ResourcefulHDR

Kim is a professional archivist and historian and is the Head of Historical Services for Westpac Group. She contributed to the book produced for the Bank’s 200th Anniversary, and also arranged for the listing of the Bank’s earliest records – dating from 1816 – on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. Kim’s 25-year career has been spent principally in the private sector, with community-based organisations, businesses, religious orders and independent schools.

Kim holds a Bachelor degree in Communications from UTS, and a Master of Information Management from UNSW. She is currently working towards her doctorate at ACU, focussing recordkeeping in the private sector, particularly in relation to the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse. A former President of the Australian Society of Archivists (2006 -2008) and member of the Executive Board of the International Council on Archives (2009 – 2012), Kim was one of the authors of the Universal Declaration on Archives, which was adopted by UNESCO in 2011. A passionate advocate of records, archives and the stories they hold, Kim has also written a number of award-winning publications, including the centenary history of North Sydney Boys’ High School, and In Good Faith: Waverley College and the Great War. She also writes for the profession, with a number of journal articles and industry-standard text books to her credit.

Kim is also proud mother of a 17 year old, and the only daughter of accidental migrants from Germany.

Dr Melanie Zeppel is a Data Scientist and Researcher. Melanie's multi-disciplinary research spans experimental design and modelling impacts of customer user experience, climate change, as well as genomic medicine, including childhood cancer and other conditions.

Melanie was awarded 2019 Scopus Researcher of the year, in sustainability. She has been awarded over $1.9 million in competitive funding, including an ARC DECRA and ARC Discovery grants, and has over 55 peer-reviewed publications. Experience over the previous 15 years includes measuring and modelling impacts of drought, elevated CO2 and heat waves on plant physiology, at National and Global scales.

Melanie has recently made the transition from academia to a role as a Data Analyst in the corporate sector and couldn't be happier!

My guest this month on the ResourcefulHDR podcast is Dr. Alison Rice, Deputy Director of the Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform at CSIRO.  I met Alison through the magic of Twitter and she kindly agreed to share her story.

After completing a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Adelaide, Alison worked as a Research Assistant … at this stage, Alison said she could not have imagined doing a PhD. Alison went to the UK and Europe as part of a fact-finding mission and only decided to undertake a PhD when she received encouragement from several people. Alison competed her PhD in Biological Sciences in French and English at the University of Bordeaux II in France.

When Alison returned to Australia her career led her into roles working as a Senior Research Scientist leading research groups. Alison’s work focused on new therapeutic options for the complications of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Medical Research Institutes in Sydney and Brisbane respectively.

In 2012, Alison made the successful transition to a career in Research Development, incorporating research policy, research management and business development at Griffith University. In 2018, Alison took up a role as a Principal Policy Officer in Queensland Health focusing on bringing content specific knowledge about research to Government to enhance import and export opportunities for Queensland’s health and medical research sector. In 2019, Alison was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform at CSIRO. This strategic position aims to help build a vibrant synthetic biology research and development community to drive the bio-based industries of the future.

The story of how Alison ended up in her current role illustrates the value of networks and that, through good relationships, unexpected opportunities can arise.

Kate holds a PhD in dance  theatre  and disability from Macquarie University titled 'Performances of 'Care': Dance Theatre by and with Australian Artists with Disability'. She teaches across Performance Studies, Cultural Studies and Media Studies at Macquarie University, the University of Sydney and the University of Technology, Sydney. She has held various arts administration positions, currently at Ausdance NSW as Projects & Programs Manager, and prior to this at Critical Path. To date, one of her most challenging and exhilarating experiences was interning at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival for the 2009 season in Massachusetts USA. Kate continues her research collaborating with independent artists and scholars alike as well as organisations including the Sydney Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems and the International Federation for Theatre Research’s ‘Performance and Disability’ Working Group of which she is a co-convenor. A dancer at heart, Kate has most of her fun hanging out and working with others.

n.b. The book Kate mentions at the end of the podcast is called ... ‘The Relationship is the Project – Working with Communities by Jade Lillie

After completing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney in 1992, Daniel worked in a variety of jobs – as a storeman with David Jones and Grace Bros before travelling overseas to the USA and Europe and then around Australia. On returning to Sydney, Daniel took up a job with the NSW Department of Sport & Recreation as a Swimming Teacher which led him to undertake a Graduate Diploma of Education (Primary) in 1997 at the University of Wollongong. Following the Grad Dip Ed, Daniel relocated to New Zealand in 1998 to take up a teaching position at Ruapotaka Primary school Auckland where he taught for 12 months before returning to Sydney where he taught at Holy Family Primary School late East Granville from 2000 to 2006 and then at St. Agatha’s Primary School at Pennant Hills.

