HDR Development Bulletin (April Summary)

Have you been keeping up with the HDR development bulletin? Each week a different aspect of the Research and Employability Skills Training (REST) Program is spotlighted to help HDR students’ identify opportunities to progress with their skill development. The skills covered so far include Time Management, Academic writing and Research Practice.

See below for what was covered and full details further on. For personalised advice, email HDR.Development@flinders.edu.au and we can help 😊

Research Practice (Mon 2 April)

Time Management & Work-life Balance (Mon 8 April)

Research Project Management (Mon 15 April)

Quality in Postgraduate Research (QPR) Conference (22 April)

Academic Publishing (29 April)

New Canvas Module: Research Practice

Monday 2 April

The module is the biggest one so far, as it covers a wide range of practices that all researchers need to have knowledge of. The module goes through research integrity and ethics at Flinders, introducing the Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research and integrity and ethics processes and policies. It also includes a number of online Epigeum activities on the responsible and ethical conduct of research. The module further covers authorship and data management practices at Flinders, outlining your rights and responsibilities when sharing and storing data. Finally, the module covers Intellectual Property from a graduate researcher perspective, with several online activities on IP, copyright and design rights. As always, the module ends with a list workshops, online courses and recordings on the topics covered in research practice. We recommend that all HDR students look through this module, and complete the parts relevant to their research.

To view and complete the module, please click the link below to be taken directly to the module. If you are not yet registered in the REST FLO (Canvas site), you will first need to register via https://canvas.flinders.edu.au/enroll/FM8AWN. If you have any questions or feedback on the module, please reach out via return email.

New Canvas Module:

Time Management and Work-life Balance

Monday 8 April

The module outlines some strategies and techniques to manage your time, and prioritise and focus on tasks, while looking after yourself and balancing your work, study and family commitments. A number of useful resources and online courses on time management and work-life balance are included in the module, to help you identify strategies that work for you.

New Canvas Module: Research Project Management

Monday 15 April

Effective research project management skills are crucial in the complex space of doctoral research. The module includes several online Epigeum activities on research management, which, through interactive activities and case studies, introduce you to how to manage your research, identify and manage stakeholders, how to prepare for your research and create a research plan, deal with set backs and issues and deliver you project. The module also includes links to online courses on project management and a number of recorded workshops and useful videos.

Quality in Postgraduate Research (QPR) Conference

Monday 22 April

Held every two years in Adelaide, South Australia, QPR brings together educational researchers, policy makers, university leaders, research students, and research degree supervisors for the purpose of better understanding the processes, practices, pedagogies, and theoretical frameworks of doctoral education. Together we discuss, debate and make sense of this complex and changing area of policy and practice. The biennial QPR conference has become a global focal point for the discussion of all aspects of doctoral education. QPR conferences attract key thinkers in the area of doctoral education from Europe, North America, the United Kingdom, South-East Asia, South Africa, as well as Australasia.

This year’s conference theme ‘Graduate Researchers: identity and importance’ celebrated the value of our graduate researchers and their important contributions to the field. Through 142 presentations and three thought provoking plenary sessions, delegates had the opportunity to hear from various stakeholders, including students, supervisors, industry leaders, administrators and managers. The conference provided a valuable platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration across different institutions, covering strategies for supporting students, approaches supporting supervisors and insights into best practice service design.

Flinders University Pro Vice Chancellor (Research Training and Capabilities) and Dean of Graduate Research, Professor Tim Cavagnaro, provided the welcome on Day 3 of the conference. He highlighted the central role HDR students play in the global research effort, and the importance of including the student voice in designing best practice.

Flinders University HDR staff and students contributed nine of the conference presentations, as listed below, showcasing some sector leading support services and initiatives. The Office of Graduate Research would like to take this opportunity to celebrate these achievements and contributions, and thank our HDR community for their amazing work. For full details of the presentations, please refer to the QPR 2024 Conference Book.

New Canvas Module: Academic publishing

Monday 29 April

Academic publishing is essential for advancing knowledge and fostering scholarly dialogue across various disciplines. Publishing can help you disseminate your research and create research impact. However, publishing is a complex process that most HDR students are new to. This module helps you understand the publishing process, as well as where, when and what to publish. The online, interactive activities help you work through the steps of the publishing process and create a publishing plan. The module also includes information on institutional expectations and support available to you, and links to further online courses, videos and workshops that you can access as needed.

We would love to hear your feedback on this module, as well as the other modules and content we are creating through the new REST site. So please reach out anytime at hdr.development@flinders.edu.au.

HDR students in focus