Aotearoa Business Schools Early Career Conference

Early career academics face increasing expectations to excel across all facets of the role: publish high-quality research, offer exceptional learning experiences in our classrooms, and ensure we’re good colleagues and academic citizens. Obtaining external grant funding and translating our work to a wider audience – with social impact – are also increasingly valued in universities. However, we also face particular challenges, including limited budgets and high workloads. During the pandemic, some of these pressures have only increased. For one, networking opportunities no longer happen by accident during conference breaks!

To address the need for connecting with like-minded colleagues, and to foster productive collaborations into the future across research, teaching and citizenship, the Business Schools of Aotearoa New Zealand are banding together to offer an inaugural conference for their early career academics. Our focus is on ECA concerns, experiences and career progression. We all have strengths in particular areas – the conference will offer an opportunity to share experience and expertise with each other.

You will have the opportunity to discuss your research and gain feedback within and across disciplines. There will be a range of session formats, including short presentations, discussion panels and round tables, and speakers across multiple topic areas. Topics include:

• Vision Mātauranga
  
• Citations & Scholarly Impact
  
• Teaching & Learning
  
• Translating Research & Media
  

Our Keynote Speaker is AUT's Professor Kath McPherson. The former Chief Executive of the Health Research Council of New Zealand, Kath oversaw the first increase of funding made in 10 years (of 56% over 4 years), assessment broadened to include consideration of the pathway to impact and Māori advancement, and a significant advance made in partnership with other government agencies to support evidence based decision making in the health and social care setting. Kath will focus her keynote on external funding success and building an impactful academic career.

Importantly, the conference offers a chance to build new networks, refresh existing ones, and connect across the varied roles we have as Early Career Academics, including research projects, teaching and service.

We look forward to welcoming you to Auckland in July, 2022.

We are taking a broad view of ‘Early Career’ in acknowledgment everyone’s career looks different, however you will need to have received your PhD less than 10 years ago and be in an academic role of Post Doc/Lecturer/Senior Lecturer.

We acknowledge we all need certainty, and some may be vulnerable – our Organising Committee is working hard to provide the safest conference we can. If you have any questions at all, please email us at [email protected].

AUT is currently operating under the Orange setting of the traffic light system including recommended mask in sessions (unless eating/drinking or you are presenting and able to be socially distanced), and capacity limits.

No, the conference is in-person – we’ve all spent enough time on screens lately! Our focus is building new networks, refreshing existing ones, and connecting across the varied roles we have as Early Career Academics, including research projects, teaching and service.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

If you have dietary requirements, please email [email protected].

Auckland University of Technology - Dr Ayesha Scott (Chair) and Dr Nimbus Staniland

Massey University - Dr Dimu Ehalaiye, Dr Natalia D’Souza and Dr Jude Edeigba

Victoria University of Wellington - Dr Ben Walker

Lincoln University - Dr Wei Yang

University of Canterbury - Dr Pan Zheng

University of Otago - Dr Loic(Pengtao) Li

The University of Waikato - Dr Zack Dorner

The University of Auckland - Dr Grigorij Ljubownikow