Learning and teaching
Monash Economics offers a uniquely broad and diverse economics curriculum in Australia
As the Department of Economics at Monash University has grown in staff numbers, so too has its educational offerings. According to Associate Professor Vinod Mishra, the department’s outgoing Deputy Head, a sustained effort to redesign programs and introduce new subjects has transformed the curriculum.
“We introduced around 30 completely new subjects over the last seven years, and we now have an offering that reflects the size and expertise of the department,” A/Prof Mishra said.
“We have also revised nearly every course we teach. Programs such as the Bachelor of Economics and the Master of Economics were essentially reinvented from scratch. That represents a major shift.”
A/Prof Mishra held the dual roles of Director of Education and Deputy Head of Department from 2019 to 2022. He credits the department’s leadership and colleagues for enabling the transformation.
“I am very grateful to Head of Department Professor Michael Ward for supporting me and giving me considerable freedom to implement changes in the education area,” he says. “I also had an excellent team. Nothing would have been possible without them.”
He highlights the contributions of colleagues, including Associate Professor Jaai Parasnis (LTC Director), Professor Nick Feltovich (Director of Education from 2023 - 2025), Prof Simon Angus (LTC Director from 2019 - 2020), Dr Birendra Rai (BCom, BEc, BPPE coordinator), Professor Mark Crosby (MEc coordinator), Associate Professor Laura Puzzello (BBus and MEc coordinator) , Associate Professor Gordon Leslie (Honours coordinator), Associate Professor Xiaodong Fan (HDR Director), Professor Choon Wang (Honours coordinator and HDR Director), Dr Anupama Sethi (BBA coordinator and TA coordinator), Dr Wenli Cheng (TA coordinator), Dr Ratbek Dzhumashev (TA coordinator) and Dr Jackie So (BBA coordinator).
He also thanked professional staff members, especially Ms Sue Ball (Department Manager) and Ms Elena Shcherbak (Executive Assistant), whose “help and support at each step were phenomenal”.
Expanding expertise and curriculum
The department has also sought to align new teaching offerings with the expertise of newly recruited academics. When new staff join the department, A/Prof Mishra and his colleagues consider how their specialist knowledge can support emerging areas of teaching.
For example, Professor Tim Moore developed a health economics unit, Dr Kate Huang contributed to the development of advanced microeconomics, Dr Mitch Watt leads the newly introduced unit in market design, A/Prof Gaurav Dutt designed a unit on the Indian economy, and A/Prof Gordon Leslie developed a unit on energy markets.
“We have leveraged the scale of our department,” A/Prof Mishra said. “As a result, we now offer significantly more flexibility and subject choice than comparable Australian departments of our size. Previously, we did not have courses in areas such as experimental economics or network economics. Now we have such a wide range of options that we carefully evaluate whether additional subjects are necessary.”
Interdisciplinary collaboration
Curriculum development has also included new interdisciplinary programs. One of the most significant initiatives has been the introduction of the Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE), delivered jointly with the Faculty of Arts.
The degree draws inspiration from similar programs at institutions such as the University of Oxford, where PPE has long been popular.
“We reflected on the kinds of students we wanted to attract and looked at what was successful internationally,” A/Prof Mishra said.
“When the PPE degree was first proposed, there was some hesitation across departments. Economists, philosophers and political scientists often approach the same issue from very different perspectives.”
However, student demand quickly validated the initiative.
“At the beginning, we had around 20 students,” he says. “Now we enrol more than 300 each year and are considering introducing an intake cap.”
The success of PPE also encouraged further collaboration between the economics department and the Faculty of Arts. Students enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts program can now major in economics, with bridging mathematics units available for those without advanced mathematics at the secondary-school level.
“Previously, if you had not studied mathematics at VCE level, it was extremely difficult to pursue economics,” A/Prof Mishra said. “Now we provide bridging units so Arts students can still access economics subjects.”
Changing approaches to teaching
Alongside the expansion of course offerings, the department has also rethought how teaching and assessment are delivered. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated several changes that were already underway.
“Continuous assessment and presentations were already being introduced, but the pandemic forced us to move rapidly to online delivery,” A/Prof Mishra said. “Now we constantly discuss whether a subject should be taught through lectures, workshops, interactive formats, applied learning or group presentations. We are continually experimenting.”
Adapting to artificial intelligence
The emergence of generative AI tools has also prompted significant reflection on assessment methods.
“When ChatGPT was released by OpenAI, it was a major disruption,” A/Prof Mishra said. “I tested it using some of my own first-year Microeconomics exam questions, and it achieved around 75 per cent accuracy. That naturally raised concerns about academic integrity.”
Initial discussions included returning to traditional supervised pen-and-paper examinations. However, A/Prof Mishra believes such measures are only part of the solution.
“The technology is not going away,” he said. “Instead, we are adapting our assessments. We now use more presentations, oral examinations and group projects. These approaches also better reflect the types of tasks students will encounter in the workplace.”
The future of teaching
Despite rapid technological change, A/Prof Mishra believes the core of education remains human interaction.
“At the end of the day, it is people who teach people,” he said. “There is no substitute for the enthusiasm of a great teacher. Technology is extremely helpful, but if an instructor cannot engage students, technology alone will not solve that problem. The personal connection between teachers and students remains the most powerful element of education.”
Looking ahead, Professor Choon Wan will this year succeed A/Prof Mishra as Deputy Head of Department, with Professor Nick Feltovich serving as Deputy Director of Education.
A/Prof Mishra will spend the coming year on sabbatical focusing on research and international collaboration, including visits to universities in India.
“I have several research projects I’m excited about and look forward to working with colleagues internationally,” A/Prof Mishra said. “It has been a challenging period, but also deeply satisfying.”
Previous highlights
2025
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Dr Sahar Shafiei recently transitioned from a CDPAE appointment into a full-time educational lectureship, where interactivity and student engagement are central to her teaching practice.
Dr Sahar Shafiei.
Her previous role in Continuing (Defined Periods) Academic Employment (CDPAE) involved delivering tutorials, supervising workshops, marking in-semester assessments and exams, providing student consultations, and supporting online discussion forums. Her new position allows her to focus more fully on economics education and the development of innovative teaching approaches.
“Although this is primarily a teaching position, research remains very important. It strengthens our teaching and keeps us up to date,” she explains. “I continue to work on research projects, but now my focus is largely on economics education and the needs of the new generation.”
“For instance, we explore how AI tools can be used positively to support student learning. Students will use these tools regardless, so we want to introduce them in a guided way and help students understand how to use them appropriately. Staying across the latest research helps me design units and develop new ideas for teaching innovation. I find that very exciting.”
Dr Shafiei originally studied statistics before shifting to economics for her Master’s degree, eventually completing a PhD at RMIT.
“My background in mathematics and statistics is important for economics, but in the beginning it felt like it was only numbers, numbers, numbers. Economics offered a broader lens on society, which I found more meaningful. My research has focused on energy economics, renewable energy, health, and related economic issues,” she says.
What makes a good teacher and what makes a good lecture?
