Support for doctoral candidates in Australia during the pandemic: the case of the University of Melbourne

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a real – albeit rare – test for human and organisational resilience worldwide, including those in the higher education sector. In this paper, I reflect on my observations of the pandemic’s impacts that have rippled through the university sector in Australia in the first three quarters of 2020. The pandemic has not only heightened existing issues in universities, such as the tensions between university management, union, and part of university staff, but also posed new ones, such as supporting doctoral students to overcome research disruptions at an unprecedented scale. In terms of supporting doctoral students, the case of the University of Melbourne, one of the largest Australian universities, shows that there are still hidden issues even with a relatively flexible approach based on good intention. Given the uncertainties caused by the pandemic, the sustainability and effectiveness of the university’s current support measures remain to be seen.

KEYWORDS:

• Australia
• doctoral candidates
• research higher degrees
• university support
• pandemic
• union

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Peter Woelert for his valuable comments on an earlier version of this paper. I also acknowledge the Research Training Program funded by the Australian Commonwealth Government for supporting my doctoral studies.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In Australia, Higher Degree by Research (or Higher Research Degree) candidates refer to students who undertake research at the doctoral and master’s levels. In the paper, the terms doctoral candidates, graduate students and graduate researchers are used interchangeably.

2 Examples from the University of Melbourne’s VC are used simply because I am most familiar with and have access to information from this institution.

3 In a video sent to students on 24 April 2020, the VC introduced himself by likening his role to that of a CEO.

4 The phrases were used by Gina Wisker’s (University of Bath) in an online seminar organised by the International Doctoral Education Research Network on 26 August 2020.