2016 - challenges met (The RED team)

Photo by Wu Yi | unsplash.com

It has been quite the year. And is still being quite the year!

In the tradition of RED Alert, I asked my colleagues for their input to this end-of-year post.

My brief to them this year was to reflect on the biggest challenge they've met this year.

This proved in itself to be quite a challenge because the team has implemented big changes and taken risks every year since it has existed!

Here are their responses:

About penguins and silent West Coast forests: Fieldwork experiences of an ecologist (Ursula Ellenberg)

Academia is just a lot of sitting around and thinking, right?

Not always! And if you’re a field ecologist, you get to become really dirty, too.

Ursula has recently returned from fieldwork on the Tawaki project, which explores the behaviour and ecology of New Zealand’s elusive forest penguins.

She has written about the experience for us here at the RED Alert.

The fourth #LTUacwrimo is done!

Our first all-campus 'Shut up and write' session!
Photo by Tseen Khoo

What a November that was!

You may have seen us spruiking our listing of possibilities and opportunities for researchers and their writing during November.

The RED team put this fabulous program together for La Trobe's Academic Writing Month (#LTUacwrimo).

How did it actually go in the ground? Well, I'm glad you asked!

If you missed the action, here's what went down:

• The month had two #LTUacwrimo tweetchats that top and tailed activities, and they are Storify'd so that you can benefit from the wisdom of your peers: Opening chat / Closing chat. The chats are full of tips and strategies on how to prepare and clear time for Academic Writing Month, realistic goal-setting, the necessity of self-care in the midst of intensive writing, and much more. Many thanks to all the lovely tweetchatters, whose insights now live on!