Developing as an Advisor
We offer a range of training opportunities for HDR Advisors. For more information please contact grs.staff@jcu.edu.au
Respectful Relationships for HDR Advisors
JCU Respectful Relationships Workshops – Advisors is a compulsory, practical, interactive workshop that explores issues of gender, power, relationships, consent and ethics in contemporary Australian society, with particular relevance to research supervision. The workshop addresses sexual harassment and assault, safeguarding practices, and adviser obligations to ensure a safe and respectful research training environment.
Note: The workshop includes discussion of sexual assault, and sexual harassment, and is designed to be completed by all Higher Degree by Research Advisors. If you feel unable to complete the workshop for personal reasons, simply email or contact a Sexual Misconduct Officer requesting a confidential exemption.
The workshop is run by Zoom with 20 – 25 participants. You will need a good internet connection, working camera and speaker to participate.
Register for this workshop HERE.
| Date | Time (AEST) |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 13 February 2024 | 1:30pm - 3pm |
| Thursday 23 May 2024 | 12pm - 1:30pm |
| Thursday 29 August 2024 | 4pm - 5:30pm |
| Thursday 21 November 2024 | 3pm - 4:30pm |
Supporting our Supervisors
These optional workshops are intended to provide opportunities for HDR advisors to develop their practice within a community of peers. Off campus attendance is facilitated by a zoom link. An email invitation is issued to advisors via the Graduate Research School.
- Each workshop includes a 30 minute presentation of case studies and resources followed by a 30 minute practical session.
- Participants will leave each session with resources they can use when meeting with HDR candidates.
- During sessions participants are encouraged to work with other advisors to share practices and build networks.
- Topics will range from advice on use of resources and services, consideration of practices and introduction to new models of advising.
- Invitations will be sent to all staff when sessions are available, currently only via Zoom.
This session will assist you as an advisor and a researcher navigate the JCU research ethics environment. Craig Godfrey from the JCU Ethics team will explain their service, the national policy context in which research operates and the university’s requirements. Associate Professor Hilary Whitehouse, Deputy Dean, Graduate Research School, will share insights from her years of experience in assisting HDR candidates to make successful ethics applications and enact ethically compliant research work.
When: Monday 13 February 2022 at 12:00pm - 1:00pm AEST (10:00am - 11:00am SGT) via Zoom
At this session you will hear about JCU’s thesis guidelines and requirements including embargoes on loading of thesis to the JCU repository. Staff from the library will also attend to explain the implications of including publications and JCU Read and Publish Agreements. Experienced advisors will also speak about their experiences of working with students to structure their thesis in line with the nature of the topic, disciplinary requirements, and candidate career goals.
When: Tuesday 14 March 2023 at 12:00pm - 1:00pm AEST (10:00am - 11:00am SGT) via Zoom
At this session Fiona Whittenbury, Manager, HDR Partnerships Development will explain the policies and programs framing internship programs. Grant Rossiter, Senior Careers Development Advisor, will discuss services and strategies to support career planning. Two advisors from different colleges will speak of their experiences as mentors/internships and/or supporting career outcomes for candidates.
When: Wednesday 17 April 2023 at 12:00pm - 1:00pm AEST / 10:00am - 11:00am SGT via Zoom
At this session you will hear from eResearch Services about the Data Management Plan and how to use through higher degree research candidature to ensure suitable storage of data. Advisors will speak of their experiences of using the planning document, use of data, and data storage facilities.
When: Thursday 15 June 2023 at 12:00pm - 1:00pm AEST / 10:00am - 11:00am SGT via Zoom
At this session two experienced advisors from different disciplines will explain how they work with candidates to develop methods and research design during candidature. Suitability of candidates at the point of admission, development of contingency plans to address changes of circumstance, and scoping considerations for PhD and Masters candidates.
When: Thursday 29 June 2023 at 12:00pm - 1:00pm AEST / 10:00am - 11:00am SGT via Zoom
Come and hear about the GRS HDR Professional Development program, and the introduction of the PD management system SkillsJCU. During this session Associate Professor Liz Tynan will explain how the new system will operate. It is anticipated SkillsJCU will be launched in May 2023. Hear more about the workshops, online modules and resources available to support HDR candidates conduct their research and prepare for careers in industry, the professions and academia. Confirm requirements for doctoral and masters candidates’ PD during candidature. Consider further how you might support your candidate in preparing their professional development plan for candidature.