“From the moment we enter the classroom, it’s essential to get students involved,” Dr Shafiei says. “Teaching technologies today are far more interactive than traditional lecture slides. Students can engage, contribute, and comment in real time. Rather than lecturing continuously, I break the material into smaller sections and encourage participation through games, questions, and discussion. We talk about how the theory applies to real life. Economic concepts—such as inflation, interest rates, unemployment, and the cost of living—affect everyone, so I often use everyday examples to help students connect with the material.”
What do you strive for as a lecturer?
“Feedback from students is extremely important to me, even before the end-of-semester survey. I often invite students to share their thoughts about the lectures—perhaps they want more quizzes or less discussion. I’m always open to making changes. At the end of the term, I carefully read the anonymous surveys to understand how I can improve.”
Who was your best teacher, and why?
“I still remember my art teacher from my first year of high school. I absolutely loved her. She was incredibly kind, and as an artist herself she brought so much passion into the classroom. She focused on each student’s strengths, encouraged creativity, and never placed limits on us.”
Why is it useful for academics to have either a research track or a teaching track?
“It’s essential to stay updated on research in education so we are aware of new developments and changing expectations, especially at a university like Monash, where we have many international students. The teaching track provides that broad perspective. Next semester, I will be the Chief Examiner for the macroeconomic policy unit at the Peninsula campus, and I expect to take on additional units as well.”
“I’m so glad to be part of the Monash community. It’s a supportive and friendly environment where colleagues openly share resources and feedback. I feel very much at home here. I look forward to developing my career, contributing to innovation and unit design, and hopefully making a meaningful difference,” Dr Shafiei says.
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Teaching assistant Afsal Najeeb is among a growing community of educators making significant contributions to university learning and educational practice. He is a joint Monash-Indian Institute of Technology Bombay PhD student co-supervised by Associate Professor Vinod Mishra.
Teaching assistant Afsal Najeeb.
For the last three semesters he has been teaching microeconomics introductory courses, mostly to students fresh out of high school.
And his popularity among students has resulted in his student-led nomination for the Monash Education Academy Teaching Excellence Register.
“What I like about teaching is that when people learn something new there is a genuine happiness in them,” Mr Najeeb says. “Students in my classes come from high school and they have a mix of previous knowledge from textbooks, the news and social media. Once they really learn about the methods and how this impacts their life they are really interested.”
Mr Najeeb, whose training is in engineering in energy systems modelling, sees economics as a really good tool to analyse the real world.
“There is a quote: ‘With enough money, anything can be done’, referring to the importance of economics in social progress,” he says. “I believe economics is central to questions of technology and progress. Additionally, economics explores social and human systems which are not deterministic or behave according to equations like machines, making them interesting.”
To bring his lectures in microeconomics to life, he generally starts with relatable examples or poignant questions. For example, the relative prices of gasoline and coffee, to help the students reflect and compare.
“This example led us to discuss economics of scale and the cost of production,” he says. “Last term we also spent quite a bit of time talking about the impact of trade wars and tariffs because that was in the news.”
“It’s important to make the lectures relatable. Especially for those 60 percent of students who are unsure what they think. Around 20 percent of students will always be interested and about 20 percent will never engage, and that’s okay. I try to capture the 60 percent of students who are in the middle.”
To keep the students interested he also uses live quizzes, and is ready to hand out chocolates to whoever gets correct answers. But mostly he relies on intriguing pictures and storytelling.
“I can tell quite quickly if I’ve lost the room, as I can sense that people are more on their laptops and phones,” he says.
“That’s when I bring out another startling fact or a captivating new question. I invite people who don’t respond so much to speak up and to try to get attention from everyone but sometimes that’s more difficult.”
On the hot topic of use of AI in teaching, Mr Najeeb is very aware that students will only attend his classes if they think he can deliver something they cannot acquire through Chat GTP.
He doesn’t really use (AI) as a tool in his teaching other than for trying to come up with new innovative questions. So despite AI, Mr Najeeb is still a popular teacher who is proud of his recent nomination.
“I feel really privileged because the students went to the trouble of nominating me,” he says.
“I come from a lineage of teaching where both my parents are professors, and my sister is a teacher. This feels really good, and I will definitely be telling both my family and my supervisors.”
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Dr Pushkar Maitra.
Monash Business School veteran Professor Pushkar Maitra shares how life for an educator has changed over the last 25 years.
This year Professor Pushkar Maitra celebrates 25 years at Monash Business School. We caught up with him as he looks back on his career and how Monash has changed over the years.
“I joined Monash as a Lecturer in Economics in January 2000. We had moved to Australia a couple of years earlier – I had joined the University of Sydney which was my first job, and I moved to Monash mainly for family reasons.”
What do you remember from your first day at Monash?
“I remember meeting Peter Forsyth who was the Head of the department. And the first “young” person I met was Russell Smyth. We have remained friends,” he says.
How has Monash changed these last 25 years?
“I have always been based at the Clayton Campus. The campus those days was a sleepy corner of this vast city (though Melbourne itself was approximately half the size of what it is today). Since each faculty oversaw making their own timetables, all classes and tutorials were typically scheduled in the morning and the campus became a ghost town post lunch. So much so that if you couldn’t even buy food after 2 pm – few students were to be seen on campus after 2 and the retailers chose to shut down. The campus was also much less built up those days and there were far fewer students and faculty.”
“My office was in the Menzies Building and continued to remain so for the first 22 years of my being in Monash. Everyone I ever met in Melbourne or outside would ask me: “is the Menzies Building still going strong? How are the escalators?”. Until then I had never seen escalators in a university building, and they reminded me of airports and travels to far away exotic places. I miss the escalators!”
“Having an office in Menzies meant you were automatically a part of a large family comprising of people from different disciplines. What started with a nod on the escalator evolved into great friendships over time: some of my closest friends at Monash also belong to the Menzies family.”
“Monash is now a much bigger university. The Clayton campus is a wonderful campus, vibrant and with wonderful walkways and buildings. Walking around the campus is a pleasure these days. The food options are far better from the days when I started here. From the perspective of my department/faculty, the rise of the Caulfield campus has been swift. Economics at Monash has grown to be a world class department and I am glad to have contributed to this growth,” says Professor Pushkar Maitra.
What are some of the most memorable people and events from those 25 years?
“Sadly, I can never forget the shooting that happened in Menzies Building in October 2002. I was teaching in the Rotunda and once I finished my class and was walking across to Menzies, I saw helicopters hovering around and some ambulances. Didn’t give it much thought but then as I was trying to enter Menzies Building, I found it locked. I walked around the building puzzled and as I entered the student union, I met a colleague from the EBS department. I walked across to ask her what is up and found her shaking and she responded by saying “He had a gun!”.
It turned out that I knew the alleged shooter: he had been in my Intermediate Micro class and was a high achiever. I would often see him sitting under the portico of Menzies smoking (those days smoking was allowed on campus – smoking indoors had just been banned). He was always courteous. But my Research Assistant was in the EBS Honours class, and I still remember his email: “Yes Pushkar, I am alive!”
"I never want to experience a day like that ever again.”
I also learnt how important mobile phones can be. I had my mobile with me and so many people (some I didn’t know) borrowed it to call their family and loved ones to tell them they are ok.
