Since July last year ASAL’s postgrad reps have been very, very busy. Amid a flurry of emails, we have debated the finer points of masterclasses, website makeovers and other pressing postgrad matters. What follows is a brief rundown of what we have achieved and some suggestions for the future:

1) ASAL miniconference masterclass

Ben has worked tirelessly to organise a half day masterclass to run in conjunction with the miniconference. Guest speaker/facilitator was Elizabeth Webby.

• Over 40 enquiries with 20 eventual participants. Participants included existing postgraduate members as well as postgraduates joining ASAL for the first time to either a) present at the conference, or b) attend the masterclass. Participants came mainly from Sydney universities suggesting the main benefits are for postgrad communities in “host” cities.
• Most interest stemmed from the chance to discuss work with Prof. Webby. Clearly recognised expertise attracts postgrads.
• Budget is still being finalised: there was no charge to participants, just a stipulation that they be ASAL members and attend the miniconference. ASAL has provided entire funding through the conference’s budget: approx $300 for catering, $50 for miscellaneous expenses (stationary, etc.), $400 honorarium for Elizabeth Webby. Approximate total: $750.
• To offset costs, the executive might consider stipulating a registration amount for participants. The postgrad reps strongly advise against this, as further costs (in addition to membership/conference rego) may prevent new members from joining. The question is, can ASAL continue to fund the miniconference masterclass in the future?
• The masterclass serves an important social function in establishing a community of scholars that may form the membership basis of ASAL in the future.
• Finally, feedback forms are being completed by participants – the results of these will be included in the final report of the postgrad reps.

2)  ASAL conference masterclass (July 5-6)

Eduardo has also been very industrious setting up a masterclass to be held after the main ASAL conference in Brisbane in July.

• At this stage, it is hoped that there will be two main speakers (names yet to be confirmed).
• Following discussion at the executive meeting, the term “masterclass” will be replaced. The postgrad reps have suggested “research intensive” as an alternative.
• Up to $1500 funding might be available from the Graduate School at UQ. Eduardo is also seeking funding from the School of English .
• A postgraduate event (like the lunchtime forum at Adelaide two years ago) is also scheduled for the Brisbane conference. Details of this event are not yet confirmed but we hope to have at least two speakers to discuss issues such as publishing from a thesis, employment opportunities for early career researchers and employment opportunities/possibilities in fields outside academia.

3) Updating the website

Meanwhile, in sunny Tasmania , Jane has been updating the recently completed thesis list on the postgraduate web page…

• Jane will email this master list to the ASAL executive after the miniconference. If you haven’t already, could you please check your institution to ensure that we haven’t forgotten anyone and that details are correct?
• The list will then be ready for inclusion on the postgrad page. (At this stage, we imagine that there won’t be any changes to layout. Given that the lists are getting a little unwieldy however, it might be worth redesigning these pages – completed theses arranged by year as well as by institution/author name, for example.)
• We have also talked about making the website a better resource for postgrads (information and links about scholarships, cfps, masterclasses, other relevant associations, journals etc). This may be something to consider in the future depending on the executive’s decisions about website design and management.

4) Suggestions

• In connection with our ideas about making the website a more useful resource, Ben has suggested an online forum for postgrads. To research this idea, Ben joined the online chat forum of EASA’s postgrad community – run through yahoo. Discussion was excellent in terms of conference/class/new publications postings, however, membership cannot be moderated or restricted. That is, a “safer” online environment would be better. As a new website is being developed it might be good to assess the possibility of creating a forum through the new website where membership could be monitored by a postgrad rep.
• Jane has suggested that perhaps the ASAL postgrad community should also include “early career researchers” – ensuring that masterclasses are open to those students who have recently submitted PHDs but who haven’t yet taken on fully-fledged academic positions. ASAL might also like to consider a lower membership fee for those people without full-time work who are no longer classed as ‘postgraduate’ so that they remain connected to the association.
• The multiple postgrad rep tradition must continue! We realise that this might not be possible, but we thought it worthwhile to mention that having at least two postgrad representatives ensures a much more effective and efficient representation of postgrad interests in ASAL. Ideally, the host institution of the major ASAL conference would nominate a rep (this makes planning the masterclass a more streamlined affair) and a second postgrad rep could be responsible for administrative duties – particularly managing the website, email lists, updating thesis lists etc.

Jane McGennisken