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Conference to develop students' presentation skills, research networks

June 06, 2006

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A conference at The University of New England later this year will give postgraduate students from throughout the University’s Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies an unprecedented opportunity to develop their communication skills and build research networks. The Faculty’s Inaugural Postgraduate Research Conference is scheduled for August 8-11.

Students from all over Australia enrolled in Master’s and Doctoral programs within the Faculty will be attending the conference, which will focus on the politics, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies involved in research. The organisers are expecting between 150 and 200 participants.

“We don’t undertake research in a vacuum,” said one of the conference organisers, Dr Terrence Hays, a Senior Lecturer in Education. “We need to share it with other people. This conference will provide a forum for our postgraduates – at whatever stage in their research – to share their work with others.”

“Presenting your work to colleagues is part of doing a higher degree,” said another of the organisers, Associate Professor Rafat Hussain from the School of Health. “The conference will enable presenters to get valuable feedback from people – academics and fellow students – other than their supervisors.”

As in all academic conferences, Dr Hays said, one of the major outcomes for participants would be the formation of networks with people working in the same – or a related – field. “This is particularly important for people studying externally,” he explained. “Such networks can be an important support for people studying alone, and they can also carry over into the student’s subsequent professional life or research career.”

The program will include keynote addresses, panel forums, and the presentation of 45 papers by students. The presenters will have the opportunity to see their papers published: the Australian College of Educators will publish the conference proceedings. Papers submitted for publication in the proceedings will go through a refereeing process comparable to that at an academic journal.

Funding for the conference has been provided by UNE’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Peter Flood, and the Faculty’s Executive Dean, Professor Victor Minichiello, and Associate Dean (Research), Professor Anne Eckermann.

For more information on the conference, contact Dr Hays on (02) 6773 3649 or Dr Hussain on (02) 6773 3678.


THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Dr Terrence Hays (left) and Associate Professor Rafat Hussain (second from right) with the Executive Dean of UNE's Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies, Professor Victor Minichiello, and the Faculty's Associate Dean (Research), Professor Anne Eckermann.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at June 6, 2006 03:11 PM