From October 2012 for two years, I worked in a College of Applied Sciences (CAS) for the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). It was my first academic post, post-PhD, outside of my home country. Entering in as an Asst. Prof. my responsibilities were to develop and teach a variety of…>
Career Development
Dealing With Internet Censorship In China
The prospect of having to deal with internet censorship can be a daunting one when preparing to move to China. This is particularly true for academics…
Collaboration, Co-operation and Contribution
Collaboration, cooperation and contribution are the necessary ingredients for a recipe of enriched learning, knowledge consolidation, and active participation in further and higher education. I often reflect on the ever-changing world of learning. Our educational institutions have become somewhat vast yet empty; popular yet disfavoured; necessary yet peripheral. Too often,…>
Report-Writing: Some Questions And Answers
Is the report really necessary? Not always. Could the report be replaced by a long-ish but informal email, by a phone conversation followed by a summary email, or by a short oral presentation at a departmental meeting, recorded by ‘bullet points’ in the meeting minutes? You may not have the…>
Managing The Chinese Education System
In any education system, academics are answerable to the government. Audits, form-filling and declaring their research agendas form a routine part in the life of an academic who is required to complete these administrative tasks. It is true that China is no exception. Administrative tasks form a significant part of…>
How To Ask For A Pay Rise
Asking for a pay rise might be one of the conversations that you most fear in the workplace but do it right and you might find not only that you are being rewarded financially, but that you are more respected for your contribution too! Arm yourself with the facts Write…>
China Provides The Career Gateway To The World’s Academia
When I arrived in China to begin my academic career in 2010, I really didn’t know what to expect. As a historian I was aware that the nation had…
How to Get Your Next Promotion
The Right Promotion Most of us are told from an early age that moving up the proverbial career ladder is a virtuous thing to do. We go through school and university dreaming up different possibilities for work. We get into our first job and hop onto a range of others….>
Seven Top Tips for Resilience
When faced with adversity, how do you cope? Do you adapt, spring back to action or feel stuck? Resilience means ‘bouncing back’ from a difficult experience, as defined by the American Psychological Society. In this article, I have selected for you seven resilience boosting tips. These have been tried and…>
How to Choose the Right TEFL Course: Top Tips
If you’re tempted to enrol on a TEFL course, you will probably notice that there’s a mountain of information on the Internet pulling you one way or another. Deciding what is best for you is paramount, so it’s a good idea to ask yourself some key questions. Are you looking…>