Life in Academia

1
Life in Academia

• What is it Really Like ??

2
Life in Academia

• What is it Really Like ??

3
Where Did I Come From?

• PhD Monash (Biochemistry) 1972
• Postdoc St Louis, USA 72-74
• Prince Henrys Institute for Medical Research
  Melbourne 74- 90
• Royal Childrens Hosp, Melbourne 90-95
• Research Admin/Management
• QUT, School of Life Sciences 95-current
• Professor of Biochemistry/Head of School
• Admin/Management Research

4
Where Do New Academics Come From?

• Research backgrounds
• Security (tenure)
• High expectations of research time/seed funding
• Professions (pharmacy, medical radiation
  technology)
• High discipline expertise, lower pay
• Rarely from a teaching background
• Under-estimation of workloads/complexity

5
The Modern Teachers Tool-Kit
6
Why Did I Become an Academic ?

• Secure but developing research environment
• Challenge of new opportunities
• Postgraduate teaching
• Expand my management/leadership experience

7
My Academic Journey
HIGHS LOWS
8
My Academic Journey
HIGHS LOWS
BUT HAVE EVOLVED AS AN ACADEMIC LEARNED TO KEEP
MY HEAD ABOVE WATER
9
Juggling Balls in the Air
10
Workplace Buzzwords

• ENGAGEMENT
• SCHOLARSHIP
• QUALITY
• STUDENTS
• SUPERVISION
• MANAGEMENT
• PUBLISH
• ADMINISTRATION

11
Workplace Buzzwords

• ENGAGEMENT
• SCHOLARSHIP
• QUALITY
• STUDENTS
• SUPERVISION
• MANAGEMENT
• PUBLISH
• ADMINISTRATION

12
What Has Been My Academic Experience?

• Very positive
• People (staff students), Highly Collegial
• Steep Learning Curve -
• Teaching/Policies Processes
• Technology/Regulations/Reporting
• Internal Bureaucracy
• Hard work
• No time boundaries
• Workload/Life Balance
• Meetings, Time Management

13
What Has Been My Academic Experience?

• Competitive Environment
• Strong Performance
• Culture
• PPR
• LEX
• Promotion System
• Personal Development
• Student interaction very satisfying

14
What Do Other (QUT) Academics Think

• 2008 Climate Survey
• Positives
• Job Satisfaction, Personal Commitment
• Supportive Environment, Code of Conduct
• Big Improvers (2005-2008)
• Supervisor People Management
• Reward Recognition, Respect Fairness
• Work Area Teamwork

15
What Do Other (QUT) Academics Think

• 2008 Climate Survey
• Negatives
• Workload
• Work-Life Balance
• Pay Relativities
• Promotion

16
Your Academic Destiny

• In your hands
• Largely based on your experience/potential
• Reflected in your Track Record CV
• Communication Vehicle
• Chronological Voyage
• Competitive Value
• Case Validity
• Collective Vision
• Career Viability

17
Skill Sets Needed for Academia

• Strong people skills
• Communication
• Strong time management
• Organisation
• Decision making
• Love of teaching
• Strong discipline knowledge