Networking

There is the famous African Proverb that comes to mind when I think of networking “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.” This shows the importance of creating a network which will chart and determine the distance and trajectory of an individual’s pursuits.

As a budding academic myself, I have found that building a network has been helpful and enriching and I will share some practical tips that may benefit you in building your network as well.

1. Express your interest to a mentor: If you have an academic or professional mentor in your field, you should reach out to them and tactfully ask for guidance in your journey. This can be the start of a great professional relationship! You can volunteer to lecture in some classes, let them know what your latest research is and indicate that you are available for collaboration on scholarly articles and journals. You might be shy at first, but don’t knock it, till you try it.
2. Latch on to an area of study: In your professional/research journey there would be areas that pique your interest and ignite your passion, why not focus on them? This will assist you in becoming an authority in that field and speaking confidently about the topic. In this regard, you should have something like an “elevator pitch” ready when attending networking events; you will be sure to make an impression.
3. Become a member: Research and join groups or membership organizations that are aligned with your area of research or profession. Some of these groups may have membership plans which do not require a fee, but others may have a fee attached; select whichever is right for you. Further, under no circumstances should you join a group and “become a wallflower.” You must actually participate in activities and programmes to enrich yourself and your network! I understand that it can be very uncomfortable at times, but as a YouTuber that I view often would say, “Seek Discomfort!”
4. Interpersonal Person: To ensure that you are well prepared when you arrive at those in-person networking events, there are three areas to practise beforehand. Your handshake is number one. Ensure that it is strong, but not too strong, and welcoming (remember to apply some lotion to those hands). Secondly, smile warmly and sincerely at the person you are meeting and engaging with. Thirdly, make a concerted effort to remember the names of those you meet (you can even try to bring it up in your conversation or make a quick note of it).

With these tips in your arsenal there is no doubt that you will be well on your way to going the distance with your network! You will be growing and glowing! Cheers!

 

Mrs. Kareina St. Hill is a PhD. Sociology student at The UWI, St. Augustine. She is presently a social sector consultant. Kareina’s current research interests are: Caribbean Migration and Policy Development.

 

The balance that one achieves with multiple partnerships staves off the possibility of limiting oneself…

Among my early experiences that prepared me for my development as a young scholar were my departmental and university college arrangements to meet up once a month to share ideas on a specific academic resource. At the college level, it was a recently published piece of literature for children or adolescents that we were encouraged to read that month and at the department level, it was a recent research-based article that was related to our areas of specialization. The meet-ups were always at a place where we could enjoy some refreshment, entertainment and collegiality in addition to the intense discussion on the book or article. These meet-ups were my informal introduction to critical elements of a professional learning community, where academics with varying titles, years of experience in their fields and diverse portfolios could contribute to the growth of young scholars. Of course, these opportunities along with other approaches speak to the value of mentorship.

Very early in my post-doctoral career, I benefitted from being formerly assigned a mentor. However, what really helped me to continue growing was the opportunity to have other senior faculty members who had different areas of specialization that could contribute to my own teaching, research and community engagement, take the initiative to reach out to me and extend an invitation to collaborate on projects. My advice to other young scholars is that they themselves take the initiative to reach out to these experienced faculty members and present proposals for collaboration. The balance that one achieves with multiple partnerships staves off the possibility of limiting oneself to a lens into teaching, research and community engagement that amounts to a way of thinking and being of one academic influencer, rather than a confluence of perspectives attitudes and skills that would meaningfully contribute to the development of a young scholar.

 

 

There are other specific affordances that come from this decisive step to work with other researchers. Many young scholars are encouraged by faculty and peers to use the doctoral research project as a foundation on which to build their research. This certainly has value, and especially as it offers a bootstrap for publishing articles that address several aspects of the research that was the subject of the dissertation. Perhaps even publishing the dissertation as a book itself. Yet when it becomes the central and only focus of your post-doctoral work, the early scholar may find himself much like the anchored ship. Early opportunities to collaborate allow the early researcher the opportunity to burgeon out into other research methodologies and research areas, while churning out dissertation-related published material that likely require less intense periods of reviews of literature, analyses of data, whipping up findings and discussions. All of this means that early efforts to collaborate should be orchestrated well enough that the collaborators add value to your range of research skill sets. One cheat sheet that supports this is the research we do when applying for positions that we hope to fill post dissertation. Doing a search of the faculty at the university and even deepening it after securing a position can provide the insight needed to determine the founding members of the early researcher’s professional learning community.