Realising that Primary teaching was not the best fit, Daniel decided to return to University to complete Bachelor of Marine Science at Macquarie University in 2009 followed by a PhD in Biological Sciences in 2011, graduating in 2017. Daniel’s PhD thesis was “Direct and indirect impacts of a non-native predator: foraging by Carcinus maenas on native bivalves of south-east Australian estuaries” Daniel now works as the Curriculum Co-ordinator at Parramatta Marist High School where he was formerly the Head of Mathematics, Statistics and Data and he couldn’t be happier.

Dr Jacqueline Mackaway is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Macquarie University (MU). For the past 4 years she has taught a social research unit which requires students to undertake an internship. Previously, she has worked with MQ’s Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) initiative, providing scholarly underpinning for pedagogy in this area. 

Jacqueline’s research interests cover the sociology of education and work, and she recently completed a PhD focused on equitable student access to work-integrated learning. Prior to her time in higher education, Jacqueline spent 15 years working as a human resource professional across a range of sectors including government, not-for-profit and large multi-nationals.

The ResourcefulHDR podcast guest for March is Shivani Sachdev. Shivani was awarded a Master of Research (Biomedical Science) in 2017 from Macquarie University and recently submitted her PhD thesis. Shivani’s research project was entitled “Molecular Pharmacology of Cannabinoids: beyond THC” which she completed in the laboratory under the supervision of Professor Mark Connor, Asociate Dean, HDR, Macquarie University.

Shivani loved juggling many different things alongside her PhD including taking on the role of Vice-President of MedSoc, Creative Producer of TEDx MQ, Participant in the Future STEM Leader program and IMNIS Mentee. Aside from her fascination with research and work in academia, Shivani likes to swim, cook, watch TV and is also planning on taking guitar classes. 

Shivani has accepted a Postdoc position at Indiana University with Professor Ken Mackie and will be relocating to the USA in the next couple of months. 

Follow Shivani on Twitter @GrrrlInScience

The latest guest on the ResourcefulHDR podcast is Isaac Roberts who is a Master of Research candidate in Indigenous Studies at Macquarie. Isaac is a proud Aboriginal man with ties along the east coast of Queensland and New South Wales. After losing his hearing to illness in 2013, he studied a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Ancient and Modern History at Macquarie in 2015. He is currently completing his Master of Research in the Department of Indigenous Studies. His research looks at the History and Archaeology of the Ngiyampaa  people of Western New South Wales, and the bridging of Indigenous and Western knowledges in the field of archaeology.

Isaac speaks about the challenges of completing his HSC following his illness and his subsequent hearing loss and the impact that has had on his choice of tertiary study. Isaac was originally going to follow a path in Music and changed his plans as a result of his acquired disability. With characteristic modesty and humour, Isaac gives credit to a number of people in his life -  family, Teachers, academics and support staff for his success.  Isaac speaks about his interest in Ancient History and Archaeology and how he ended up doing a Master of Research in Indigenous Studies. He provides valuable insights into Indigenous Archaeology and the challenges faced by a young Indigenous man in conducting research within Indigenous communities.

Belinda Fabian is a PhD candidate in the Department of Molecular Sciences at Macquarie University where she’s using cutting edge molecular biology and sequencing techniques to study the genes of beneficial bacteria that colonise plant roots. Belinda is in her 3rdyear and is supervised by Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen and Dr Sasha Tetu.

Prior to this Belinda completed a Bachelor of Science (part-time while working full-time) and Masters of Research at Macquarie University and was awarded the university medal in Biology for her exceptional results in these programs. Belinda’s Masters project focused on extrafloral nectar production by Australian native plants and this is where her passion for plant biology was ignited.

Before changing to a science pathway, Belinda completed a Bachelor of Commerce – Accounting and Bachelor of Business Administration double degree at Macquarie University and then worked for 11 years in accounting in a private home improvement company.

Belinda has tutored in multiple undergraduate Biology and Molecular Sciences units over 5 years and is passionate about preparing students for the workplace and showing the world that there is a lot of creativity in science.

When she’s not doing science Belinda loves making mixed media art and shares this passion by teaching at a local art & craft store.

Florence is the HDR Learning Advisor for Social Science at Macquarie University and earned her PhD in Sociology at the University of New South Wales. She has published on a broad range of topics, including social theory, educational philosophy, the sociology of neuroscience, new materialist feminism and human–animal relations.

As an HDR Learning Advisor, Florence is also interested in forging supportive mentoring relationships with research candidates in ways that enhance their research experience and sense of belonging and community at the university. Her research training curriculum includes workshops and courses on developing sustainable writing practices, learning to work with critical feedback, and applying creative, interdisciplinary thinking to research questions. As a researcher, with specialisations in medical sociology, feminist theory and science and technology studies, Florence is particularly interested in how empirical data from the life sciences can be used to foster conceptual innovation in the humanities and social sciences

Claire joined the University of South Australia as the Associate Head Graduate Research & Manager Research Training Support in February 2017. This role provides leadership in the development, planning and implementation of initiatives to achieve the University’s strategic research objectives, in the specific area of research education and training.

