Campus by Times Higher Education

THE Campus: What makes research and teaching interesting?

Whether teaching or writing up research, there is a strong incentive for academics to try and make their work as interesting as possible. If people are intrigued by what they’re doing, it is likely to have a greater impact. But since everyone has their own unique take on what is or is not interesting, this can seem an impossible task.

So, we spoke to three academics to find out if there are any universal characteristics that academics could try to develop in their work that will successfully pique people’s interest.

Kurt Gray, associate professor in psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and director of the Deepest Beliefs Lab and Center for the Science of Moral Understanding, shares a beginners guide to what makes something interesting.

Manuel Goyanes, assistant professor in the Department of Media and Communication at Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M), discusses the qualities likely to generate greater interest in research.

Emily Corwin-Renner, research scientist at the University of Tübingen’s Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, shares insight and strategies to help teachers hold the attention of their students.

Further reading:

Find dozens of helpful resources on how to make your teaching more interesting on THE Campus.

Manuel Goyanes’s 2018 study “Against dullness: on what it means to be interesting in communication research: Information” published in Information, Communication & Society

THE Campus: What Freeman Hrabowski wants you to know about inclusivity in HE

During his 30-year tenure, Freeman Hrabowski, the outgoing president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, has transformed UMBC from a small branch of the University System of Maryland into one of the leading producers of Black STEM graduates in the country.

 

In this interview, Freeman talks about how to have the difficult conversations that identify where students needs are not being met. How UMBC uses granular data to identify students who might be falling behind, and how inclusivity work is the tide that raises all boats so everyone benefits.

 

Find more resources about how to champion inclusion on your campus on THE Campus

 

Freeman's first book:

The Empowered University by Freeman Hrabowski III with Philip J. Rous And Peter H. Henderson

 

Research quoted in the intro:

“A critical exploration of inclusion policies of elite UK universities”  by George Koutsouris, Lauren Stentiford, Brahm Norwich, in British Educational Research Journal

 

THE Campus: Pointers on writing and publishing for academics

We’ve asked academics, authors, publishers and postdocs to share with us their advice for how to improve your academic writing and chances of getting published. 

 

They cover everything from tips to establish a consistent writing practice like Jack London and how to find the hook in your work, to why your article might be rejected and how to bring in voices beyond just those writing in standard North American or British English. 

 

 

Hear pointers from: 

 

John Weldon, an associate professor and head of curriculum in Victoria University’s First Year College

 

Dorsa Amir, a postdoc in the department of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley

 

Tara Brabazon, a professor of cultural studies at Flinders University

Daniel Martin, a publisher at Elsevier, a fiction author and creative writing teacher at Delft University

 

Joe Moran, a professor of English and cultural history at Liverpool John Moores University

 

Marnie Jo Petray, an associate professor and graduate coordinator of TESOL at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

 

Stone Meredith, a teacher of college-level composition, literature and philosophy courses at Colorado State University Global

 

Anne Wilson, a consultant fellow at the Royal Literary Fund 

 

Avi Staiman, CEO at Academic Language Experts

 

Gaillynn Clements, a visiting assistant professor in linguistics at Duke University

 

Read We must end linguistic discrimination in academic publishing by Avi, Marnie Jo and Gaillynn

 

And find more tips for success in academic publishing on THE Campus

THE Campus: How universities can build mutually beneficial community partnerships

Three university leaders heading up their institutions’ public affairs and community engagement in London, Melbourne and Chicago speak with us about the value of mutually beneficial partnerships with First Nation communities, local neighbourhoods and government.  

They talk about using their strengths of teaching and research to engage with the community and what that means for increasingly digital campuses. 

This episode features:

Deborah Bull, vice-president, communities and national engagement at King’s College London  

Derek Douglas, vice-president for civic engagement and external affairs at The University of Chicago

Julie Wells, vice-president, strategy & culture at University of Melbourne

 

THE Campus: How to use social media to promote your work

Social media is an increasing part of public scholarship and for some academics, it’s a way to bring their work to a wider audience and develop new skills. We speak to two scholars who have embraced sci-comms on platforms from YouTube to podcasts to find out how they got started and what works.

