The getting of wisdom
[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 5, No. 1
13 April - 10 May 2009 ]
Angela Woods explores two new graduate subjects with an emphasis on diversity and classical teaching.
On Thursday 5 March, the well-appointed meeting rooms of the Mt Eliza Executive Education centre played host to a new kind of conversation. Leading this conversation were two PhD candidates – Barbara King from Agriculture and Food Systems and Karina Wilkie from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education – and one recent graduate, Dr Helena Frawley from Physiotherapy. Working with small interdisciplinary groups they explored a topic all too frequently overlooked in the conventional study of leadership. That topic was wisdom.
It is not often that PhD candidates and early career researchers have the opportunity to reflect on the philosophical and historical dimensions of leadership, on the political insights of Machiavelli, for example, or the challenges of leading in opposition. It is even rarer for that opportunity to be shared with colleagues from areas as diverse as mechanical engineering, music, chemistry, nursing, historical studies, genetics and law.
Ethical Leadership, the first of two subjects in the new Graduate Certificate in Advanced Learning and Leadership (GCALL), was designed with precisely such opportunities in mind.
Launched by the Provost, Professor Peter McPhee, in late 2008, the GCALL is the first coursework program of its kind in Australia, if not the world. “I’ve discussed the GCALL at meetings of the Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies in Australia and overseas,” said Professor Dick Strugnell, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate Research) and Professor of Microbiology “and there is nothing quite like it anywhere in the world. The GCALL is already becoming part of what makes the distinctive Melbourne PhD.”
The subject is offered through the Melbourne School of Graduate Research (MSGR) to all completing and recently graduated PhD candidates. Adding interdisciplinary breadth to the depth of doctoral research, it has been designed around a simple idea: that whatever their discipline area, doctoral graduates from the University of Melbourne will make a significant contribution to shaping the future.
The centrepiece of Ethical Leadership is a week-long program of study combining student-led seminars with guest speakers from the academy, government, politics, the arts, corporate and philanthropic sectors.
“Crucial to the success of Ethical Leadership is the diversity of academic, life and leadership experiences of all who participate,” said Associate Professor Angela O’Brien, who led the development of the curriculum in her capacity as MSGR Deputy Dean.
“It’s not often students get the chance to hear from former MPs like the Hon. Neil Brown QC one day, and discuss leadership in remote Indigenous communities with Professor Marcia Langton the next.”
For Professor Dick Strugnell the different perspectives raised by each speaker complemented the program’s extensive reading list.
“Ethical Leadership’s emphasis on classical teachings forced a level of academic engagement by students that I have not seen elsewhere in 20 years of University teaching,” he said.
So, after an intensive week of interdisciplinary study and debate, what is next for these ethical leaders?
The GCALL’s second subject, The Futures Project, will bring candidates together again in June to put some of their leadership skills into practice.
Working in teams, students will again have the opportunity to work with leaders from a range of industries, this time in the design and realisation of a project addressing the theme of Sustainable Communities.
Limited places are still available for this subject. To find out more please visit
www.gradresearch.unimelb.edu.au/programs/GCALL/index.html
Dr Angela Woods is GCALL Co-ordinator in the Melbourne School of Graduate Research
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