When: Tuesday 28 March 2023 at 12:00pm - 1:00pm AEST / 10:00am - 11:00am SGT via Zoom
Associate Professor Liz Tynan will introduce critical thinking practices supervisors can use in working with candidates. These practices are complementary to the critical thinking information shared in candidature workshops Liz offers. This session invites exploration and sharing of the advisors role in introducing critical thinking to enable and enhance the research experience.
When: Thursday 14 September 2023 at 12:00pm - 1:00pm AEST / 10:00am - 11:00am SGT via Zoom
Details coming soon.
When: Monday 14 August 2023 at 12:00pm - 1:00pm AEST / 10:00am - 11:00am SGT via Zoom
Hear about the upcoming scholarship round, and HDR recruitment strategies for advisors. This will be an open question and answer session so please come ready to have a discussion with Dr Lauretta Grasso from the Graduate Research School who oversees the annual JCU scholarship processes.
Topics will include:
- Scholarships for domestic candidates
- Scholarships for international candidates
- English requirements and health cover for international candidates
- Recruitment practices
- Seeking externally funded scholarships
- Seeking co-funded scholarships
When: Thursday 3 August 2023 at 12-1pm AEST
Postdoc Training
Presenter: Dr. Kerstin Fritsches
Kerstin is a former research fellow who spent the majority of her 12-year research career on external grant and contract funding, with first-hand experience of the challenges facing early career researchers and a strong track record in postdoc affairs and career development. A lack of effective career training for PhDs led Kerstin to found Postdoc Training in 2011, to bridge a gap in professional development by delivering support tailored specifically for PhD students and postdocs. Postdoc Training delivers career development support and mentoring for researchers worldwide, and Kerstin has become a sought-after workshop facilitator on topics such as career planning and research leadership both in Australia and Europe.
‘Take Charge of your Career’ will equip researchers at JCU to be strategic, proactive and effective in planning and developing a career from a base in academic research. The programme will progress from mapping individual career paths based on strengths and preferences, to identifying ‘what’s out there‘, and examining how to build the contacts and capabilities to pursue target options successfully. The workshop will also provide practical advice on how early stage researchers should market themselves, establish networks and develop transferrable skills suited to specific career choices, whether within or outside academia.
Desired learning outcomes: Establish principles, build awareness and provide strategies and tools to enable participants to take effective charge of their own career development. Participants completing the workshop will leave with a clear understanding of how to plan, pursue and develop their preferred career paths. The programme will also create a platform for peer mentoring relationships among participants beyond the workshop.
Target Audience and format: The workshop is designed for mainly early career researchers at different levels of experience. Using the Zoom platform the sessions will be held over 2 half days and contain short presentations alternating with individual exercises and small group discussions via virtual break-out rooms. In preparation for the workshop, registered participants will be asked to complete a short survey on their career aspirations and challenges. This will help Postdoc Training further refine the presentation and guide discussions during the workshop. Participation in the survey is voluntary and anonymous.
When: Thursday 8 and Friday 9 June 2023 at 11am - 3pm AEST
Register here
Limited places available.
This half-day workshop addresses the reality that researchers must develop effective working habits if they are to succeed long-term in the highly competitive academic environment, and if they are to achieve a sustainable, healthy balance between work and their personal lives. The time management skills tackled in the workshop are equally applicable to success in roles outside academia. The training provides practical strategies and tools to increase researchers’ productivity by helping them recognise their chief time management challenges and develop relevant solutions. It tackles common issues such as prioritising constructively, making time for research and writing, managing interruptions and effectively running multiple projects at the same time.
When: Monday 28 August 2023 at 11am – 2:30pm AEST
from 10:45pm AEST | Zoom room opens, please connect a few minutes early for an 11am start |
11am - 12pm | Introduction and overview of the morning Context: what it takes to develop effective working habits and why it matters Group Exercises
|
12 – 12:10pm | Short e-tea / coffee break |
12:10 – 1:10pm | Spring-clean your schedule and use planning to increase productivity Focus: strategies and tools to improve working habits Discussions on challenges including: prioritising constructively, managing meetings, making time for research/writing, dealing with interruptions, managing parallel projects, managing email and other communications |
| 1:10 – 1:20pm | Short e-tea / coffee break |
| 1:20 – 2pm | Applying strategies and tools to personal time management goals Focus: participant-specific plan for optimising use of time, and working more effectively and productively Group discussion and solo exercises |
| 2 – 2:30pm | Optional post-workshop Q&A |
Register here
Limited places available.
