Securing Australia's Future Research Training System Review Response from Victoria University
Contents Introduction... 3 Theme 1 The place of transferable skills and their assessment in research training... 5 Theme 2 Skills and capabilities needed in HDR graduates to enhance their contribution to Australia and ensure Australia s research system remains internationally competitive... 6 Theme 3 A research training scheme that provides access to high quality, customised and flexible research training and reduces the current barriers to access... 7 2
Introduction Victoria University welcomes the opportunity to respond to the invitation for submissions to the Securing Australia's Future Research Training System Review. Victoria University has a proud history of undertaking research and research training over more than two decades. The University s research is focused on addressing problems linked to one or more of interdisciplinary themes: Sport, health and Active Living; Education, Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development; and Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, each of which is underpinned by a focus on a fourth Public Policy theme. While fundamental research has always had a place within our research activities, our major focus is applied and translational in its outcomes. This focus has had an impact on the University s approach to research training, which is geared towards the training of researchers strongly engaged with industry relevant to their field and seeking to create new knowledge that can contribute solutions to real world problems. The University s 760 (530 EFT) cohort of graduate researchers is located within seven academic colleges, five research institutes and four research centres and is supported by the University s Graduate Research Centre. The lion s share (90%) of the University s graduate researchers are enrolled in doctoral level programs, with the vast majority having entered through pathways other than honours. The University s graduate researcher cohort has particular characteristics that are important to note in relation to the University s approach and success in designing and delivering graduate research training. The majority of our domestic students are from non-traditional backgrounds (as defined by the review discussion paper); in particular with higher than sector average proportions of part-time, low SES and non- English speaking background domestic students. The average age of the University s cohort is also higher than the sector average, reflecting the fact that many are enrolling to undertake research training part way through their professional careers and having completed a Masters degree subsequent to their undergraduate degree studies. The focused approach to research and the nature of the University s graduate research cohort has influenced the University s strategies and educational initiatives in the delivery of research training. For example, we have a strong focus on building research skills and an understanding of the research process through the Demystifying the Thesis suite of programs, for which Victoria University s Professor Ron Adams received the Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) Peak Award for Programs that Enhance Learning: Postgraduate Education in 2010. The University s work to support supervisors in emerging research areas within the academy was funded through a collaborative OLT grant that resulted in the development of an online toolkit, Developing a Toolkit and Framework to Support New Postgraduate Research Supervisors in Emerging Research Areas. Most recently, the University has been further recognized for its approach through, for example: an invitation and funding from the State Government of Victoria in 2014 to showcase best practice Victorian approaches to doctoral training and supervisor development, in a series of workshops, Putting 3
Innovative Doctoral Training into Practice, presented to a consortium of five Colombian universities hosted by La Sabana University, Bogota; external awards for our graduate research students, most recently including the William and Elizabeth Fisher Scholarship for 2015 from Graduate Women Victoria and the Union of European Football Associations Research Grant including a graduate research scholarship for 2015. Our strategy to deliver high quality research training for new generations of graduate research trainees adopts relevant best practices from around the world and integrates these into a distinctive approach to research training. Examples of our recent innovations include In 2013, the University successfully introduced a University-wide initial coursework component for PhD students to better support them in contexualising, and conceptualising research and underpinned by strong understanding of professional research standards and practices (e.g. In ethics and research integrity). One feature of this coursework is the fostering of interdisciplinary research literacy. Graduate researchers and research supervisors alike are very positive about the value of this initiative. In 2016, the University launches its newly developed alternative pathway PhD, which is designed specifically for non-traditional background candidates with no or limited prior research experience, but with Masters coursework level studies. This PhD includes an intensive year of disciplinary- and research-based curriculum and incorporates a nested Masters exit point (Masters of Research Practice). Formalizing the University s approach to explicit research and researcher skill development through the introduction of a doctoral learning program as a flexible and individualized approach to enabling graduate researchers to plan for, undertake and document the development of their research, professional, personal/organizational skills strategically linked to their future career aspirations and plans. The University endorses the response made by the Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR) to this Review. Victoria University is not aligned to a university grouping, and as such, this response seeks to highlight the additional issues that the University deems to be particularly relevant that have not been fully captured in ACGR response. Thus, the University has targeted this response around the thematic areas of the questions where it can value-add to the response already proffered by the ACGR. These include: Theme 1. The place of transferable skills and their assessment in research training Theme 2. Skills and capabilities needed in HDR graduates to enhance their contribution to Australia and ensure Australia s research system remains internationally competitive Theme 3. A research training scheme that provides access to high quality, customised and flexible research training and reduces the current barriers to access 4
Theme 1 The place of transferable skills and their assessment in research training The development of what are commonly referred to as generic or transferable skills is critical to a researcher being effective and high functioning in the research environment/s relevant to their expertise and future career plans. It is the University s view that not only do opportunities for the development of these skills need to be embedded within graduate research training programs, but that that there also needs to be a level of accountability and assessment of the associated learning outcomes. Evidence suggests that assessment drives behaviour, even in adult learners. Without assessment, the importance of this aspect of development as a researcher will inevitably be diminished. Operationalising assessment of such attributes and skills needs to be mindful of a number of factors, such as: the diversity of the cohort and the impact this has on their level of transferable skills on entry to the program. For example, the University s 2012 cohort of commencing students was older than that at other, benchmarked universities. These adult learners come to Victoria University with skills and experience that are very different to those of a young honours graduate proceeding to a Masters or Doctorate. the capacity to resource an increase in focus on the development and assessment of transferable skills within the currently limited funding envelope provided to support research training the importance of researcher development being well integrated with other research training, and well targeted to the individual graduate researcher s future career plans and existing skill profile. In