Last week, the Office of Graduate Research and Flinders HDR students and supervisors celebrated our achievements and represented Flinders at the International Quality in Postgraduate Research (QPR) Conference.
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.
- Amandi Hiyare, Sarah Crossman, Hamid Azizi, and Nathan J. Harrison, ‘The Role of Student Representation in the University Higher Degree by Research Committee: Reflections and recommendations’.
- Amy Butler, Ellen Wynn, Rebecca Carpenter-Mew, Yun Seh Lee, Andrea Cosentino and Kate Walsh, ‘Enhancing the graduate research experience by amplifying and empowering student researcher voices’.
- Dennis Wild, ‘From the ‘me’ to the ‘we’ and back again: a transgenerational, de-othering, ‘researcher mutability’ project’.
- Eshetu Andarge Zeleke, Jacqueline Stephens, Hailay Abrha Gesesew, Bahailu Merdekios Arba and Anna Ziersch, ‘An underutilized method to refine and validate recommendations from Higher Degree by Research (HDR) study findings: implications for meeting local needs’.
- Dani Milos and Rhiannon Vince, ‘Tackling quality in HDR supervision – policy, programs, people and passion’.
- Ellen Wynn, Alana White, Nathan Harrison, Nicole Grivell, Amy Reynolds and Emma Thomas, ‘“By students, for students”: Improving the PhD experience through student-led initiatives’.
- Dani Milos, ‘What does best practice HDR Supervision look like in Australia? A multi-institutional perspective’.
- Karen Jacobs, Kate Willson, Jonathan Richards, Tracey Kohl, Luke Ballintyne and Rhiannon Vince, ‘Wrangling administrative candidature management – Inspire online system’.
- Dani Milos and Claire Jackson, ‘Designing best practice in HDR Supervision: A national benchmarking exercise’.
We would also like to thank our student volunteers, who represented Flinders, contributed their time and expertise to support the organisers, and were crucial to the smooth running of the conference.
- Yumi Naito, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Eshetu Andarge Zeleke, College of Medicine and Public Health
- Orathai Suebkinorn, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Su Su Tun, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Quoc Tuan Nguyen, College of Business, Government and Law
Office of Graduate Research staff and students
Ellen Wynn and Emma Thomas presenting ‘“By students, for students”: Improving the PhD experience through student-led initiatives’.