Higher Degree by Research Advisor Organisation
This organisation in LearnJCU contains a range of resources and development opportunities. Modules support advisor registration requirements as detailed in Becoming an Advisor. Events and Resources are drawn from JCU Professional Development Events. Workshop materials are to support you in providing advisor events.
This course contains 9 modules with 8 quizzes and a range of portfolio activities to meet registration requirements.
Epigeum is a UK based publisher of online courses designed to transform the way in which universities and colleges support their core activities of research, teaching and learning.
Modules:
- Introduction: the research higher degree context
- Attracting and selecting HDR applicants
- Approaching Supervision
- Setting your candidate on the right course
- Managing Progress
- Expectations and preparing for examination
- Issues in advising research candidates
- Continuing your advisory development
- Conclusion: Practise scenarios and full program resources
Written tasks and resources are available here for advisors wishing to elevate from Secondary to Primary; Primary to Primary Advanced and Advisor Mentor.
The material provided will support experienced advisors, approved by their College ADRE, to Chair HDR milestone committees.
Every 4 years advisors can confirm their continuing engagement with JCU's research education culture by completing a short quiz.
Here you will find information and resources about events to support advisor development
A series of materials to inform the individual advisor or to inform an HDR advisor workshop or seminar presentation.
If you have not previously accessed the organisation please email grs@jcu.edu.au providing your JC number to be added.
- Open the link to LearnJCU
- Click on Organisation in the side menu bar
- Click on the Higher Degree by Research Advisors icon or title
Qualitative Research - Professor David Silverman
Professor David Silverman is Professor Emeritus in the Sociology Department at Goldsmiths College, London, Visiting Professor in the Management Department at King's College, University of London and the Business School, University of Technology, Sydney as well as Adjunct Professor at QUT, Faculty of Education. He has authored 15 books and 45 journal articles on qualitative research, ethnography and conversation analysis. He has supervised over 30 successful PhD students, three of whom are now full Professors.
This master-class offers lectures and data workshops covering the latest approaches to key areas of qualitative research. It outlines threats to credibility and shows how to make your research credible.
- Finding a topic in your data [as opposed to quantitative research, qualitative research is often inductive; discovering unexpected things in your data]
- Credible qualitative research [Threats to credibility and how to make your research credible].
- Finding sequences in your data [The limits of ‘themes’ and ‘interesting examples’; identifying and analysing sequences of interaction].
- Applying qualitative research to social problems and practice [avoiding pre-defined policy aims; discovering practical relevance at the conclusion of a research project]
When: Monday 30 & Tuesday 31 October at 10am - 4:30pm AEST
Where: JCU Townsville, Bebegu Yumba campus, Douglas - Building 28, Room 003
* Participant numbers are limited.
There is increasing interest in collaborative research engaging different disciplines/sectors and methods. Are there some proven approaches in planning a large collaborative project involving both qualitative and quantitative research that ensure the qual contribute is optimized?
I begin by describing the appeal of mixed methods. Using examples from both academic journals and student research projects, I discuss studies that mix both qual and quant or just mix different qualitative methods.
I then outline the limitations of the suggestion that, by using mixed methods, we can reveal the ‘whole picture’ of some social phenomenon. I also draw attention to the naïve positivist assumptions behind much mixed methods research.
Most mixed methods research begins with quantitative data and then moves on to qualitative materials, usually open-ended interviews. I criticize the assumption that this allows us to ‘go deeper’ or more empathetically into social phenomena.
Quantitative research must define its variables at the outset in order to measure them reliably. In my view, the beauty of qualitative research is that, mostly using naturalistic data, it allows us to understand how social phenomena are put together rather than to legislate their character at the outset. I conclude by demonstrating a more fruitful division of labour between quant and qual research through which we can gain by mixing methods.
When: Wednesday 1 November 2023 at 2pm - 3:30pm AEST
Where: JCU Townsville, Bebegu Yumba campus, Douglas - Building 40, Room 103
Thinkwell Workshops
Suitable for HDR Advisors, Academics, Researchers and ECRs
Maria Gardiner and Hugh Kearns have worked as an award winning team for the past fifteen years. They are well known as leading practitioners and researchers in cognitive behavioural coaching. As well as publishing ten books that have sold many thousands of copies, they are regular contributors to Australian media, including a popular segment on ABC radio.
Their particular expertise is in working with high performers and they have a long history of providing specialist services to the medical and academic professions.
For more information visit the Thinkwell website.