addition, operationalising the assessment of transferable skills will need to take into consideration the critical role of supervisors and peer review/advisory panels in research training. Importantly, the University recognises that new technologies and electronic platforms for the documentation of the development of transferable qualities (e.g. via an e-portfolio) has the potential to support the systematic collation of evidence of achievements and demonstration of skills, and considers that use of said technologies warrants further investigation. A nation-wide framework/platform against which to document a graduate researcher s development, would enable all universities to contribute to developing national standards and enhancing performance in this area, but must be sufficiently flexible to support the diversity of the cohort in terms of their developmental priorities and needs. The current final assessment being entirely focused on the examination of the written thesis is extremely narrow. The University recognises that an exit presentation is an invaluable learning experience for graduate researchers and one that is widely used and required internationally. New technologies have increased the feasibility of introducing an exit presentation ( viva ) as part of the examination process within the Australian context of graduate research training, and this could include presentation of a portfolio of development experiences and achievements that demonstrate the development of research-relevant transferable skills. However, the University considers that formalising this in the examination process would require additional resourcing and would need to occur nationally across all universities. A level of accountability for and assessment of transferable skills could occur more cost effectively as part of a preexamination candidature milestone/review, such as a pre-submission presentation with a portfolio, 5
considered by a review panel as part of the decision that the candidate can proceed to the formal examination. Theme 2 Skills and capabilities needed in HDR graduates to enhance their contribution to Australia and ensure Australia s research system remains internationally competitive While graduates of research degrees should be at the forefront of their discipline, importantly, they need to also be able to operate with competence and integrity at personal and professional levels. They need be able to apply their high-level problem solving skills to real-world situations to be productive employees, whether this is in an academic, research-intensive, government or industry setting. Graduate researchers, with highly developed critical thinking and analytical skills need also to have the capacity to be thought leaders who are able to innovate and influence. To achieve this in ways that are nuanced to the culture of the organisation in which they are employed, graduate researchers need to understand the context in which Australian businesses operate not just within Australia, but also within an international context. Hence, they need to have developed their knowledge of global trends and have developed international connections to be able to work in a flexible manner in multi-national and culturally diverse environments. Graduate researchers need to have the skills to address real world problems that are significant and have the capacity to contribute to economic and social development. To do this, they need to develop skills to critically review the latest literature in their field and have the ability to engage with contemporary, and increasingly complex and global issues. The methods and research designs they employ must be at cutting edge of their fields and they must have the capacity to innovate generating new ideas and interrogating them for relevance. While the capacity to produce research that is publishable in leading journals is paramount, at the same time graduate researchers must be able to communicate their research to lay audiences using a range of contemporary communication platforms to maximise research impact. It is imperative that the research training system support and enable the development of these kinds of skills. Part of this requires the consideration and identification of policies and initiatives that may actually serve as an impediment to the inculcation of such skills. By way of example, the Excellence for Research in Australia (ERA) initiative rewards research excellence through the analysis of traditional academic metrics, such as publication in top-ranking academic journals. On the other hand, imbuing the skills that graduate researchers will need and use in future careers will often take place through collaborative activities that while having a direct impact on industry, government and community. Many of these latter activities may not achieve positive results in terms of ERA rating. Therefore it is possible that programs such as ERA actually include disincentives to the very skills required of future researchers. 6
Theme 3 A research training scheme that provides access to high quality, customised and flexible research training and reduces the current barriers to access Current pathways to research need to be clearly articulated to tertiary students in the early years of their student life to enable them to confidently aspire to and travel the current pathways to research training. While there is a need to enhance the perceived value of research training to ensure that those with the capacity to be excellent researchers are not attracted away from research careers, there is also a need to develop new pathways and support systems with research training to improve accessibility for nontraditional research-training aspirants. The changes to AQF 9 to require an element of initial research training in all Masters level degrees has been a positive change that improves this pathway to the doctorate. However, many are unable to access this pathway easily because of the high fee cost of the majority of Masters (coursework) degrees. At the same time, the limited level of RTS funding means that it is no longer feasible to have the Masters by Research as the primary rigorous and well-supported main pathway to the doctorate. To combat this issue and offer greater access, graduates of three year undergraduate degrees should be able to access Commonwealth Support Places and means-tested government living support for all or a substantial component of a Masters degree to prepare them for entry to research at the doctoral level. Flexibility in program structures and length and level of funding support is therefore needed. Students with backgrounds that have traditionally been less likely to participate in research training will need programs that are sufficiently flexible to accommodate a capacity to tailor to their specific developmental needs and life circumstances. Major barriers to participation in research training are living costs and forgone income. The disincentive to participate is especially great for those whose socioeconomic status is precarious (e.g. many low SES) and/or where family commitments or high city living costs make the level of stipends inadequate. In addition, the lack of a direct link to attractive and appropriately remunerated employment upon graduation is potentially a barrier for those contemplating participating in research as an alternative to entering the workforce and developing a career without such a qualification. Current student scholarship and support programs, such as the Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), are problematic. Current stipend levels for programs such as the APA are at or below the poverty line, creating a disincentive to participation in research programs and degrees. Participation is also constrained by the total number of such stipends available. Therefore, an increase in participation will require both an increase in the level of stipend and the total number of stipend that can be offered. As well as consideration being needed about how to develop more secure research career pathways, for research training it is critical to consider how more generous externally funded support models can be incentivized (e.g. via the employer or an industry partner). An excellent example of a more flexible approach is the model adopted by some companies in Scandinavia where an employee of the organization maintains their employment and is fully remunerated by the employer to undertake their industry-embedded doctoral research project in their workplace. 7