Associate Professor Mohammad Katouli reflects on choosing opportunity over certainty almost three decades ago to build a research program from scratch in what seemed like "the middle of nowhere".
When I first migrated from Sweden to Australia we chose to live in Queensland.
I remember the first day that I came to the university.
It was totally different to the Karolinska Institute where I worked in Sweden which had more than 5000 staff and researchers. It's a leading medical university known for selecting the Nobel laureates in physiology and medicine since 1901.
When I arrived, the university was still being formed. There were three buildings and two lecture theatres. It was in the middle of nowhere.
I chose to work at the university because I could establish my own research group from scratch. Elsewhere, I would have joined a research group. This was a chance to build my own.
I'm proud that I founded microbiology at the university.
In the early years, I was able to establish laboratories and develop the microbiology curriculum and courses that were best suited for students.
I've had 148 papers published at UniSC since I started working here and there's more to come.
I'm fully dedicated to my students. And they know that I'm available to help them every day and night with their studies, research or challenges they may be facing.
One year, I supervised nine PhD students and four Honours students at the same time. Others wondered how I managed it, but I love being available to help them. That's my passion.
Over the past 28 years, I've supervised 21 PhD students, 39 honours students and three masters students to completion.
I think I've taught microbiology to up to 3500 students.
I remember in the first few years, the university gained a five-star rating for teaching which was a great achievement for a young regional university.
And there was an incentive to work hard and to contribute to the university as it continued to develop.
I joined every committee at the Faculty/School and the university that I could.
For a time, I was the Chair of the Queensland branch of the Australian Society for Microbiology.
I established an annual scientific meeting for the state's microbiologists that was held in Maleny on the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
I called it Microbiology in Maleny or MiM for short. It became well-known and collectively our scientists helped to make the name and standing of the university known to others in the field across Queensland.
It's led to many research collaborations across Australia and many joint research publications. That was the reward that I received.
I've seen a lot of change over time as the university expanded and different approaches were taken teaching and research.
As academics we need to be able to adapt to change.
For example, advances in technology mean everything is now digitalised.
We are moving towards online teaching and assessment. We need to be creative in the way in which we use technology so that we remain distinct from other universities.
I'm so glad that I stayed here.
The university has grown into one of the best regional universities, if not one of the best in Australia.
I plan to retire in the next year or two, but I want to see more of the university's growth so that it reaches the level that it deserves.
Because, when you are invested in a project that you build and expand over time you want to stay and see it all the way through.
