The art of collegiality and why it matters

Advice on nurturing a spirit of companionship and cooperation between colleagues within your institution and beyond

Collegiality main spotlight pic

Collegiality can take many different forms, but at its heart lies a spirit of collaboration and support that is crucial for any university – indeed, any workplace – to flourish. The romanticised image of the solitary academic toiling away on their next great discovery is increasingly outdated, as it becomes clear that interdisciplinary work is required to solve society’s most pressing problems. Even university teaching has become a collective process drawing on experts from different fields to create engaging courses. This collection offers resources on what institutions can do to nurture collegiality and how to be a more supportive, helpful and friendly colleague.

We need our collegiality reserves replenished post-Covid – here’s how

While collegiality rests mostly with the people, institutions cannot just sit back and wait for it to spring on its own, says Lucas Lixinski

Lucas Lixinski

UNSW Sydney

Friendship and teamwork

Getting an academic teaching buddy can help you work out lots of classroom issues rather than struggling alone

Get yourself a teaching buddy to help you thrive

Rather than struggle through classroom-based problems alone, we should recruit meaningful support by seeking out a colleague to discuss our teaching, says Flower Darby

Flower Darby

University of Missouri

Being an early career researcher does not need to be lonely

Don’t believe the hype: being an ECR needn’t be a lonely existence

Finding ‘PhD pals’ in the same boat, but also learning to communicate your work effectively outside the research bubble, is crucial for ECRs, says Rebekah Ackroyd

Rebekah Ackroyd

University of Cumbria

The stress continuum is a traffic light system that might help university staff and students discuss well-being

Conversations around stress must move beyond ‘I’m fine, how are you?’

Sara Metz offers practical advice on adopting the ‘stress continuum’ – a shared language and system to help staff and students reflect upon and discuss their well-being

Sara Metz

Colorado State University Global

Help sign

Why we should be humans first and academics second

James Derounian argues for the spirit of kindness in all we do – and provides tips to improve your everyday collegiality

James Derounian

University of Bolton

Why is collegiality crucial and how can we foster it?

Being an academic can be a solitary pursuit at times, but creating a supportive and enjoyable working environment helps staff do their best work, says Tobias Kliem

Tobias Kliem

Arden University

Research

University researchers are too critical of themselves and others

Researchers are too critical – we need to give ourselves (and others) a break

It doesn’t have to be like this. Critical thinking means looking for the evidence – that is evidence both for and against, says Hugh Kearns

Hugh Kearns

Flinders University

A lecturer taking questions from his students

Rebalancing research and teaching within universities: rethinking recognition and reward

Adrian Lam looks at what changes to recognition and reward in higher education would help academics better balance a focus on research with need for quality teaching

Adrian Man-Ho Lam

The University of Hong Kong

Helping someone up a cliff

The cruel optimism of research careers: how to support contract workers

The conversation needs to switch from academic careers being the responsibility of individual researchers to what employers can do to support those in precarious roles

Jess Harris, Simon Bailey, Mhorag Goff, Nerida Spina

The University of Newcastle, Australia, University of Kent, University of Manchester, Queensland University of Technology

Five star rating

Being inclusive also means remembering not everyone has rhino-thick skin

The way we give feedback, from the undergraduate essay right through to peer review, provides opportunities to unconsciously exclude people, says Hugh Kearns

Hugh Kearns

Flinders University

It’s time to tackle perfectionism head-on in the classroom

Perfectionism has long been the norm in academia. To combat it, we must offer help before it has to be asked for, say Laura March and Maggie Melo

Laura March, Maggie Melo

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Communities of practice

Communities of practice are an excellent way for staff and faculty to share knowledge

Communities of practice: how to help them thrive

There are few better ways for staff to build and share knowledge within institutions, but while communities of practice can evolve organically, they also need nurturing

Melanie Brown

The University of Adelaide

Image of teaching staff enjoying a chat over a coffee

How to cultivate learning communities among university teaching staff

Creating a professional learning community among front-line teaching staff can be a big help when implementing new curricula. Adrian Lam presents some ways to do so

Adrian Man-Ho Lam

The University of Hong Kong

Blocks connected in network

Using communities of practice to drive teaching innovation

In the lead-up to Digital Universities Week US, we asked four university leaders about the barriers, ambitions and faculty needs when it comes to supporting the adoption of digital teaching methods

Campus team

Campus

Working too hard

Does seeing others’ success on LinkedIn make you unhappy?

LinkedIn can help you find a job and promote yourself, but it may also leave you questioning your own career trajectory – here’s how to combat the social media blues

Laura Lavertu, Sebastian Oliver

The University of Edinburgh

Recognition of academia’s ‘invisible labour’ is long overdue

We must ensure that academic citizenship becomes a key part of our job descriptions, on par with teaching, research and management, say Shari Boodts and Fleur Jongepier

Shari Boodts, Fleur Jongepier

Radboud University

Leadership and supervision

Running a diverse team is harder work but the rewards are immense

Running a diverse team is harder work – but the rewards are immense

John Womersley managed more than 50 nationalities on a €3 billion science project. Here, he reflects on the experience and gives tips on getting the most out of a diverse team

John Womersley

University of Oxford

A human paper chain representing how university leaders must come together to tackle inequity

How leaders can and must work together to address inequity

Leading by example and striking the right balance between competition and collaboration are crucial points for those hoping to lead HE to a more equitable future

Charles Egbu

Leeds Trinity University

Image showing collaboration between doctoral students and supervisors

Co-creation: how to find the ‘super’ in supervision

Co-creation can bring together research supervisors and doctoral students to unpick the tensions and challenges in the supervisory relationship and seek solutions, researchers from the University of Warwick explain

Elena Riva, Louise Gracia, Rebecca Limb

The University of Warwick