Professor Rachel Spronken-Smith

I am an academic with a split identity between Higher Education and Geography. The first 9 years of my academic life were as a lecturer in Geography at the University of Canterbury, NZ. Then, in 2004, I moved to the Higher Education Development Centre at the University of Otago, where I worked to support lecturers in teaching, taught postgraduate courses in tertiary teaching, and researched innovative teaching approaches and graduate outcomes. From 2013-2022 I was Dean of the University’s Graduate Research School, and my research interests shifted to doctoral education and doctoral outcomes. Now back in HEDC, I am delighted to be offering courses to support the professional and career development of graduate research candidates and early career researchers and academics.