anyone (inc. academics) know anything about staffordshire university? anyone got an opinion on applying for first academic job there?

[hatwoman]

I've seen a job in my field advertised there. tbh I hadn't even heard of the place. I'm, as some of you might know because I seem to be always on here seeking advice (sorry!), a mid-careerer interested in switching to academia. I've got a bit of academic stuff on my cv(plus Oxford MPhil and LSE masters)but am clearly not up to the standards required by the better known unis (applied for something recently and didn't even get an interview). A quick glance at the website and Staffordshire didn't submit for the RAE in my field - and I don't recognise any of the lecturers. Could it, however, be a useful stepping stone for me - a foot in the door or am I better off carrying on with consultancy and publishing and waiting for something else - which might not come up for eons.

I went to Staffordshire University in the late 1990s. Part of it is in Stafford and part in Stoke-on-Trent.

If academia is what you are aiming for and apparently you need relevant experience for other institutions, then surely it would make sense to take up an opportunity to gain that experience where available.

Also just because you haven't heard of the lecturers doesn't mean they're not any good. Presumably you're not from the midlands or north, or you would have heard of Staffordshire Uni and possibly some of the lecturers too.

On the plus side, rent in Stoke is really cheap and oatcakes are delicious!!!

I am from the midlands/north (depending on where you draw the line!). but have lived down south since before SU was born.and have relatively recently come back up. when I say I haven't heard of any of the lecturers - what I effectively mean is that none of them are widely published/well-known names in my field (location would make no difference to whether or not I'd heard of them in that regard). They may, however, be moderately-published and be excellent lecturers/teachers, I agree.

oh and where I'm from we call them Derbyshire oatcakes. and I agree, they are fab. best with egg and bacon or nutella. but not all 3

why do you want to switch to academia - is it the teaching or the research that is primarily driving this move?

If the former, then this could be an interesting move. If the latter then IMO the lack of an RAE submission is a worrying sign.

md - tbh it's primarily research - but I've done some lecturing and do quite enjoy it - so my ideal would mix both. looking at this particular job I think there'd be very little time for research. The difficulty is knowing what the best stepping stones are for me. The other iron I have in the fire (which might not come to anything)is a publisher who wants me to write a book and an application for a research fellowship (with a philanthropic-type set up - not an academic institution) that would enable me to do it. If my aim is to get a post at a good uni that combined teaching and research I really don't know which of these two options would be best. But I guess, in reality, it's doubtful I'd end up in a position where I got to choose - and quite possibly neither will come off...

re the RAE - staffordshire is very new - and they did submit for some subjects - just not mine. so I guess they might be thining of developing that side of things for the REF.

Does their website give much info about what research goes on there? IME it is very hard to do research without a supportive dept.

Have you looked into any other research fellowships? There are quite a few around. Hard to get though. Most top unis would accommodate someone with external funding like this. Depends on your field of course.

I know of loads of academics who've switched from old polys to elite universities. If your research is highly rated, and/or you have grants, universities don't give a damn about where you've been/where you're at. Academia is actually pretty meritocratice.

I agree with jeee that switching is possible and that it is your cv that counts. Only problem is that it can be hard to get the research done when drowning in new teaching/admin.

hmmm - the ad says to indicate if you;d consider job-sharing...am wondering if the best thing might be to go for that and then have some time to get some research done. yep, I reckon that could be the way to do it. I don;t really know why that didn;t strike me as the obvious thing to do in the first place.

This is not meant to be mean, but your posts suggest that they might be looking for someone who's going to drag them up the REF ratings, so you might not be what they're looking for, unless you emphasise the book contract heavily - but if the teaching load is high, you may not be able to get the book done.

If you've not come across any publications from any of the potential colleagues, I'd be a bit wary. You might do a bit more digging?

I would be wary about their lack of RAE. Have a look at the staff profiles - what research publications do they have?

If there are staff there who are anything above junior level without publications I would worry. They will not encourage you to research. However on the flip side you will probably not be punished for not doing any research.

If it is a teaching dominant post expect to do lots. 'Lots' could maybe only mean 8 hours of face to face teaching a week...but think about how much time that takes to prepare. It is quite hard to get out of a teaching based post because you spend so much time teaching that you dont get to do any research and therefore the research strong people do not want you.

If you want a research based career I would go for a post doc (actually, do you have a PhD I can't remember?). If you dont have the PhD I would maybe take something like this part time whilst you do one - if you want to get a lectureship somewhere research based.

I worked in an old poly and it was fine but the hours of teaching were long and no one did any research. It was only by working all hours I got any research done and 'escaped' to a research based uni.

Think about where you are right now and ideally where you want to be - and how long you have to get there. Is money an important factor or could you do a PhD full time somewhere - possibly even funded?

If research is your motivation, I wouldn't move to a "new" university. In my job (research and teaching contract), I have a teaching load of around 50-60 hours per year of contact time and this already can generate enough extra work to affect research at certain times of the year. Friends I know working at new universities generally have teaching loads in the region of 400+ hours per year of contact time.

This means that whilst they might tell you that research is important to them, you won'y actually find the time to do very much. You will also find grants more difficult to get funded as when the grant goes for peer review, reviewers are normally asked to comment on the abiity of the applicant to carry out the work (are you well regarded in your field?) and also asked to comment on the ability of the department to host the project (are they well regarded). This system generally therefore means that the RG universities tend to attract more research funding and the whole thing perpetuates itself so that they will continue to get more money unless the review system is changed.

I'd therefore say if you are interested in going into a teaching related position, go for it. If your main driver is research, old out for a position at an old (preferably RG) university.