A focus on exposing students to both research rigour and industry experiences has helped earn Professor Brett Paull , from the University of Tasmania's School of Natural Sciences, a prestigious teaching award.
An internationally recognised leader in separation science, Professor Paull was awarded the Australian Council of Graduate Research Award for Excellence in Graduate Research Supervision for his outstanding track record of student-centred, high-impact supervision across more than three decades.
He has supervised more than 50 HDR students to completion, with most finishing in under four years. Over 90 per cent of his students share their work publicly before graduating, and many complete their studies with patents or industry-linked outputs, including with major organisations like Pfizer, Trajan and Norske Skog.
This is what Professor Paull had to say about this outstanding achievement:
What does this award mean to you personally and professionally?
This award is right up there for me personally as its for doing something which I enjoy and really value. It's a privilege to support young researchers as they progress through the PhD and I get a great deal of satisfaction in seeing them succeed.
Can you share a memorable experience with a PhD student that illustrates your approach to supervision?
Every week throws up something memorable, and so there are too many to pick one, but generally I remember the fun moments. I try and have fun in my job, and my advice to my HDR students is to have fun doing their PhDs, since it's a unique period in their lives when they are free to achieve as much from the experience as they can, and they have to embrace the challenge but enjoy themselves doing so.
What do you think is the most important quality in a good PhD supervisor?
I try and be fair, honest and consistent in my advice. I give what sensible advice I can and I listen to what the students have to tell me. I guess I expect them to do their very best, and I tell them straight away when I see things going off course.
In equal measure I celebrate their successes with them, as I'm a big believer in small victories to keep us all positive!
How do you support your students in navigating challenges beyond academia, such as career planning or personal growth?
Within our research groups and Centres we try and provide as much training and support programs as we can for our students' overall professional development. That's very important to me, as we are working here to produce innovators and industry ready researchers, or future academic leaders.
Personally, I also hope I can provide an understanding point of view or advice on most things, including issues beyond their studies. When working closely with students for long periods of time, you become close and you obviously care about how they are getting on in life in general. My door is always open, and I aim to be helpful to them for as long as they need it.
Have any of your former PhD students gone on to do work that particularly inspires you?
Some of my past students have gone on to take up academic roles and are now leaders in their respective fields. Many more have gone into industry and I regularly see updates on LinkedIn etc of promotions and new leadership roles etc, which is a great. I'm proud of every one of my HDR graduates, even those who caused me the most sleepless nights! They will all have positive impact in whatever they do, and that's the only thing that matters.
What role do your students play in your research or broader contributions to your academic field?
HDR students are the real workforce of academic research, as they are typically the ones doing the actual physical research on the ground (or in my case in the lab). However, a workforce is more than just a working body of people, it's a team, it's a club, we are working with the same ambitions and excitement. If my HDRs get on board with that ethos from the start, then things always go well. My successes are their successes and vice versa.
I wouldn't have achieved anything without my team, that's obvious and indisputable.
What have you learned about yourself through supervising post-grad students over the years?
That I am demanding but generally a fair person. That I'm generally old school, but always trying to keep up with change. That I like young people more than the oldies who run these places!
Why is it important to you to support the advancement of STEM, broadly, in Tasmania?
I want to advance all fields of education in Tasmania, STEM just happens to be the field I ended up working in. It's a super important one of course, and is perhaps losing popularity amongst kids nationally, and in Tasmania in particular, so that's something clearly we need to focus on. I think getting across to students how impactful achievements in STEM can be for their future, might be the way to start to bring them back, but it's a big challenge.
Having said that, I have kids and it's not so important to me what field of work they end up in, as long as they continually strive to develop their minds and bodies, stay fit and healthy, and happy, and end up fair, just and honest people.
