One of the challenges for academic staff is building an external profile.
It’s important for a number of reasons: it boosts your career, it’s a requirement for promotion, but more importantly, it’s a great way to develop your expertise. It may be obvious how to take advantage of opportunities in your discipline, but you can also develop your network and your external profile in teaching and learning.
There are some obvious ways to take advantage of the opportunities learned societies offer. Many learned societies have an annual conference or meeting which includes an education stream. Submitting an abstract for a presentation on your teaching and learning work not only gets it noticed, but gives you an opportunity to connect with other HE teachers in your disciplinary area.
Conferences also need organising, so you may want to volunteer to be on the organising committee. That way, you’ll get to work with more experienced teachers in HE, and you’ll get to read and review abstracts that are submitted, becoming familiar with work that is being done at a national/international level.
If committees is your thing, many learned societies have Special Interest Groups which operate with a particular focus on teaching and learning, and you may have the opportunity to influence policy at an institutional or national level through these groups. These Special Interest Groups often support smaller meetings, which you can organise here at Edinburgh Napier, which is a great way for staff here to participate at a national meeting, and also bring colleagues from other universities to Edinburgh. The people you meet and connect with may turn out to be future collaborators or act as external referees.
Unless you have a research grant which covers costs, travelling to meetings can be expensive. Many conferences have travel grants, or conference prizes, so make sure that you apply for anything that you are eligible for. Often, postgraduate students or early career researchers are given priority, as a way to boost your profile.
Remember, learned societies are always looking for volunteers to serve in a variety of roles. Take advantage of it, boost your profile and expand your network.
Want to expand your professional network and profile but need some guidance on where to start? Please contact Anne Tierney, Department of Learning & Teaching Enhancement.