.

Specifically, On Track provides participants with an opportunity to:

develop skills in monitoring career progress and personal management strategies;
explore the context of teaching and research and identify successful strategies that enable effective management of these two roles;
apply suitable strategies to their teaching and research activities to increase their effectiveness and productivity;
develop an academic profile that is sustainable and credible;
build mentor and sponsor partnerships which will encourage long-term enhancement of the academic activities;
develop a strong awareness of industry expectations and research protocols that should be reflected in any research or consultancy partnerships;
increase their knowledge of university research practice and protocols;
enhance networking and relationship management skills; and
develop an academic portfolio and associated reflective skills.

The Programme Design

The programme comprises two stages. Stage 1 is a one and half-day non-residential component which explores working in academe and building an effective academic career strategy. Over the core programme participants will:

explore the nature of academic work
clarify how their faculty contributes to the University’s larger strategic agenda
analyse and clarify their capabilities and talents
evaluate potential career paths in academe and industry
critique the teaching-research-service nexus and its enactment in their faculty
review time, priority and career management strategies and
build new perspectives on academic career development planning (including the use of the professional development review process as a major strategy)

The core component includes opportunities to interact with senior faculty members and includes a celebratory function to which heads and key faculty staff are invited.

Follow up sessions enable a more intensive focus on research development. Three hour workshops relate to:

Career management: Effectively engaging with the Professional Development Review and Academic Portfolio development
Research Project Management
Grantsmanship
Mentorship strategies
Teaching in a research—intensive context
Effective Research Supervision
Networking / Building industry partnerships (2 sessions: 1 skill development, 1 industry networking function)
Final review of programme; presentation to guests; concluding dinner

In most cases the workshops include presentations by faculty experts and models. In the case of the Grantsmanship workshop, the initial component may also be open to other staff from the faculty. The Industry networking workshop integrates industry representatives and senior members of the faculty.

The programme costs are funded by the faculty and in-kind support is provided by Organisational and Staff Development Services. Professor Shelda Debowski from OSDS coordinates the programme and its delivery.

For further information, please contact Shelda Debowski on 64883845 or by email (shelda.debowski@uwa.edu.au).