Celebrating 25 Years of Regional NRM
The 9th National Natural Resource Management Knowledge Conference, held September 8–12 in Cairns, marked a significant milestone, 25 years since Australia adopted the regional natural&...
In collaboration with the James Cook University (JCU) Library, The Cairns Institute member Susan Gasson worked with colleagues from around Australia in 2024 to create an open-access book on Higher Degree by Research (HDR) supervision. The book received a global open access award and has, to date, attracted a global readership of close to 15,000. Google Translate functionality, now available in Volume 1 and soon-to-be-released Volume 2, means chapters can be instantly translated online into different languages.
Confident Supervisors Vol 2, like Vol 1, will be a textbook and a professional development resource for Higher Degree Research supervisors and researcher developers involved in providing workshops as resources to support research supervisors in their practice.
Volume 2, prepared in collaboration with library staff at JCU and Queensland University of Technology (QUT), features chapters from research educators from around the world, including:
In Section 1 Rachel Spronken-Smith (Otago University, New Zealand) discusses the employability of graduates in her chapter entitled Supervisors – what are you educating for? Stan Taylor (Durham University, United Kingdom) and Margaret Kiley (Australian National University) discuss strategies for supervisors as they face supporting increased diversity among candidates.
In Section 2 on Supervisory practices for different phases of candidature, you can read a chapter authored by Susan Gasson, Denise Dillon and Michelle Redman-McLaren from JCU sharing factors for supervisors to consider when evaluating prospective applicants.
In Section 3, Supervising diverse methods and methodologies, there are chapters from David Silverman (Goldsmiths, United Kingdom) and Lesley Wood (North West University, South Africa), considering the supervision of Qualitative Methods and the use of Action Research in supervising. The section on Technologically informed supervision includes advice from Kylie Pappalardo from QUT’s Digital Media Research Centre on helping HDR students to navigate open-access publishing options.
The final section, Diversity, equity and inclusivity has chapters from Narelle Lemon, (Edith Cowen University) on Supervising for Wellbeing and Self-Care and Alan McKee (University of Sydney) and Emma Phillips (University of Canberra) titled “We need more people like you in the academy”: gender and HDR supervision.
November 2025