Two Vice-Chancellor’s Scholar Special Projects were held on campus on 22 May. In the School of Arts, “Growing Ideas and Creating Research in the Arts disciplines” was the theme of a workshop conceived and organised by Dr Isabel Tasker and supported by a grant under the VC’s Scholar Special Project scheme. Six undergraduate VC’s scholars were funded to travel to Armidale and enjoyed a full day of workshop activities, facilitated by a leading expert in undergraduate research and inquiry. The scholars’ interests covered a wide range, including musicology, history, languages, Latin American literature, archaeology, studies in religion, and psychology.
Participants of the VC Scholars Special Project Workshop held in May.
The workshop presented the scholars with a constructive framework for thinking about research; and went on to offer a mix of personal accounts, practical advice, group discussion and hands-on writing activities which assisted the participants to develop and clarify their own ideas for research and creative enquiry. Informal presentations by staff from the Schools of Arts & BCSS illustrated the multiple ways that our research ideas emerge and grow, and opened up opportunities for conversation about future study plans.
Dr Tasker invited Professor Angela Brew, Professorial Fellow at Macquarie University and honorary Associate Professor at Sydney University to contribute to the workshop as guest presenter and facilitator. Professor Brew is internationally renowned for her work on the nature of research (including non-traditional research outputs) and human knowing and its relationship to teaching; undergraduate research and inquiry; and academic formation and identity.
From 1999-2003 she was President of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA). She received an ALTC (OLT) National Teaching Fellowship for a significant project on “Enhancing undergraduate engagement through research and inquiry”; and has developed an extensive website on Undergraduate Research in Australia. During her visit to UNE Professor Brew also met staff from across the university for informal discussions about undergraduate research and inquiry.
The workshop day was very rewarding for all involved. The Vice-Chancellor’s Scholars left with an enriched understanding of what constitutes research, and of the diverse processes by which research ideas emerge and grow. They benefitted from personalised advice from a leading expert in the field, and developed clearer plans of how to proceed with their individual projects in the context of the other demands of their lives. Many commented that participation in the workshop enhanced their confidence and their sense of connection to the UNE community.
For the second Special Project, Vice-Chancellor’s Scholars Lauren Compston, Kaitlin Salzke and Brett Burong were funded to visit UNE to participate in the Linguistics Special Project Stage 1, organised by Dr Liz Ellis.
The full-day workshop was aimed at broadening students’ insights into the career and further study opportunities in Linguistics, and to showcase exciting possibilities for research. Coming from Perth, Wagga Wagga and Ballarat, the students had not visited UNE before and were keen to meet staff, view the campus and gain an insider perspective on how research works. They joined in a session with other VC’s Scholars to hear guest speaker Prof. Angela Brew on ‘What is research?’ and heard about some unusual career trajectories from the linguists in ‘Planned and unplanned pathways in linguistics’.
Sessions followed from Library staff on postgraduate search strategies, and from Dr Philip Thomas on how to write a convincing HDR proposal. The Linguistics VC’s Scholars benefitted from comparing notes with the Arts and Humanities Scholars over lunch, and ended the day with dinner with the linguists before returning to Mary White College for the night.
Stage 2 of the Linguistics Special Project will see the students attend the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) Conference in Adelaide in December, under the mentorship of Linguistics Special Project Leader Dr Liz Ellis.