What are you most proud of during your years at Monash?
“I am a Development Economist. Along with colleagues at Monash I was instrumental in starting the annual Australian Development Economics workshop (or ADEW). It was the first workshop in the field and what started as a small and rather informal gathering of fellow Development Economists has grown into an annual event, a conference that rotates around the country and is soon to celebrate its 20th anniversary.”
Did you ever think you would stay that long at Monash?
“No!. But also, you don’t move to a place thinking you’ll only be there for a few years. And Melbourne is a great city to live in and raise a family so there has never been a strong reason to leave. We live close to campus and that has helped with work life balance.”
What have you most enjoyed and what has been most rewarding?
“Interacting with smart people. Teaching into the honours program, you meet some unbelievably clever and smart students. And I have gained a great deal by interacting with my colleagues. It’s been fantastic.”
What does it mean to you to be distinguished with the 25 years of service award?
“It’s a bit funny actually and I don’t know what to expect. I think I’ve become part of the furniture. If Monash is ever sold, they’ll get me as well. It’s nice to be recognised but beyond that I don’t really think about it!”
What do you look forward to in the next 25 years?
“Watching more cricket! I support India and my boys support Australia so there’s always a bit of tension at home. Hopefully I will have a bit more time and flexibility to go to conferences now that my sons are close to finishing school. Other than that, I hope to keep working as long as I can.
Ranjan Ray has been my mentor for a long time and like him, I want to keep doing research as long as I can. It is a privilege. When I start losing interest, no longer find what I do fun, I will know it’s time to leave. Monash has been good to me, and I’ve tried my best to be useful in return”, says Professor Maitra.
2024
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Introducing our Integrated PhD program
The leading doctoral programs worldwide in business and economics span at least five years, providing students with the essential time to complete rigorous coursework and engage in meaningful research, ultimately making a substantial impact on the field. With this in mind, the Department of Economics has revitalised its PhD offering, creating an Integrated PhD program specially designed for aspiring researchers.
“This enhancement aims to elevate our PhD program to compete with the best doctoral programs worldwide,” says Dr Xiaodong Fan.
The Integrated PhD program begins with advanced coursework, research training, and a minor thesis within a chosen specialization, forming part of a Master of Commerce degree. Depending on previous academic background, students can complete the Master of Commerce in one or two years.
“This structure ensures that students have ample time and flexibility to complete advanced coursework while immersing themselves in their doctoral research thesis to make a significant contribution to knowledge. This timeframe aligns with the best doctoral programs worldwide in business and economics,” explains Dr Fan.
In the first year of the Master of Commerce, students engage in a curriculum combining coursework and research, similar to the Economics Honours programs in Australia and New Zealand. This includes first-semester Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Econometrics, reaching a standard comparable to North American PhD programs, along with electives aligned to their research focus. A minimum of 25% of credits is dedicated to the research component.
The second year of the Master of Commerce features advanced coursework in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Econometrics, with an intensity equivalent to the second semester of North American PhD programs. Students also take additional electives and complete a thesis accounting for 25% of their total credits.
Progression to the PhD is contingent upon satisfactory academic performance in the Master’s program and, once in the PhD phase, students continue to make satisfactory academic progress by passing key milestones every 12 months until the Final Review Milestone at 36 months.
“We are excited about this enhancement and confident it will elevate our PhD program to a new level. The standard we expect is high. A/Prof Liang Choon Wang carried out most of the heavy lifting and the majority of the work, with contributions from A/Prof Vinod Mishra and myself,” says Dr Fan.
Admission to the program, including scholarships, is highly competitive and open to both domestic and international students. Most scholarships provide a living allowance and full tuition fee waiver for the Integrated PhD program, ensuring support for exceptional candidates passionate about research.
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The 2023 Department of Economics teaching award for teaching associates was presented to Anthony Liu, while the citation was given to Dr Dmytro Ostapenko.These two highly-appreciated teachers have innovative and effective ways of teaching. Congratulations!
EcoNews caught up with Dr Ostapenko (pictured right) to learn more about him.
Dr Ostapenko started teaching in the Department of Economics in 2019, and has taught a range of subjects, including ECB2330 Macroeconomic Policy, ECF2331 Macroeconomic Policy, ECF5923 Macroeconomic Policy, ECB1101 Introductory Microeconomics, ECF1200 Macroeconomics, and ECB1102 Introductory Macroeconomics. He has also taught at the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics.
Last year, he received a TA award from that department for excellence in teaching Business Statistics.
His major research areas are in the recent history of international organised labour. Last year, he published a co-authored book, ‘Maritime Men of the Asia-Pacific: True-Blue Internationals Navigating Labour Rights’.
The book won the ANZLHS prize for the best article, chapter, or book in legal history. His other area of research interest is the economic history of Australian farming, particularly the adaptation of Australian farmers to climatic challenges.
Tell us about your teaching and what methods you use.
Dr Ostapenko applies a role-playing teaching technique to deliver postgraduate and undergraduate economic units.
“This technique involves asking students to assume active roles as specific economic players, such as a bank manager, shareholder, or low-income taxpayer, within prepared scenarios directly linked to weekly topics,” Dr Ostapenko explains.
“While students explore from their perspective the motivations, alternatives, and consequences of their assigned economic players, I effectively synthesise their main ideas using graphs, tables, and flow charts on a whiteboard.
“These student-centred activities transform the classroom into a dynamic arena and make abstract concepts of economics more tangible to the learning cohort. They also enable students to apply economic theory in practical contexts, thus making the course material more memorable.”
What do you hope to pass on to your students?
Dr Ostapenko strives to demonstrate to students how economic theory can be used to address everyday and business problems.
“Additionally, I have focused on encouraging the development of transferable skills such as public speaking and critical thinking, which can be applied to various career pathways,” he says.
Why do you enjoy teaching?
Dr Ostapenko has a passion for economics and wishes to share this knowledge with students in an engaging way.
“Seeing the positive impact my teaching has on students is also very rewarding, watching them grow personally and academically. It provides me with multiple intellectually challenging opportunities to develop engaging lessons and seek innovative ways to explain concepts,” he says.
What is most important for a good teacher?
For Dr Ostapenko, many qualities contribute to being a good teacher.
“It makes for a lengthy list. However, I would highlight two key aspects. Firstly, strong organisational skills are crucial for effective lesson planning and management. Secondly, empathy is essential, involving understanding and relating to the perspectives and challenges of the learning cohort,” he says.
“It fosters a sense of accomplishment, affirming the positive impact of my efforts on students’ learning. And it inspires me to continue improving my teaching practices and innovating in the classroom,” says Dr Ostapenko.
From Honours at MBUS to a pre-doc at Stanford
Simone Pandit.Simone Pandit completed an Honours degree at Monash Business School and worked as a research and teaching assistant before being accepted into the predoctoral research fellow program at Stanford University in California.
It is a two-year program where students interested in pursuing a research career work as research assistants to professors, take classes and attend seminars. Ms Pandit started in early July and she dreams of one day being accepted into a PhD program at a top US university.
