Staff Insights
Associate Professor David Beattie
Associate Research Professor, Ian Wark Research Institute
with UniSA since 2000
While
working as a researcher in the UK, I attended a conference in Tuscany. It
was here I met John Ralston, one of the big names in the research industry
and a UniSA employee. When I heard about the research he was involved in
with UniSA I didn’t think twice about making the move to Australia to work
alongside him.
UniSA is a very youthful, dynamic organisation, without the extended dogma or administrative hurdles that exist elsewhere. It’s great to be in such a fresh environment. UniSA invests heavily in developing its facilities - in the last five years we’ve enjoyed major expansion work to our department, which really gives you the feeling UniSA supports the work we’re doing here.
I definitely get to see the impact of the work I do. Supervising PhD students in core job areas I follow their journey - from tentative beginnings through their development and ending with their work being out there and recognised within the industry. It’s one of the biggest buzzes you can get.
The employee benefits offered by UniSA are outstanding. In fact, the university has started the first ever Mid-Career Research Leadership program. After attending the course I had a much better idea of what I needed to do to progress within UniSA, as well as gaining a broader view of the unit.
UniSA has more than met my expectations. The institute has a very strong reputation, both nationally and internationally. I can see what I need to do to head up the academic ladder, and I enjoy a huge amount of support and encouragement. If you want to make a difference and create things, UniSA is the perfect place to do it.