A firm social justice commitment compelled Dr Michelle Jones to be a social worker for many years before she moved into teaching and research. We spoke with her about making a difference through research, developing the social work skills of students and her love of the Flinders campus.

What is your role and what does your work focus on?

I’m in a balanced teaching and research role within Social Work in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work. I am the inaugural Deputy Teaching Program Director in Social Work, Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) Course Coordinator (expecting to soon handover to someone else), plus BSW Honours Coordinator and Topic Coordinator of SOAD1008 Introduction to Social Work, SOAD7031 Research Practices and Principles and SOAD7012 Social Work Honours Thesis.

I love seeing students at the start of their social work studies and then at the end of their Honours studies. I supervise several Honours and research higher degree students and I lead several industry-linked research projects with industry partners across the state government, such as health, Aboriginal health and family services, and child protection. The research I do impacts people’s lives, hopefully for the better.

What journey brought you to this point in your career?

I’m committed to social justice. I worked as a social worker delivering services to people who had been raped or sexually assaulted, or who had unplanned pregnancies. I completed a PhD because I could see the importance of practice-based research informing and improving social work practice. I worked for Correctional Services, evaluating their Sex Offender and Violent Offender treatment programs, and then joined SA Health for 15 years to evaluate childhood obesity prevention programs. These evaluations offered PhD scholarships and I was able to supervise students as they completed their industry-based PhD projects. I worked with academic teams on research projects as an industry partner and this reminded me of the value and importance of the academy. I started at Flinders about five years ago so that I could focus on making a difference through research.

What is something you love most about your work?

I love engaging with people, especially working with colleagues across the university, and with industry partners. I love being able to provide practice-based evidence by working with social workers at the frontline to improve practice outcomes. I especially love engaging with Honours and PhD students, working in partnership with them and seeing their knowledge and skills develop, and then exceeding my knowledge in their chosen topic.

I also love our campus! I studied at both UniSA and Adelaide University, not at Flinders, so I wasn’t aware of how beautiful the campus is. The views across Kaurna Yarta are stunning. I love walking to the plaza to get my coffee and lunch, and if I have time, I drop into Flinders University Museum of Art on my way back up the hill, to see the latest exhibition and reflect on how it might connect to my teaching. I enjoy spotting the wildlife on campus – koalas, snakes and ducks – and checking out the edible gardens for fruit. I also love it that I climbed 19 flights of stairs walking back to my office from a meeting with colleagues at Flinders Medical Centre. I can also navigate my way around campus to avoid any stairs!

What is something you are most proud of?

I’m proud to have created a practice-research-teaching nexus in health. What I’ve learned through my practice-based research is being translated directly into my teaching and back into practice through students and industry partners.

What does a normal day look like for you?

I’m usually awake between 2am and 4am with heart palpitations about what needs to be done that day! I go back to sleep and wake up about 6am, then try to motivate myself to go for a run so I can sustain my energy and mental health for the day.

My workday varies, depending on whether I work from home or in the office, or whether it’s a teaching week or not. After checking emails, I have a set time in the morning to write papers, but never seem to get around to it. I enjoy spending my time teaching large groups, then one-to-one with Honours, RHD students and staff in supervision. I also lead several research projects, so I’m constantly working across these projects – perhaps data collecting by conducting focus groups or interviews, undertaking analysis, or preparing reports/publications or grant applications.

I finish my work day by checking and responding to emails (again) before checking in with my online topics to see how students are going with their assessments and answering their questions. I also regularly check-in with my teaching teams and prepare or update teaching materials.

We have just been internally accredited, and it is an external accreditation year and so I’m busy working on that in between my other commitments. Eat, sleep, repeat.

How do you like to relax or spend your spare time?

I love spending time with my family and friends. My dad, daughter and I have a Wordle competition, and I enjoy watching my children play sports. I also relax by binge watching trash TV and listening to podcasts when I’m out walking. I enjoy getting outside and exercising – whether that be running (or, as my kids say, slow jogging), swimming or being by the sea. I’m also part of a book club (which may or may not consume wine as well) and I enjoy reading novels. I’ve started to listen to audio novels, which means my time driving to work is now well spent.