Our People - Dr Jane Burdett
When
I accepted a one-year secondment from the SA Education Department to
teach curriculum and methodology studies in the SACAE’s new graduate
diploma in business education, I certainly didn’t expect this
appointment to extend to a 20-year (plus) association with UniSA.
Nor did I anticipate the interesting times that lay ahead with the greater internationalisation of business education. I was part of the project group who set up the first offering of the administrative management degree offshore with the Hong Kong Baptist University in 1994. I look with satisfaction at how this forged the way for the expansion of offshore business programs and provided opportunities to work with students in different countries. I have maintained a long friendship over this time with my Hong Kong-based tutor and her husband who are both Aussie expats.
Currently, I teach undergraduate and post-graduate students in administrative systems management, training and development, workplace learning, and I am a member of the School of Management.
Past experiences as acting Head of School and Deputy Head of School gave me valuable, first hand insights into the number and range of academic and administrative issues dealt with by heads of schools on a daily basis, not to mention the never ending round of meetings.
One of the most significant changes I’ve seen during my time here has been the incorporation of information and communication technologies to support new ways of working and learning. Having access to people and resources from the desktop provides a stark contrast to my own undergraduate student experience. I recall hours spent searching library shelves, along with many other students, to find one copy of an article on a reading list or, as an off-campus student, relying only on a two-page course guide and a text book as learning resources. The convenience of 24-hour communication across the globe has given us "anywhere, anytime" work, but the expectation of being online "everywhere, all the time" can be a trap. Our newly appointed Head of School, Professor John Benson, was surprised to find that when he sent an email to staff on Sunday, he received 20 replies that day!
Completing a masters degree while on maternity leave with young children and recently a doctorate as a parent of two teenager daughters has given me the greatest respect for students who juggle work, family responsibilities and sleep deprivation, to further their education and careers. But, I must say, it’s worth it.
Dr Jane Burdett is a lecturer in the School of Management.