“So far, I am really enjoying it here. It’s great to be part of the community of pre-docs and to be in the company of great researchers. I enjoy learning from everybody, from supervisors to peers, and absorbing everything in this environment,” Ms Pandit said.
Ms Pandit’s Honours thesis was in health economics, and focused on the degree of public support for the ethical principle of saving more lives, which was the guiding principle behind many of the public health strategies used during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was supervised by Associate Professor Liang Choon Wang and Senior Lecturer Birendra Rai.
At Stanford she has two supervisors, Associate Professor of Health Policy David Chan and Professor Matthew Gentzkow.
“My Honours year happened during the pandemic which I think influenced my choice of thesis. It has evolved from there,” Ms Pandit said.
“Given my interest in health economics my two supervisors at Stanford are a good fit.”
She also found working as a research and teaching assistant at Monash Business School very helpful.
“Everyone at Monash has been so supportive, (especially) my thesis supervisors Dr Claudio Labanca, who I worked for, and A/Prof Vai-Lam Mui, who wrote an application letter for me. I really enjoyed my time at Monash.”
What were your most valuable learnings?
“All the technical and analytical skills I acquired during my thesis and working as a research assistant. Also data management skills, learning more econometric skills, and how to conduct analysis and fully understand the research process. Teaching also helped me solidify my own knowledge,” she said.
What advice would you give to other students interested in becoming a pre-doctoral research fellow in the US?
“To plan ahead and put in the work to give you an advantage. Study maths if you can, as it generally signals that you want to continue with a PhD down the line, and improve your technical skills as much as you can before you apply,” she says.
What are your future plans?
With pre-doctoral programs becoming more common at the top US universities, many pre-doctoral students go on to apply to a PhD program during their second year - a pathway Ms Pandit is also planning to follow.
“If I can continue on at Stanford that would be great, but I hope to end up at a good program somewhere in the US,” she said.
“I would really like to do something in health or public economics. It’s very competitive so I don’t know if it will happen. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
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As part of the Monash Business School Young Leader Program in 2023-2024, Dr Solmaz Moslehi has compiled a resource document for high school teachers to encourage them to teach the subject of economics. The ultimate aim is to tackle the problem of decreasing numbers of female students and students from lower socio-economic backgrounds in the economics discipline, which is in line with Monash University’s strategic plan for 2030 and the Gender Equality Action Plan for 2022-2025.Recent Reserve Bank of Australia data from New South Wales shows fewer students in high school are choosing to study economics - especially female students and those from low socio-economic backgrounds - which inspired Dr Moslehi to focus on a topic close to her heart; female representation in economics.
“When I saw this data, it showed that what we struggle with on a PhD level is now reflected even on a high school level,” Dr Moslehi said.
“I always try to encourage strong female students from our Honours program to stay on in economics. But it is hard to reach new groups of students to take economics in the first place. A lot of students do not feel confident about numbers, maths and statistics and therefore shy away from the subject,” she said.
With help from the Women in Economics Network in Australia, Dr Moslehi connected with the Victorian Commercial Teachers Association (VCTA) who confirmed that they see a similar pattern to that in New South Wales, and together they discussed possible solutions.
The insights gained from these discussions highlighted a critical issue: teachers in relatively disadvantaged areas may lack the necessary resources and knowledge to effectively teach economics, often opting instead for business-related subjects.
As a response to these findings, Dr Moslehi developed a range of educational resources and teaching materials designed to assist high school teachers in creating more engaging and accessible economics curricula.
“With the help of my colleagues Dr Jaai Parasnis, Dr Anupama Sethi and A/Prof Laura Puzzello, among others, I put together a resource document of useful sources, games, videos and accessible data for students to encourage the teachers not to be scared to teach economics,” Dr Moslehi said.
Dr Moslehi then presented her resource document at the annual Comview teacher conference, organised by Melbourne University, in 2023, reaching more than 20 high schools across Victoria.
The resource document is also available online, and she has also shared it with the Women in Economics Network and the Economic Society of Australia.
“Through this project I found a new channel I would normally not have been able to reach. If teachers are less scared of economics, then maybe their students will be more likely to pick economics at university,” she said.
“Fundamental change takes time but if you start somewhere, at least it will result in something. I feel if we are to close the gender and socioeconomic gap, we must reach out to teachers to have more impact,” she said.
From Honours at MBUS to a pre-doc at Stanford
Simone Pandit.Simone Pandit completed an Honours degree at Monash Business School and worked as a research and teaching assistant before being accepted into the predoctoral research fellow program at Stanford University in California.
It is a two-year program where students interested in pursuing a research career work as research assistants to professors, take classes and attend seminars. Ms Pandit started in early July and she dreams of one day being accepted into a PhD program at a top US university.
“So far, I am really enjoying it here. It’s great to be part of the community of pre-docs and to be in the company of great researchers. I enjoy learning from everybody, from supervisors to peers, and absorbing everything in this environment,” Ms Pandit said.
Ms Pandit’s Honours thesis was in health economics, and focused on the degree of public support for the ethical principle of saving more lives, which was the guiding principle behind many of the public health strategies used during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was supervised by Associate Professor Liang Choon Wang and Senior Lecturer Birendra Rai.
At Stanford she has two supervisors, Associate Professor of Health Policy David Chan and Professor Matthew Gentzkow.
“My Honours year happened during the pandemic which I think influenced my choice of thesis. It has evolved from there,” Ms Pandit said.
“Given my interest in health economics my two supervisors at Stanford are a good fit.”
She also found working as a research and teaching assistant at Monash Business School very helpful.
“Everyone at Monash has been so supportive, (especially) my thesis supervisors Dr Claudio Labanca, who I worked for, and A/Prof Vai-Lam Mui, who wrote an application letter for me. I really enjoyed my time at Monash.”
What were your most valuable learnings?
“All the technical and analytical skills I acquired during my thesis and working as a research assistant. Also data management skills, learning more econometric skills, and how to conduct analysis and fully understand the research process. Teaching also helped me solidify my own knowledge,” she said.
What advice would you give to other students interested in becoming a pre-doctoral research fellow in the US?
“To plan ahead and put in the work to give you an advantage. Study maths if you can, as it generally signals that you want to continue with a PhD down the line, and improve your technical skills as much as you can before you apply,” she says.
What are your future plans?
With pre-doctoral programs becoming more common at the top US universities, many pre-doctoral students go on to apply to a PhD program during their second year - a pathway Ms Pandit is also planning to follow.
“If I can continue on at Stanford that would be great, but I hope to end up at a good program somewhere in the US,” she said.
“I would really like to do something in health or public economics. It’s very competitive so I don’t know if it will happen. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
2023
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“I would not have gotten anywhere without my professors at Monash”
Sarah Soboh.Once Bachelor of Commerce student Sarah Soboh realised she could combine economics with education, there was no stopping her. At last, she had found the social component to match her technical economic skills. Her passion for policy and the support of her Monash professors has taken her all the way to Harvard University.
“I’m grateful for the journey and I would not have gotten anywhere without the guidance and support of my professors at Monash,” she said.
