Presentations and Publications

This presentation was given at the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA) Postgraduate Forum, RMIT 23/10/2008.

KIM Carr's Excellence in Research for Australia initiative so far looks to be a welcome one. The scheme is transparent, comprehensible and doesn't ignore the contribution of early career researchers, including research postgraduates. There are pitfalls inherent in any measure of research quality, but this scheme already represents a remarkable improvement on its predecessor.

A good research assessment initiative avoids creating incentives that work against support for innovation across a broad range of disciplines, regions and institutions.

In 2007 CAPA had a short list of key priorities for the federal election^[1]. Below is a quick recap of the campai

Often, the best thing about a postgraduate degree is the stuff you don't hear about when you
enrol, says Nigel Palmer.
At the most basic level, what many people expect from a postgraduate degree is the
qualifications, skills and experience that will help progess their careers. Many prospective
postgrads are focused on how getting a degree will make them more competitive in the job
market.
However, many students feel short-changed by the time they make it to the end of their studies.
Often the most valuable things students get out of their postgraduate degrees are the things you

A good course will help you discover skills you didn't know you had, and be good value for
money. So shop around, says Nigel Palmer.
POSTGRAD study should be a mix of getting what you expect plus a little of the unexpected
along the way.
In picking the appropriate course, you're entitled to expect to get value for money - especially if
you are thinking of enrolling in a fee-paying degree, which most postgraduate courses are. And
these certainly aren't cheap.
It is hard to get a read on the quality of a course based simply on the university's marketing

Nigel Palmer is President of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA). He also has a number of years experience as a casual academic. He retells his exposure to academia as a sessional lecturer, and talks about the ‘elephant in the class room’ that is casual/ sessional teaching.