Realise your full potential as a ‘pracademic’
- Eleni Flack-Davison and Taariq Surtee
[Column] Professional and administrative services in universities can contribute significantly to academic and research output.
Traditionally, research is viewed as the domain of academics, who are often seen as primary knowledge creators. However, professional staff – those who manage, coordinate, enable and sometimes directly contribute to research – may not be aware that they, too, can undertake academic projects.
In the contemporary academic landscape, many professional services are increasingly acknowledged as research contributions in their own right. In this article, we, who ourselves undertook such an adventure, aim to inspire professional staff to further their studies and contribute to the body of academic knowledge.
At the heart of our story lies the understanding that we are all part of a larger ecosystem, each contributing uniquely to the shared goal of creating and advancing knowledge. By actively encouraging professional staff to study further and to engage with research, we can cultivate an environment in which every voice is valued and people can better themselves no matter their official role.
“Pracademic” research
Research managers, for example, bridge the gap between professional staff and academic pursuit by being “pracademics.” As institutions continually seek to increase the impact of their academic research output, the contributions of research managers in practice have become more pronounced and critical.
The importance of research managers in enabling rigorous research cannot be overstated – they not only facilitate the logistical aspects of research but also contribute to the core tenets of reliability, provenance (attribution) and reproducibility.
The usually long-standing relationships between professional staff and academics enables a symbiotic sharing of knowledge and information, fostering a deeper understanding of research that enhances the integrity, reliability and efficacy of research output. This relationship can quickly turn into supervision and/or collaboration.
Thought leadership
In this way, the perception that research and knowledge creation is primarily the domain of academics is changing. The curiosity of professional staff has been piqued as they begin to realise the contribution that their wealth of experience and insights can make to an academic project.
Many professional staff have a deep understanding of the intricacies of the academic support processes, research and/or project management, grant applications, and legal, ethical, and other compliance requirements. These professional staff could provide thought leadership in their disciplines while conducting what is (for them) routine administrative tasks. These individuals are pivotal players who can enhance the academic landscape through their expertise and unique perspectives. They view research practice through unique lenses with expertise that is cross-disciplinary and that applies across faculties.
Co-authorship
One significant shift in academia today is the realisation that professional staff can co-author research papers and projects. Since the academic authorship landscape is double-blind peer-reviewed, anyone with the relevant expertise can be recognised for their contributions to the body of knowledge. Hence, research professionals with first-hand experience and innovative ideas can advance research.
When professional staff are involved in reporting findings, they bring a more holistic view of their environments, enriching academic conversations and raising previously overlooked issues.
Moreover, bridging the divide between professional staff and academics can facilitate significant positive change in research. Professional staff are equipped to ensure compliance with ethical standards, manage data integrity and uphold the rigour of methodology. They are foundational in achieving reliable results by spearheading initiatives that promote best practices that they have learnt from various sources. An example of their value is the area of growing concern where artificial intelligence is infiltrating the scientific community.
Catalysing communities of practice
Developments in thought leadership, further study and co-authorship have broader implications for the academic community, including establishing “communities of practice”. Within these communities, both professional staff and academics can collaborate to share experiences, discuss challenges and brainstorm solutions. The benefit to academics is that they can pick up students and co-authors, while professional staff can further their education and if they wish, one day choose to be academics or “pracademics” themselves.
Such communities foster mutual respect and learning where everyone feels empowered to improve, regardless of title or role. By taking this approach, true partnerships can emerge, enhancing the research culture within institutions, which also gain by producing more research.
Empowering professional staff and celebrating their contributions validates their roles and enriches the academic community. Embracing this ethos could be the key to unlocking a new era of creativity, innovation, and progress in research.
- Eleni Flack-Davison, LLM, is an admitted attorney and legal adviser, Research Compliance Manager and Head of the Office of Research Integrity at Wits. She contributed to the Academy of Science of South Africa’s POPIA Research Framework. A “pracademic”, she has co-authored journal articles in legal and research data protection and research ethics and integrity. She is a Fellow of Wits’ Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute.
- Dr Taariq Surtee is the Head of e-Research in the Wits Research Office. He holds a doctorate in Management. A published academic, he researches optimisation mathematics, theology, research management and artificial intelligence. In his current role as a professional in the Wits Research Office, he works closely with academics on research data management, providing access to research instruments and high-performance computing resources.
- This article first appeared in?Curiosity,?a research magazine produced by?Wits Communications?and the?Research Office.
- Read more in the 19th issue, themed #Disruption, which explores the crises, tech, research, and people shaking up our world in 2025.