Occupying a ‘third space’: research trained professional staff in Australian universities

Higher Education volume 60, pages157–169(2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Despite the expansion and professionalisation of university administration over the past 20 years there has been no scholarly study on the extent to which universities, which promote the value of generic skills from research degrees to prospective research students and their employers, capitalize on the research and transferable skills of PhD graduates later employed in the university sector as professional staff. Findings from this study of research-trained professional staff at one research-intensive Australian university suggests that these professionals are using their research and generic skills in management roles, to the benefit of the university. In the context of the knowledge based economy, this study suggests that universities could benefit from actively targeting the products of their own system for professional roles.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the respondents who generously set aside time to respond to our survey question.

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Affiliations

  1. Research Services M459, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Judith E. Berman & Tim Pitman

Authors
  1. Judith E. Berman
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  2. Tim Pitman
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Correspondence to Judith E. Berman.

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Berman, J.E., Pitman, T. Occupying a ‘third space’: research trained professional staff in Australian universities. High Educ 60, 157–169 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-009-9292-z

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Keywords

  • Professional and general staff
  • Generic and transferable skills
  • Research training
  • Higher education policy