Before arriving in Australia, Claire had established an international reputation in the field of PhD skills development with a particular focus on building collaborations within and beyond universities. This recognition stemmed from work embedding employability within the PhD structure at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, where she spent over 10 years supporting the development of researchers through training, experiential learning and employer engagement.

In 2011, Claire led a university-wide project to create one of the world’s first parallel academic qualifications designed to empower research students in their employability - the PG Certificate in Researcher Professional Development. Strathclyde's innovative approach received national recognition at the Times Higher Education Awards in 2015, and Claire has presented this to universities globally, including in the UK, Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, who have since adopted or adapted the model locally.

Claire has co-authored papers for organisations including the UK Council for Graduate Research, the Higher Education Academy and Enterprise Educators UK, and led a research project exploring employer perceptions of doctoral skills. Claire completed a part-time MBA in 2016, and is a qualified consultant and project manager

I first made contact with Claire via Skype in 2015 when I started at Macquarie and she was the Researcher Development Manager at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. 

 ResourcefulHDR podcast Episode 6: David Evans PhD candidate Ancient History

My guest today on the ResourcefulHDR podcast is David Evans. David is located in Brisbane and is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University and his thesis is Paul and the Foundation of the Churches.

Prior to enrolling in a PhD, David completed an MA in Theology, a Bachelor of Ministry at Malyon Theological College and a Grad Dip Ed at ACU. He was employed as a secondary teacher in Catholic and Lutheran schools, and as a Pastor at Singleton Baptist Church in Singleton in NSW for a period of two years.

David was awarded two academic prizes in 2016 - the David Barr Prize from the Australian College of Theology and the L.M. Dart Memorial Prize from Malyon College.

Winning a number of scholarships, the Macquarie/Tyndale Scholarship in 2019 and the Faculty of Arts Candidate Conference Travel Scheme in 2018 gave David the opportunity to travel to the UK to visit Tyndale House, a research institute affiliated with Cambridge University, and to present a paper “Defensive and Constructive Identity Formation in the Lives and Times of the Two Quadratuses of Athens” at the British New Testament Society Conference, held at St. Mary’s University, London in September last year

Luke Mills is a PhD candidate at Macquarie University in Cognitive Science with a strong background in using data to gain novel insights into people and their behaviour. Luke’s PhD topic is Investigating the Role of Attention in Reading and he is currently part of the IMNIS Mentor program for PhD candidates in STEM

Starting out in libraries with a Diploma in Library Services, Luke chose to study Psychology as an undergraduate where he achieved two prizes first place in Cognitive Processes as well as first place in Advanced Research Design and Statistics within the Department of Psychology. 

As an undergraduate Luke completed a PACE unit with the Salvation Army and following his Bachelor of Psychology he volunteered as a Lifeline Counsellor. 

Luke currently works as a Research Officer within the Faculty of Human Sciences and completed a Master of Research in 2017. Luke has also been awarded two Australian Research Training Scholarships and has already published two papers in the Journal of Experimental Psychology and Memory and Cognition

 Dr Karina Luzia is a social geographer, academic developer, researcher and higher education project manager. She came to Macquarie University in 2005 for a 6-month part-time contract role in the Faculty of Science in the Department of Human Geography. Years later, she is still at Macquarie, currently based in the Learning Innovation Hub, after working in fixed-term contract and casual academic and professional roles across the University.

 Before working in universities, Karina worked in retail, market research, an insurance company, a museum, a mint, an observatory, two photo libraries, an urban planning consultancy, and a not-for-profit health services organisation.

 Karina's research and teaching interests are as diverse as her work experience, and include the cultural and social geographies of work, home and family; inclusion, equity and diversity; higher education; governance; and casualisation in higher education and other sectors.
She has sole and co-authored publications in international academic journals in geography, sociology, design, accounting, and higher education, and has also produced and contributed to several professional and industry publications, across disciplines and sectors. 

PVC HDR Training & Partnerships, Prof. Nick Mansfield with Sally Purcell

Prof Nick Mansfield talks about the changes in the research landscape and the value of PhDs in the 21st Century.

As the Dean HDR, Nick is the senior academic responsible for research training across all Faculties and departments, including the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Master of Philosophy and Bachelor of Philosophy/Master of Research programs. The Dean’s role covers policy development, supervision quality, research scholarships, and the quality of examination outcomes.

The Dean's office is also the home of the HDR Support and Development Program, which covers the Supervision Enhancement Program, the HDR Learning Skills, Professional Skills and Industry Programs and the HDR Mentors. The Office has a strong commitment to provision of advice and pastoral care to research training candidates, and their supervisors.