New to Scholarship?

Getting started in scholarship.

At most institutions those new to teaching will undertake some structured induction and professional development (in the UK in the form of a post-graduate certificate in higher education, often leading to Fellowship of Advance HE). This can help to build the skills and confidence in teaching and learning, connections across the institution and establish topics of interest for scholarship activity.

Often, new members of a department are allocated mentors who can offer guidance on institutional policy and the functioning of the department. This is helpful and can provide opportunities for peer review and informal feedback. If you have not been allocated a mentor, try seeking one out. Ask questions of those academics around you and talk to your manager about finding an appropriate mentor.

Early career
Many of those who enter academia at the start of their professional careers have graduated from doctoral programmes. This provides a base of research training on which early career academics can draw. In addition, many doctoral graduates will have engaged in teaching activities during their studies and may already have developed areas of interest. Some may find that the transition to research methods used in SoTL is challenging, particularly if they have come from a background such as STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as SoTL approaches can be more commonly aligned with approaches in the humanities and social sciences.

Mid career move
In several disciplines (for example health and social care, business and the arts) it is common for academic departments to contain a mix of those who have followed an academic path and those who have experience of professional practice before making a mid-career move to academia as ‘pracademics’ (Dickinson et al., 2022). Pracademics refers to those who have moved from industry to academia as well as those who continue to practice alongside their academic role.

The benefits of those who have practical experience in academia are manifest, they add to the employability agenda and help research focus on the pressing problems faced in practice (Paisey & Paisey, 2017). Whilst the route to entry for early career academics typically includes the completion of doctoral level studies, this is not the case for pracademics at the point of entry.

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Without the previous experience of conducting research, understanding and developing a scholarship profile can be challenging. The literature around making an effective transition emphasises the importance of appropriate induction and mentoring (Smith and Urquhart, 2018; Wilson et al., 2014).

Things I wished I’d known

Professor Susan Smith
I moved into academia mid-career, enticed by the flexibility that the role offers and the opportunity to work with aspiring professionals. As a pracademic, it took some time to understand the culture and structures of higher education alongside developing my teaching skills. Unlike my experiences in industry I found I had significant freedom to pursue topics of interest which led to a period of confusion before I found my niche.

To support my technical skills and build my academic network I joined education and academic groups through my professional body (ICAEW) and also through a subject area group (British Accounting and Finance Association). This helped me draw on my practice experience and develop my academic knowledge and skills. After several years as a Teaching Fellow, I embarked on a part-time PhD. My topic drew on my links to the profession and access to the field. Whilst I learned so much about research methods and academic writing during this period it was hard to balance family, work and study.

My scholarship has developed over time and I have established expertise in several areas, working with colleagues who share mutual interests. I like to work with at least one other researcher to share ideas and develop projects together. In my opinion, it is important that this is a trusting relationship so that collaboration is open and honest and that over the course of the project the contribution evens out. I would say that this is a critical factor in the success of scholarship projects and in making the work enjoyable.

Career planning
Whilst I’m not sure I would say that I have planned my academic career to date, I have been fortunate to have been presented with opportunities that aligned with my interests and helped me to progress.

It is important to be aware of promotion criteria related to scholarship as they differ across the sector (Smith & Walker, 2024). Typically, you would expect to migrate your practice through Kern et al. (2015) dimensions of scholarship moving from scholarly teaching through to the scholarship of teaching and learning as you progress. Projects will typically derive from your practice and feed back into your practice. Often it is helpful to consider how you can adapt your outputs to various audiences e.g., journal article, blog, webinar, conference presentation.

Finally, it is important to keep track of your achievements and associated metrics so that you can articulate the impact of your work in appraisals and promotion applications.

Career Planning

Reflecting on your career direction
& building your Scholarship Profile

There are many aspects of Scholarship practice, as seen in the What is Scholarship section, however, it is not essential to build all areas of scholarship into your practice – unless you want to do it all of course!. However, how do you decide what is best for you?

The Synthesised Model of Reflection (SMoR) may be able to help.
The (SMoR) offers a framework for you to understand what is important to you and where you are in your development in these areas. You can then proactively engage with activities and experiences which contribute to your profile and reflect on how these have influenced your practice since the start of your academic career. This process has 4 stages:

Learn more about the SMoR and how you can use it to develop your Scholarship Profile in this short video.