Sarah started out in civil engineering, as it suited her quantitative skills and inclination toward problem solving. But she lacked a sense of purpose in this field, which led her to switch to a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in economics. She was always interested in policy but it wasn’t until she studied Labour Economics that she truly understood the role economics plays in policy.
The unit “ECC3146 - Community, market, and government” with A/Prof Vai-Lam Mui set her on her path. The course discusses the interaction between the three and how community affects the provision of social insurance and redistribution.
“I did not think my economics skills would be useful in education but in this course, I saw all the potential and opportunity. This is when I seriously started to consider using economics for social policy change. A/Prof Vai-Lam was so generous with me in sharing resources and introducing me to people who might be useful in this field,” she said.
He recommended Sarah apply to the Master of Education Policy and Analysis course at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and wrote her a recommendation letter which led to her admission. She was also selected to receive the Frank Knox Memorial fellowship, one of the most prestigious fellowships at Harvard.
The one-year Master’s degree is flexible and allows her to explore topics like equity and opportunity, learning how people learn, education-to-workforce transition and many more across several Schools at Harvard. She has particularly enjoyed a unit on social entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School.
“It is truly inspiring to be surrounded by a remarkable community of individuals at Harvard. I am surrounded by the most intelligent people in the field. We have ministers of Education from different countries coming here to speak. Recently the ex-prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, was here to speak on leadership,” she said.
“At one seminar I sat between a US Ambassador and the ex-prime minister of Tunisia. My peers are unbelievably intelligent and accomplished. Some have a lot of experience reforming education systems around the world. It is invaluable being in this kind of environment. I try to bring the Australian perspective and I see it as an important part of leadership to learn from different perspectives.”
Sarah is passionate about social policy, with a particular focus on facilitating access for disadvantaged communities to positions of leadership and promoting social mobility. Once her year at Harvard is over, she hopes to return to Australia to instigate positive change within disadvantaged communities across the country. She is open to working in government, or perhaps revisiting social policy consulting, which she tried before studying overseas. And the idea of starting a social enterprise to solve problems and improve society is very much alive.
“Education economics sits on the intersection between social science and economics. It brings the human aspect to economics which I really like. If you work in education policy it’s important to be able to show the value of education programs with economic tools,” she said.
What would you recommend other Monash students do if they want to get into a top US university like you?
“I think a lot of my Australian peers underestimate their own abilities. And we lack guidance on what steps to take to be accepted into international universities. We often question our suitability for such competitive programs. The faculty at the Monash Business School Department of Economics is internationally renowned, and I would encourage others to chat to the professors, tap into their knowledge and learn about their international experience.”
“It is very important to build meaningful relationships as they can provide invaluable support and communicate your potential in letters of recommendation. Harvard and other top institutions seek to attract holistic cohorts. The Australian voice is often underrepresented, so that’s a reason for other Monash students to apply.”
From Honours at MBUS to a pre-doc at Stanford
Simone Pandit.Simone Pandit completed an Honours degree at Monash Business School and worked as a research and teaching assistant before being accepted into the predoctoral research fellow program at Stanford University in California.
It is a two-year program where students interested in pursuing a research career work as research assistants to professors, take classes and attend seminars. Ms Pandit started in early July and she dreams of one day being accepted into a PhD program at a top US university.
“So far, I am really enjoying it here. It’s great to be part of the community of pre-docs and to be in the company of great researchers. I enjoy learning from everybody, from supervisors to peers, and absorbing everything in this environment,” Ms Pandit said.
Ms Pandit’s Honours thesis was in health economics, and focused on the degree of public support for the ethical principle of saving more lives, which was the guiding principle behind many of the public health strategies used during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was supervised by Associate Professor Liang Choon Wang and Senior Lecturer Birendra Rai.
At Stanford she has two supervisors, Associate Professor of Health Policy David Chan and Professor Matthew Gentzkow.
“My Honours year happened during the pandemic which I think influenced my choice of thesis. It has evolved from there,” Ms Pandit said.
“Given my interest in health economics my two supervisors at Stanford are a good fit.”
She also found working as a research and teaching assistant at Monash Business School very helpful.
“Everyone at Monash has been so supportive, (especially) my thesis supervisors Dr Claudio Labanca, who I worked for, and A/Prof Vai-Lam Mui, who wrote an application letter for me. I really enjoyed my time at Monash.”
What were your most valuable learnings?
“All the technical and analytical skills I acquired during my thesis and working as a research assistant. Also data management skills, learning more econometric skills, and how to conduct analysis and fully understand the research process. Teaching also helped me solidify my own knowledge,” she said.
What advice would you give to other students interested in becoming a pre-doctoral research fellow in the US?
“To plan ahead and put in the work to give you an advantage. Study maths if you can, as it generally signals that you want to continue with a PhD down the line, and improve your technical skills as much as you can before you apply,” she says.
What are your future plans?
With pre-doctoral programs becoming more common at the top US universities, many pre-doctoral students go on to apply to a PhD program during their second year - a pathway Ms Pandit is also planning to follow.
“If I can continue on at Stanford that would be great, but I hope to end up at a good program somewhere in the US,” she said.
“I would really like to do something in health or public economics. It’s very competitive so I don’t know if it will happen. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
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Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Department of Economics awards and commendations for teaching.
Associate Professor Xiaojian Zhao teaches game theory and business strategy and has been awarded a commendation for his innovative teaching methods. His teaching focuses on turning the cognitive process into a discovery procedure of puzzles and solutions for his students. His ambition is always to stimulate their intellectual curiosity.
What do you most like about teaching?
“I like to adventure in the intellectual wonderland together with the eager young minds. Hopefully setting their desire for future research-oriented life on fire,” says A/ Prof Zhao.
Many students have not returned to on campus lectures after COVID but prefer online options, how do you keep students engaged in the online environment?
“I try to explore the advanced IT tech to create more augmented interactions in the virtual lectures in real time such as using Python with MediaPipe for facial and action recognitions.”
Is there a particular teacher or learning situation you remember from when you were a student?
“I found it extremely exciting to see classic game theory could be successfully expanded in the domain of cognitive psychology when reading the literature of motivated beliefs,” he says.
For A/Prof Xiaojian Zhao, receiving the award means he feels more confident in sticking to his own personally distinctive teaching style.
In this year’s new category which awards Teaching Assistants, two people from the department were successful recipients.
Ms Zhongwen Chen won the teaching award and Ms Icy Guo was awarded a commendation for her teaching.
Ms Zhongwen Chen.“I feel more than excited about receiving this award, as our department has too many excellent colleagues who provide outstanding teaching experiences to the students,” says Ms Chen.
What do you do to be the best teacher you can be?
“Probably when I encourage students to communicate with their classmates just before the end of each session? We always want students to be actively engaged in the class, and during communication, people learn from others,” she says.
Ms Zhongwen Chen finds the biggest challenge is understanding what people are struggling with to provide a suitable solution. The best teaching scenarios happen when everyone is engaged in a discussion and shares their ideas.
“This fosters creativity, critical thinking, and the exchange of diverse perspectives. In this kind of environment, the synergy of different ideas and viewpoints can lead to unexpected breakthroughs and "spark fires" of inspiration.
