Graduate Research School The HDR Professional Development Program Leadership and Initiative

Leadership and Initiative

The Leadership and Initiative category of RD7003 Professional Development encourages candidates to engage in a range of professionally beneficial activities during candidature, and have these formally acknowledged on their Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS).

This category does not use hours as a metric.  Instead, it operates on a points system (see below).  You must reach 10 points for your activities in this category to be used to satisfy the Elective (Flexible) component of RD7003.  You will note that no single activity is sufficient – you must undertake more than one relevant activity, but you will have many possible ways to achieve your 10 points. Please note that all your Leadership and Initiative activities must take place during candidature. Also, in most cases you cannot count paid employment in this category.  Please check with the subject coordinator if you are unsure.

Points are available on a sliding scale, where some activities (such as undertaking a formal internship) attract more points (7), than being an HDR ambassador (3 points) or attending a conference (1 point). The activities include but are not limited to:

ActivityPoints
Participation in a formal internship of 30 days to 6 months 7
Establishing and running a writing circle or Shut Up And Write Group 3
Establishing and running a journal club 3
Chairing a committee to organise and run a conference for peers 3
Publishing a journal article 3
Being an HDR Ambassador 3
Running skills training (for example, R training) for peers 3
Presenting a paper or a poster at a conference 3
Being an International student mentor 3
Being an HDR representative on a College or GRS research and/or education committee 3
Preparing a successful grant application for an external research grant related to the candidate’s HDR project 3
Peer reviewing a journal article for a scholarly journal 3
23 Things International” networking and professional development program 3
Representing your discipline at an official JCU event, including Open Days and other outreach activities intended to showcase JCU work to prospective students2
Being a committee member for a peer conference 2
Assisting an academic to organise and run a conference or College seminar 2
Undertaking official social media activities during an academic conference 2
Participating in a JCU 3MT competition, at either College or University level 2
Giving a research presentation to an internal College seminar series 2
Being interviewed by media or other interested parties on your area of expertise 2
Presenting a short skills training series (one or two sessions) to peers 2
Preparing a successful grant application for an internal (JCU) research grant related to the candidate’s HDR project 2
Attending a conference, without presenting 1
Attendance at a GRS Completions Event 1
Participating in a GRS-run candidature experience focus group OR survey pre-test interviews
 1
Entering the JCU Open Access Advocate competition for HDR candidates1

All activities that demonstrate leadership and initiative are encouraged. Please contact the subject coordinator if you are unsure whether your proposed activities fit into this category.

Subject Coordinator
Associate Professor Liz Tynan
elizabeth.tynan@jcu.edu.au