International academics’ lived experiences in gaining leadership positions at Australian universities

ABSTRACT

Although there has been a large body of literature exploring personal and professional challenges of international academics, limited research has been conducted in exploring international academics’ experiences in gaining leadership positions at Australian universities. This paper fills this gap by investigating key factors of gaining such leadership position opportunities. It draws on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 26 international academics at Australian universities. Based on the findings, international academics are appreciated and recognized by management in Australian universities, given that they are provided with considerable opportunities to take on leadership positions based on their excellent contributions in teaching, research and service to their university. The implications of these findings for international academics and higher education institutions are also considered.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the La Trobe Social Research Platform grant.

Notes on contributors

Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh

Dr Jasvir Kaur Nachatar Singh is an award-winning Lecturer at the Department of Management, Sport and Tourism, La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University, Australia. In 2020, Dr Singh received an international teaching recognition from Advance HE, UK as a Fellow (FHEA). In 2018, Dr Singh received two La Trobe University Teaching Awards and Best Presenter Award at the Global Higher Education Forum, Malaysia. Dr Singh’s research expertise is in higher education with a particular interest in exploring international students’ lived experiences of academic success, employability, career aspirations and learning experiences in a blended learning environment. Dr Singh also explores lived experiences of international academics with leadership positions. Dr Singh has published numerous articles in high impact journals and has presented at various national and international higher education conferences.