“It's fascinating how group thinking can generate new insights and solutions that may have eluded an individual working in isolation,” says Ms Chen.
For Ms Icy Guo the most fulfilling teaching experience happens when she witnesses the spark of enlightenment in her students' eyes when they successfully solve a challenging problem.
Ms Icy Guo.She highly values the feedback provided by her students, as it allows her to adjust her teaching methods and maintain their enthusiasm, interest, and motivation.
“As a Hong Kongese born in mainland China and now teaching in Melbourne, I have encountered various cultural differences. One of the challenges I face at this stage is finding appropriate and engaging examples to make complex concepts more easily understandable for my students. “
“In my opinion, an excellent teacher possesses a genuine passion for teaching, along with a strong foundation of subject knowledge, a lifelong commitment to learning, and effective communication skills, which include empathetic listening and maintaining academic integrity,” Ms Guo says.
She thoroughly enjoys when students visit her office to share their study plans and discuss their future career ambitions.
“Their trust and confidence in me reinforce my dedication to continuously improve as a teacher. I feel so thrilled and honoured to be the recipient of this award. It is a recognition that I genuinely believe I deserve,” she says.
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Learn more about our new restructured PhD program
The Department of Economics has launched its new restructured PhD program.
The program allows PhD students one foundational year of coursework plus four years of research, all fully funded.
The changes will ensure PhD students improve their skills, increase their options, endure less stress, and are better prepared for the job market.
Previously the PhD program ran for a maximum of four years because of regulations. The new program launched this semester introduces a “pre-PhD” year in the form of Master of Economics with a research option where the students have plenty of time to improve their training during the first year by completing eight units of course work before embarking on their PhD thesis.
The new master’s year is modelled on the Master of Commerce in the Department of Banking and Finance and is a stepping stone into the PhD program.
“The old program was very stressful for the students, and we have been wanting to change it for years. If students spent a year doing course work, very little time was left for doing research and writing a thesis. This resulted in students being pushed very hard through the program by serving them up with ideas or co-authoring research with them to speed up the process,” says Associate Professor Choon Wang, who has recently overseen this process.
The changes to the PhD program were started by Professor Zhijun Chen, supported by Head of Department Professor Michael Ward, Deputy Dean Research Russell Smyth and Monash Business School Dean Simon Wilkie as well as administrative staff to ensure the structural and financial changes to the program were successful.
Similar extensions of the PhD program have already been introduced at the University of Melbourne and University of Technology Sydney, for example. In the US it is common practice to complete two years of course work and at least three years of research for a PhD.
Historically the Department of Economics Honours program has been very successful, and many students have been sent to American universities to complete their PhDs. But students from foreign universities who come to Monash to complete their PhD don’t always have the same thorough pre-PhD training. They will be invited to the Master of Economics with a research component to make sure they are up to speed before starting their PhD thesis.
“It gives students more time to explore their area of interest and get specialized. When they improve their skills during the master’s degree, they increase their chances of getting a scholarship for the PhD. They also have more time to find a suitable supervisor and we hope to avoid any mismatches,” A/Prof Choon Wang says.
The long-term goal is to improve the quality of training of the PhD students to ensure they land good positions after they leave Monash.
“We want to place the students well in the job market. If we can get them good jobs this builds our reputation and helps us attract new students. If our students continue to do high quality research in other places and we continue to collaborate, then it benefits the department. This change will make the program better,” says A/Prof Choon Wang.
To find out where our PhD students find jobs, read more here.
2022
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Success for PhD placements
Despite the very competitive job market, several PhD students from the Department of Economics have landed great jobs and are looking forward to promising careers.
From 2015 to 2022, 56 PhD students were enrolled in the department, indicating an average of seven per year. More than 95 percent of all PhD students complete their thesis.
So far 20 students have been placed in academic positions, six in government positions, and the remaining with industry jobs.
Although the labour market is increasingly competitive, in the last two years, six PhD graduates obtained academic positions in leading universities including the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney, RMIT, Curtin University, and Xiamen University in China.
Ben Grodeck.One of the department PhD graduates, Ben Grodeck, recently obtained a prestigious postdoc position. He will be starting his research fellowship in behavioural and experimental economics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Germany and at the University of Exeter, UK.
“I saw the postdoc opportunity on the ESA email list. I thought it would be a really good fit for me, so I applied. A number of factors contributed to getting the postdoc,” he says.
Dr Grodeck’s says his research topics (on cooperation and encouraging altruism towards future generations) aligned with his experience running economic experiments.
“As usual, luck and timing also played a crucial role. I feel very fortunate to have received the offer. I could not be more excited.”
While many of the Department’s PhD students achieved a good outcome in their job search, we observe that many of them found jobs through informal pathways or personal contacts. Some also choose to delay their job market entry and stay on at Monash Business School for a longer period.
PhD placement coordinator Dr Chengsi Wang believes more graduates would benefit from trying a more formal job market process, which is a standard practice in many good US and European departments.
The Department of Economics at Monash will potentially fund their trips for interviews (however, now most interviews have been moved online due to COVID-19).
“The process of going to the US to present yourself in front of numerous interview panels is very stressful but it is also fun. It is an experience you don’t want to waste,” he says.
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Great success for inter-country inter-campus unit
For the first time, the Department of Economics is running a joint unit with the Monash Malaysia campus.
The unit ‘Southeast Asian economies and global business’ is co-organised by Dr Anupama Sethi from Monash Business School and Dr. Sharon Koh from Monash Malaysia.
The brand-new unit welcomes 71 students in total from both Australia and Malaysia.
The joint workshops are conducted online using a wide range of tools such as google forms, Padlet, AnswerGarden, and break-out rooms for group discussion.
Dr Anupama Sethi.“We have tried our best to fulfil our learning objectives to keep students engaged and to improve cultural awareness across both campuses,” says Dr Sethi.
“We mix the groups freely, which allows students from both campuses to gain exposure to a diverse range of perspectives and backgrounds.
“This provides students with a more global perspective on current developments in Southeast Asian economies. We are building knowledge from several perspectives and that makes students more motivated.”
Students across both campuses are frequently collaborating in break-out rooms. A lot of thought has gone into the details to help students get to know each other.
“We always use ice breaker questions to get the students talking. It can be something simple like what they like to eat for breakfast or which countries in Asia they have visited,” says Dr Sethi.
“From there we might move on to which Asian country they would like to invest in, and then discuss the economic and business environment in that particular country.”
With the increasing importance of Southeast Asian economies in the global business and economy, Dr Sethi and Dr Koh felt there is a need to learn more about these economies such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The unit is accessible for undergraduate students as well as postgraduate students.
“It has been a new and exciting challenge to develop this unit and organise inter-campus and inter-country joint workshops. Overall, it has been quite rewarding to receive a lot of positive feedback from students on both campuses.
“They really enjoy learning with different students from different countries. The diverse backgrounds and different cultures and countries make the learning experience more enjoyable and unique” she says.
The unit will run again next year, and Dr Sethi has thoroughly enjoyed working with Dr Sharon Koh and Monash Malaysia. She hopes more inter-country inter-campus units will be available for students in the future.
