Research Connections is part of the Business School’s globally innovative program, Leading in a Post-Crisis World, designed to inspire and develop the future leaders of a post-crisis society. Research Connections was launched in February 2020 as a joint initiative from the University of Sydney Business School’s Student Life and Education portfolios in order to showcase innovative research to our students. The series moved to an online format in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Impactful and transformative research
Research Connections is a webinar series aimed at connecting students with the impactful and transformative research being undertaken across the Business School. Presentations are conducted by some of the Business School’s leading academics, as well as visiting keynote presenters. Research Connections creates an opportunity for students to engage with the positive benefits of research – both from the perspective of learning about the research content, as well as finding out more about research processes and networking with leading researchers outside of a classroom setting.
A diverse range of topics are explored including environmental responsibility and climate change in a recovery economy with Professor Chris Wright; the future of women and work in a post-covid world with Professor Rae Cooper AO and Dr Sarah Mosseri; perspectives on global leadership with Associate Professor Bettina Szkudlarek; and learning about how circadian rhythms can affect performance at work with Associate Professor Stefan Volk.
Scope
Research Connections explores the nexus of research and industry collaboration to investigate current real-world problems. The research shared is current and diverse across multiple discipline areas. Previous webinars can be accessed through our CoDesign Research Group website.
Each webinar features a presentation on research and impact on current Business-related topics and a Q&A section with audience participation. The event format begins with a keynote presentation from a leading researcher on their current work related to theme of the series. A senior representative from the Business school then coordinates an interactive Q&A with the audience.
Student feedback informs the planning for the upcoming Research Connections series. The responses suggests the main reasons for attendance is the topic area; gaining knowledge; the speakers and supporting the University of Sydney Business School’s community.
Our Place Live – Research Connections highlights
Our Place Live is an initiative at the Business School promoting connection and community. During the pandemic we ran a series of Research Connections where we looked at the theme of the impact of Covid-19. The highlights video can be viewed below. The full presentations are available on the CoDesign website.
Sharing insights
We have now run four series of Research Connections webinars. Insights from the process include:
- Collaborative team approach – A collaborative team approach has been an integral part of the success of the project to bring diverse perspectives together – Our team includes academics/researchers/learning designers/media experts.
- Engagement with synchronous format using Zoom and Slido – Webinar presentations are accessed live by students studying off–site through a zoom webinar link, in multiple global locations. Students are able to access the webinars after the presentation through a dedicated site on Canvas. We use Slido to facilitate audience interaction and participation.
- Showcasing current research – The events highlight current research presented by key and expert researchers. Showcasing current research relating to topics such as the impact of Covid-19; the future of work; engaged research; and crisis and emerging from crisis.
- Student access via Canvas – We provide access to the webinars after the live event through a study support Canvas site that all Business School students are enrolled in.
- Student feedback informing future series – Responses from students provide valuable feedback to inform the next series of events.
Upcoming series: Crisis and Emerging from Crisis
The theme of the upcoming Research Connections series 5 is Crisis and Emerging from Crisis. We explore how the context of Crisis and emerging from Crisis is shaping the research of some of the Business School’s leading researchers. We conclude the series with a keynote presentation about a Social Media research project with Dr Justine Humphry, Dr Jonathon Hutchinson and Dr Olga Boichak from the University’s Department of Media and Communications.
Upcoming keynote presenters for series 5 include:
- Dr Meraiah Foley (25 May, 2022)
- Associate Professor Ranjit Voola
- Associate Professor Helena Nguyen
- Associate Professor Eliza Wu
- Dr Justine Humphry, Dr Jonathon Hutchinson and Dr Olga Boichak
Engage with the provocative ideas being generated by cutting-edge researchers and practitioners and a unique opportunity to hear first-hand about things that are about to change the world.
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Image credit: Photo by NASA on Unsplash
About the author
An interdisciplinary researcher at the University of Sydney Business school in the Business CoDesign team.