Professor Niall MacFarlane
What was your personal experience of the Academic Promotions Process?
It was a ‘pleasant’ process – it did take some time but I found it was a good opportunity to reflect on my professional activity, and my impact on the academic discipline and learning and teaching practice.
What advice would you offer to future applicants?
Don’t try to plan your career strategically for promotion! Be enthusiastic and engaged with whatever role you have and evidence to support the promotion criteria will accumulate and be more impressive.
In terms of your preparation and timescales, what top tips can you offer?
Reflection – keeping a record of professional challenges, work related activity and outcomes and even ‘revisions to the plan’ should important as a normal part of professional life. At interview you are often asked to provide evidence of your capacity to meet the job criteria and that is difficult to do ‘off the cuff’ and so it’s something you need to prepare for; the promotion application is an interview where you don’t have the opportunity for real time feedback and so it needs to be really well prepared and focused to make a point.
Having accumulated evidence for, and reflected upon, aspect your professional practice independently of the application will get you off to a good start; but it’s obviously important to share drafts with senior colleagues/mentors to make sure you’ve made it obvious how you meet the criteria!
What advice would you offer those just embarking on their academic careers?
Reflection – keeping a record of professional challenges, work related activity and outcomes and even ‘revisions to the plan’ should important as a normal part of professional life. At interview you are often asked to provide evidence of your capacity to meet the job criteria and that is difficult to do ‘off the cuff’ and so it’s something you need to prepare for; the promotion application is an interview where you don’t have the opportunity for real time feedback and so it needs to be really well prepared and focused to make a point.
Having accumulated evidence for, and reflected upon, aspect your professional practice independently of the application will get you off to a good start; but it’s obviously important to share drafts with senior colleagues/mentors to make sure you’ve made it obvious how you meet the criteria!
How will your promotion affect the work you're doing?
Well the process tends to look for you to have been working at that level for some time before the application – so there’s no big step change in the job. However, having been successful through the process lends itself to providing advice on the process and so I’ve been excited by new opportunities to mentor a wide range of staff and external bodies; of course there are invitation’s to sit on more committee’s – well maybe they are less exciting!
What are your development plans going forward?
To support and develop career opportunities for colleagues and students through curriculum development and work-based learning.
Can you offer any particular advice for those currently on the LTS track?
The LTS track provides challenges that are peculiar to different HEIs and within Glasgow the different colleges and schools – so local knowledge from senior staff is key rather than some generic advice (but for a cup of coffee I am willing to share my own experience!).