The Department of Economics has been very supportive in the development of the new course and the unit received a teaching and learning grant for developing workshop resources from the department.
Discussions with Dr Jaai Parasnis (Director of Learning and Teaching), Dr Vinod Mishra (Director of Education) and Mr. Kris Nagi (Educational Designer) were also instrumental to the success of the new unit.
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Economics Student Society Australia (ESSA) - Ten years of fun and careers for students
Elise Rodrigo
The Economics Student Society of Australia (ESSA) started ten years ago at the University of Melbourne and spans across three branches: Monash Clayton, Monash Caulfield and the University of Melbourne.
It is the largest economics society in Australia and aims to connect students with their peers, foster useful soft skills outside of academia and connect students with academics and professionals from industry.
Elise Rodrigo is a fourth-year student of a double degree of Commerce and Arts. She has been a committee member at ESSA Clayton for a year.
“I got involved in clubs as a social and professional development opportunity. Commerce is such a broad degree, and it can be hard to know where you’re going in life.
“As part of a society, it’s easier to make friends. You find people who enjoy what you do in a more niche environment. You also work with career guidance and developing your soft skills such as leadership and communication. Clubs really take you that extra step further,” she says.
ESSA typically organises a mix of social and career building events such as Orientation Week at the start of the year and social events to engage with the member base.
An ESSA career panel.
As part of the education component there are career panels with sponsors and industry sponsors. Every year the society runs a “women in economics” networking night.
“One event we work together across all three branches is a trivia night. And we specifically collaborate with Monash Caulfield on our careers guide. For example, we interviewed alumni to see where they ended up.
“People branched out a lot and went into so many different sectors it was very interesting,” she says.
As an officer on the Publications team of the ESSA committee, Elise Rodrigo works closely with other students who write economics related articles for the club, all of which are published on the website.
She believes it’s a good place for students to start if they’re interested in economics but don’t really know what it is. The articles are readable and engaging for anyone interested in current world issues. ESSA aims to make economics and financial literacy accessible to anyone from any discipline, not just economics.
“I studied accounting in high school and went into a commerce degree, but I had no idea what economics was. I find a lot of people are confused by economics and don’t know how to define it, but my advice is to give it a go.
“You learn a lot of good practical knowledge and it helps you understand the world and the news better,” says Elise.
Next year, when she graduates, she is going into management consulting, something she “fell into” by talking to people at the club while exploring career directions.
She interned in management consulting earlier this year and realised it was a great application of her economics background. The team-building skills from working in clubs helped her adapt to the workplace environment.
“Being part of a committee allowed me to develop my leadership and communication skills. It helped me find my strengths and choose a graduate position that aligned with my interests,” she says.
“We have a great culture in the club and they’re all a friendly bunch. We welcome new members who also want to meet new people. I would say give the committee a go, it’s a great social and career development opportunity,” she says.
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Dr Jaai Parasnis MBUS awarded Senior Fellowship with Advance Higher Education
Department of Economics Senior Lecturer Dr Jaai Parasnis has been awarded a Senior Fellowship with Advance Higher Education, a professional recognition of contributions to university teaching and learning.
The Senior Fellowship is awarded by a UK based professional accreditation body involving a lengthy application process reflecting on the narrative as an educator, engagement with the profession and the impact as a leader on others. The application is supported by student and peer evaluations.
Currently, Monash has fewer than 20 Senior Fellows. Just two from the Business faculty become Senior fellows in this latest round.
“I am very pleased to receive this formal recognition of my impact upon the practice of colleagues across a range of teaching and learning,” says Dr Parasnis.
“It is another lens to reflect and develop. It’s been a great learning experience for me as a person and educator.”
Facilitated by Monash Education Academy, the fellowship applications involve several steps from Associate Fellow to Principal Fellow.
With each fellowship level the sphere of influence expands. Dr Parasnis was mentored by Michael Bryant from Monash Education Innovation. The Senior Fellowship, which is the second highest level, is focused on leadership.
“During this process I realised I have more of a story to tell. It feeds self-awareness and helps you to be more intentional in what you do,” she says.
“It also brings more perspectives on teaching and education and the more perspectives you have on your practice the more enriching your experience is.”
Currently, Monash has fewer than 20 Senior Fellows and just two from the Business faculty become Senior fellows in this round. In the future, Dr Parasnis hopes to inspire and facilitate others who want to walk the same path as she in earning this recognition. She can herself become a mentor for others.
“Being a part of this Fellowship gives me both access to a professional network across the world and continued professional development.
“It keeps my connection to the people within the faculty who have gone through the same process.
“I’ve also realised how important and rewarding it is to take time to reflect on what we are doing. I hope there will be others in the department interested in doing the same,” she says.
2021
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Dr Gordon Leslie and Dr Isaac Gross Tips and tricks to teaching under lockdown
Dr Isaac Gross and Dr Gordon Leslie have been awarded the Department of Economics Teaching awards for 2020. They were awarded for their willingness to try innovative approaches to engage students and the impact their innovations had on other colleagues in the department.
EcoNews caught up with them to talk about what is instrumental in their teaching and what it takes to engage students in online learning during a pandemic.
Dr Isaac Gross received the highest award with the following motivation: "For developing online lecture techniques that engage students and implementing inclusive strategies to inspire students to seek future careers in economics."
He teaches the second-year elective unit called 'Crashes and crises in macroeconomic policy' (ECC2300) – a very timely unit given the macroeconomic crisis associated with COVID-19.
"It has been tricky as things keep changing week-by-week. Something may be happening in week 1 which has totally changed by the time we get to week 12 and exams," he explains.
"This is what it was like last year and now it just keeps on changing. One way I have tried to get around the problem of the content constantly changing is having online discussions of COVID-19 informed by new research being conducted in the area," he says.
Dr Gross has utilised the simple technique of using a green screen to superimpose himself onto his slides, creating the classic 'television weather presenter' illusion. It gives the students a more personal lecture experience, while enabling Dr Gross to point and explain the slides more clearly.
"It's quite a simple technique but it makes it more enjoyable for the students. I have shown other colleagues how to do it so now there are a few of us using it which is good."
He also runs a newsletter informing students of job opportunities within the Economics field.
"There's always a strong demand for people with skills in Economics in consulting and policy. I just want to prompt the students to apply and get a foot in the door and show them where they should apply if they want a career in the field," says Dr Gross.
Are there any advantages with teaching 100 percent online?
"It has forced us to really up our game when it comes to recording lectures and it does seem easier for students to ask questions in the online chat room rather than raising their hands in a lecture theatre. But I can't wait to get back to having students in class and being able to respond to how they react. It is so much easier to tell when a piece of information is understood when it's in person rather than me just talking on zoom," he says.
Dr Gordion Leslie was awarded a commendation for the new unit created in 2020 called 'Energy Markets and Policy' (ECC2460). The motivation reads: "For designing classroom content and activities that motivate, inspire and engage students to apply critical thinking skills and economic knowledge outside the classroom."
