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SRAI in Your Country: Up Close and Personal | Australia

By SRAI News posted 06-12-2024 12:16 PM

  

SRAI in Your Country: Up Close and Personal | Australia

Thanks to SRAI’s extensive international scope (over 40 countries around the world), SRAI members literally have the world at their fingertips. Wouldn’t it be great to spend a few days or months, submerged in the life of a fellow research administrator in another part of the world, to walk in their shoes, and to expand your international view of research administration?  To whet your appetite, this four-part series will take you on a virtual, imaginary tour of the daily life of an individual research administrator on four different continents or geographic regions – Africa, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Part two in our virtual travel adventure takes us to Australia. Sit back and enjoy!

Australia 
Olumide Odeyemi, Research Integrity and Reporting Coordinator, University of Tasmania


Olumide Odeyemi, our second interviewee, is the Research Integrity and Reporting Coordinator at the University of Tasmania’s Launceston campus. Olumide attained his research administration degree in 2019 and has worked in his current position for the past year.

As my plane lifts off from the Entebbe airport on a sunny morning, I head to Tasmania, an island state of Australia south of the mainland, to meet Olumide Odeyemi, an early-career research administrator at the University of Tasmania. After a short layover in Melbourne, I arrive in Launceston, a city of about 70,000 people in northern Tasmania, where Olumide greets me enthusiastically. 

As I slip into my jacket for our short ride to my hotel, Olumide reminds me that the cooler weather (10-13 degrees C or 50-55 degrees F), shorter days, and slight breeze is typical of their winter season. He also notes that the region has some of the purest air in the world and that Launceston, the third oldest city in Australia, has many heritage buildings and interesting museums, such as the Queen Victoria Museum. The Cataract Gorge Reserve, a unique natural formation, is also close by.  The university has a close connection with Tasmania’s ecosystem as it aims to study and preserve some of the earth’s remaining wildernesses. Unsurprisingly, it boasts research strengths in marine science and Antarctic studies.  

We agree to meet on campus at Olumide’s office the following morning. Olumide holds a PhD in seafood microbiology and has worked in research administration since completing his degree in 2019. His previous roles as research outputs officer, research administration officer, and research integrity coordinator have provided context to his current position. For the past year, Olumide has been the research integrity and reporting coordinator for the university’s Launceston campus. He has a hybrid work schedule, in the office 3 days and at home 2 days each week. 

On a typical workday, Olumide works from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Travel time (one-way) to the university is 5 minutes by car and 40 minutes by foot. His primary responsibilities include investigation of complaints, providing training (to raise awareness and to educate), and reporting on integrity cases and research income. He starts the day with a catch-up meeting with his line manager to review active files and problem-solve. In his work Olumide interacts regularly with researchers, students, and other areas of the university. Research in Australia is governed by the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research 2018 which is similar to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity’s Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research

A key challenge in Olumide’s position is protecting the confidentiality of files, including securing desktop computers and holding sensitive meetings in private areas. He sometimes manages this by conducting meetings when working from home. Another complication is that the level of awareness of research integrity among researchers, students, and others is often low, and education is time-consuming. 

Olumide is passionate about creating value for researchers. While he notes that the research administration profession is in its infancy in Australia, he describes research administrators as “back-end researchers; we are the invisible driving force for research.” Olumide also pursues these interests in his personal time as he conducts research on research administration. As part of a Masters level program, he is investigating how unsuccessful research funding outcomes affect Australian researchers. He also has done preliminary analyses of various research administration positions in Australia and has a strong interest in the development of career paths in research administration. In the next ten years he would like “to see the emergence of a clear-cut career pathway for research administrators, similar to that which exists for academic positions.”

As I reluctantly bid Olumide adieu, I thank him for providing a behind-the-scenes perspective of the life of a research administrator in Australia. Bonne chance, mon nouveau ami!


Authored by Terry Campbell, Retired
University of Ottawa 
SRAI Catalyst Committee

#Catalyst
#june2024
#Membership

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