 

Dr. Paulson Skerrit is a Lecturer at The University of the West Indies. His research interests include literacy and deaf education.

As an early career researcher, you recognize the importance of keeping up with your research agenda.  Initially, that research agenda may consist of solely personal research projects and papers for publication but there comes a time when the prospect of collaborative research work arises.  Maybe you’re one who has always been excited about such prospects or maybe you fall into the group who’d rather work alone.  But the old African proverb rings true: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” In essence, this is saying that research collaborations may offer a number of benefits over remaining a lone researcher.

Benefits of research collaborations 

While some research collaborations may focus on small-scale projects, others can afford you opportunities to work on larger-scale projects – the type that is commissioned or sponsored by governments, NGOs or professional bodies (oooh!) and which may focus on much larger data sets across nations, for instance.  Such collaborations may also bring in larger sums of money through sponsorship grants for your university.  Moreover, because in higher education publications from research, collaborations tend to be viewed more highly than single-authored works, you would likely earn higher points towards promotion.

Another benefit is that collaborative research work provides opportunities to work with researchers who are most likely better well known than you are in professional circles and research communities and thus has the pleasant effect of significantly boosting your own reputation as a researcher because you would be recognized as having worked with that well-reputed researcher.  The add-on is that your own professional and research networks begin to grow, which is important in academia.

Thirdly, as your name and work become more recognized, they open up for you more and more professional opportunities, such as more research collaborations, which then increases the number of publications that you have and the impact that you can make.  Invitations to review journal articles and to speak at conferences may also increase as you become more well known as an authority on certain topics.  

Nightmare research collaborations

Yet, despite the great benefits research collaborations can yield, they’re not always easy to manage in the long run and yes, they tend to run longer than the average personal project.  Some may end prematurely, leaving you upset and feeling that you’ve wasted valuable time.  There may be personality clashes (people will be people), cross-cultural misunderstandings especially with international collaborations, unresolvable differences in requirements and operations between collaborators’ universities or even significant delays caused by a collaborator who doesn’t do his/her part.  Before you lose heart, most of these can be prevented or managed or, at the very least, they may teach you meaningful lessons for future collaborations. 

Fruitful research collaborations: How?

1. Invite persons to collaborate; you don’t have to wait for an invitation
2. If you are invited on a collaborative project, however, check out your collaborators’ research profile, speak to one or two persons who may know your potential collaborators so that you can make an informed decision.  You also need to weigh carefully if the proposed work fits in with your research agenda and if not, consider if it is one that you really want to branch out into.  It is not useful to you or the research team if you are not particularly interested in the work.  They will and should expect you to contribute meaningfully, respectfully and on time.  
3. Ensure that you are clear about your role and those of others.  Early on, collaborators should decide (and put in writing) the order of authors on publications because this usually determines the extent of each person’s contribution to the work.  As the project progresses, collaborators will also need to be clear about their part(s) in the work and what they are expected to do.  Clarity is also particularly needed on such matters related to data ownership, data storage, research budgets, etc.  Also, in such a spirit of openness and collegiality, researchers all need to have the opportunity to share their thoughts, ideas and suggestions at every stage of the research process.
4. Demonstrate consideration. Let’s face it: we’re all very busy and that means someone may forget a deadline or be unable to complete an assigned task, but it is usually more helpful to be forgiving, readjust and move on rather than to embarrass or insult persons by laying down ‘rules of engagement’.  However, if the collaborator’s behaviour has shown to be a habit, then a respectful discussion around how their non-action affects the team and project progress becomes necessary.

Generally, research collaborations are fun and you may emerge having gained long-term partnerships.  While there may be some pitfalls, the benefits far outweigh them.  Remember, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” (African proverb).

 

Dr. Rinnelle Lee-Piggott is a Lecturer at the University of the West Indies (St. Augustine). Her research interests include school & principal leadership, school & system improvement & education privatization.