 

YouTube scientist Simon Clark shares how he got started doing science and PhD vlogs and Christina Zdenek, a post-doc and lab manager of the Venom Evolution Lab at The University of Queensland, gives her top three tips for communicating your research. 

 

Read more form Christina:

Get your research out there: 7 strategies for high-impact science communication

 

THE Campus: What has higher education learned from the Covid crisis?

As we reach the two-year anniversary of the global pandemic, two university leaders and innovators tell Miranda Prynne and Sara Custer what they've learned about institutional resiliency, teaching practices and what the future holds for higher education, online and in-person.

Peter Mathieson, the principal and vice-chancellor at The University of Edinburgh, and Anant Agarawal, CEO and co-founder of edX, the COEO at 2U and a professor at MIT, both offer their own unique perspectives on a tumultuous period for global higher education.

THE Campus: Higher Ed Heroes and their water cooler chats about teaching

Academics, colleagues and friends Sebastian Kaempf and Alastair Stark from the University of Queensland share the evolution of their podcast, Higher Ed Heroes, which they created in 2020 to mimic the incidental corridor conversations that have been missing during the pandemic. In this episode, they explain how the podcast replicates peer-to-peer sharing of best teaching practice. Their down-to-earth, buzzword-free approach has seen their audience grow from just UQ colleagues to listeners in 70 countries.

Listen to Higher Ed Heroes here.

Find resources and advice on how to create a happy campus in our latest THE Campus spotlight. 

THE Campus: what does it mean to decolonise a library?

A new book of essays from librarians, students and academics around the world offers insights into the work of decolonising a library. 

 

For this episode we spoke with the book’s editors, Jess Crilly, an independent author who was formerly the associate director for content and discovery, library services at the University of the Arts London and Regina Everitt, the assistant chief operating officer and director of library, archives and learning services at the University of East London. 

 

We cover what it means to decolonise a library, how a project like this stretches far beyond the archives and learning services of a campus and what practical advice they’d give to someone interested in doing this work. Not surprisingly, it starts with a conversation. 

 

Learn more about their book Narrative Expansions: Interpreting Decolonisation in Academic Libraries

 

And find more advice pieces about decolonisation on THE Campus including How to support academic staff starting the journey of decolonising the curriculum  and Decolonising the curriculum – how do I get started? 

THE Campus 2021 most-wanted: advice on diversity statements and well-being pedagogies

Authors of two of the most-read resources on THE Campus in 2021 give us a behind-the-scenes look at the thinking and research that went into their pieces. 

 

Joining us is Pardis Mahdavi, dean of social sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University and Scott N. Brooks, an associate professor with the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics at ASU. 

They co-authored one of THE Campus' most popular resources, "Diversity statements: what to avoid and what to include". 

And Elena Riva, an associate professor and director of studies at the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning at the University of Warwick, is here to speak about the research that informed her piece "Well-being pedagogies: activities and practices to improve the student experience online".

See more of this year's top resources, collections and spotlights that have helped academics and university staff around the world do the best teaching and research imaginable. 

THE Campus: The best and brightest of UK universities

To commemorate the annual THE Awards, Sara Custer and Miranda Prynne interview previous winners to find out how their work has developed since taking home a trophy and any advice they might give to their colleagues working towards similar goals. 

 

Interviewees:

• Tara Moore, professor of personalised medicine at Ulster University and winner of the 2020 Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year  
• Judith Francois, senior lecturer at Kingston University and winner of the 2020 Most Innovative Teacher of the Year Award  
• David Green, vice-chancellor at the University of Worcester, the 2020 winner for Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion  
• Sara Baldwin, head of student support services at Nottingham Trent University, the winner for Outstanding Support for Students in 2020.   
• Julian Skyrme, director of social responsibility at the Manchester University, the 2020 winner for Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community  
• David Worsley, a professor at Swansea University, the winner of the 2020 International Collaboration of the Year

See the shortlisted nominees for the 2021 THE Awards and read their advice on supervising researchers, innovative teaching methods and student support.