Dr Leslie is keen to use daily news in his teaching and assessments. The energy sector, especially in Australia, provides many opportunities for students to practice applying theory and contrasting best practice to what they see in reality. In fact, he believes 12 weeks isn't long enough to fully critique the many federal and state energy and environmental policies Australia has pursued over the years.
Dr Gordon Leslie has a very strong emphasis on applying theory into practice.
He uses an electricity market simulation game as a core teaching tool in his class. Students participate as managers of power stations who experience competition by playing with a goal of generating energy to maximise profit, learning along the way how market-based environmental policies (for instance, carbon taxes) impact markets and working to achieve policy goals.
"The electricity market game is really important to my class, and toward the end of semester I give students the opportunity to immortalise themselves in a final challenge," he says.
"The winners get their name on a trophy that will be displayed in my office whenever lockdown ends. This seems to sharpen focus but also lead to a few laughs as there are always a few students that put their game faces on and get very serious!"
What do you like most about teaching?
"To my surprise, I have found the best part about teaching is not when my students demonstrate they've learned something, but instead I get excited by some questions that get asked. When a student asks the "right" question or applies critical thinking to try to answer new questions, it makes me feel like the lessons from my classroom might extend beyond the end of semester and beyond energy policy contexts," he says.
"My unit has students across different faculties, so I find that teaching how to critically think is a way that I can provide value to all students and get productive interdisciplinary discussions going."
Adapting to the 100 percent online teaching environment has been very challenging and he sees very few advantages with purely online teaching. But the Department of Economics Learning and Teaching team as well as the faculty education support team have been very helpful and supportive.
What do you look forward to when we go back to real life teaching?
"I actually got to teach hybrid in the first semester of 2021 and it was wonderful. You can read the room and just move on to the next slide so much easier when it's in-person. I also found multiple students asking for job application tips or career advice – just a lot of enjoyable, organic conversations that do not occur as easily, if at all, when teaching online," says Dr Leslie.
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Reaching out to colleagues
A desire to collaborate more effectively with colleagues has been the impetus for the introduction of a new research group structure within the Department of Economics.
Professor Sascha BeckerWhen Professor Sascha Becker first joined the Department of Economics, he already knew several of his future colleagues.
But with a department split across two locations, he struggled to see the full breadth of interests across the department.
"I found it hard to understand what other strengths in the department were and who else in the department was interested in similar topics to me," he says.
So Professor Becker approached his colleagues with an idea: the introduction of research groups, each with a coordinator and a deputy coordinator.
"After various discussions in the department's Research Committee we decided to give it a try. We used the existing research interests as cited on the website. There were over 100 terms to describe what people do, and we tried to group them into eight research groups," he explains.
The result has been a better overview of what people in the department do and formalisation of existing informal groups such as Experimental economists and the Macro group, says Professor Becker.
"It turns out all groups are of roughly similar size and no one felt that there wasn't a group to match their interests," he says.
The idea of everyone belonging to at least two groups is to avoid fractionalisation and encourage cross-cutting research and a higher level of integration.
Anyone in the group can suggest ideas for activities. The coordinator of the group is a more senior researcher and the deputy coordinator is more junior.
"This is an opportunity for junior colleagues to be in charge of something they are excited about without it being too burdensome. It ticks boxes for future promotion and shows they have taken on leadership responsibility," Professor Becker says.
For Professor Becker, a key goal is to make sure all Post-doctoral fellows as well as PhD students belong to the groups and to boost mentoring as partly a group activity.
"The research groups will give PhD students more of an identity and hopefully make them feel more comfortable approaching senior academics because they are all part of the same group," he says.
The different groups will be described on the website and have a dedicated URL where all the members are presented along with their different activities.
Job market candidates will find it easier to see where they might fit in and the groups can be consulted for recruitment.
"In the Development, Growth and History group, we started by taking stock of what we're already doing, such as reading groups, annual conferences and seminars, and we are already doing a lot of activities which are now more transparent for everyone to see. In the future, we can build from there and add more activities, so people can mix and feel they belong," Professor Becker says.
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All change: New blood in the Learning and Teaching Committee
As Senior Lecturer Dr Jaai Parasnis takes over from Associate Professor Simon Angus as the Director of Teaching and Learning, they discuss what has been achieved so far and what the future holds in the field of teaching.
A/Prof Angus has held this position since the Learning and Teaching Committee (LTC) was established in January 2018, as the successor to the IQEG (Innovation in Education and Quality Group).
A/Prof Angus had established that original group in 2010, together with Senior Lecturer Gennadi Kazakevitch, A/Prof Vinod Mishra and Associate Dean George Rivers.
Whereas the Education Committee focuses on what we teach (units, courses, programs), the LTC concerns itself with the how of our teaching. During A/Prof Angus' time as director, the teaching community in the Department of Economics has truly thrived.
"I think we have built a broader culture in the department that teaching matters," he says.
"With the support of grants, awards and mentoring, and other initiatives, the IQEG and now LTC has been key to supporting the Head of Department's message to all staff that teaching is really important, both for each of us professionally, and collectively for the Department."For the last three to four years, students have consistently awarded the teaching in the Department of Economics ‘first' in student satisfaction ratings for the Business School.
This held in 2020, despite COVID-19. Several staff received awards at the faculty, university or national level in recognition of their hard work.
"Seeing my colleagues grow in confidence to tackle new ways of teaching, find success in the classroom, and be awarded so well has probably been the highlight of my time in the role," says A/Prof Angus.
On a University level, ideas that stemmed from the Department – such as centralised mid semester tests – have become best-practice.
"People said it would be too expensive and no one would want them, but now we almost take them for granted."
"The fact that the University is taking teaching more seriously when considering someone for promotion, that helps us too."
The role of Director might be new for Dr Jaai Parasnis but she has been involved in the LTC along with A/Prof Angus for a number of years.
She describes A/Prof Angus as "a pioneer" who has pushed for more prominent recognition of the role of learning and teaching with the Department.
She hopes to build on that. "Learning is fundamental to everything we do. It's the essence of being a human. It is lifelong and has no limits," says Dr Parasnis.
She hopes to support and promote learning in the department and on a broader scale through engaging in innovative pedagogies and translating them into practice.
"As researchers we engage in lifelong learning and we need to transfer this to our students.
"Authenticity is at the core of great learning and students respond to it. It's not hard because we are learners ourselves and trying to capture that with our students is the key."
What further developments would both like to see in the future?
"I think we are very well placed to be a hub of Economics teaching nationally through innovation, pedagogy, techniques and so on. I would like to see us become the leading department in the country," says A/Prof Angus.
"It has been great to work with the LTC team and I wish Jaai Parasnis all the best for the future. I really look forward to seeing where she will take things. I will still be around to help out but it's a good time to change leadership."
This year is turning into a hybrid year for teaching, with innovations and adaptations in both online and face-to-face delivery. Dr Parasnis thinks an important first task will be to assess the learnings from last year.
"I want to consolidate all the accumulated knowledge from 2020 to see what we want to keep doing, what we want to develop further and what we want to bring back from the pre covid-19 era," she says.
"It's important that we keep talking about best practices broadly with our internal colleagues and with external colleagues.
"I very much look forward to the conversations about the learning process with both colleagues and students."