Writing Group

Amidst the NCovid-19 pandemic and the switch to online modes of teaching and learning, a group of academics in the School of Business and Management (SBM) at RMIT Vietnam have seized upon this opportunity to increase their joint research efforts and collaborate across disciplines. Members of two of SBM Research Clusters (Tourism & Hospitality and Scholarship of Learning in Higher Education and Organizations) have started a biweekly scholarly online writing workshop group, aimed at increasing the quality and quantity of research outputs from both research clusters, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and providing additional support to junior academics, including graduate students. Led by their respective Cluster Leads (Dr. Nuno Ribeiro and Dr. Seng Kok) this group of academics meets online every other Wednesday, from 3pm to 5pm, via the Microsoft Teams application (LINK) and they have dubbed their group “W3 ” (Wednesday Writing Workshop), which is an alliterative play on words that emphasize the collaborative and collegial nature of the group, as well as the potential for synergies resulting from academic collaborations.

“For an academic, dedicated research time and useful feedback are incredibly valuable resources. This initiative aims to capitalize on the more flexible nature of our work here at RMIT Vietnam and increase the production of quality research outputs” – explained Dr. Nuno Ribeiro, Senior Lecturer and Research Cluster Lead for Tourism and Hospitality. “The NCovid-19 pandemic is not only a crisis, but also an opportunity. Agile organizations such as RMIT Vietnam and SBM know how to make the best of situations such as these, and one of our goals is to encourage and drive research during this time, especially among junior scholars and doctoral students” – he continued.

According to Dr. Kok, Senior Program Manager and Research Cluster Lead for Scholarship of Learning in Higher Education and Organizations, “the writing workshop is a great opportunity to build synergies across the clusters, sharing best practices and expertise among colleagues and likeminded researchers. It not only fosters cross-disciplinary research but provides a platform for colleagues and doctoral candidates to meet, engage, and deliver outputs. The workshop provides critique, signposting and insights into the development of any and all research for dissemination purposes.”

The two-hour workshops are divided into two parts. During the first hour, each participant just ‘shuts up and writes’, muting their microphone but leaving their colleagues in the background, reminding the participant not to be distracted from working on research. In the second hour, participants exchange what they wrote and seek and provide feedback, based on topics of mutual interest. The Dr. Nuno Ribeiro Dr. Seng Kok second hour is divided into three 20-minute blocks, allowing each participant to receive and provide feedback to three different reviewers, thus mirroring the research review process, albeit at a smaller scale. “The feedback we ask participants to provide is meant to be both useful and supportive, and hopefully lead to fruitful research collaborations. Good research is seldom a solitary endeavor, and our main goal is to nurture collaborative, high-impact research in a supportive environment” – said Dr. Ribeiro. “Essentially, the writing retreat is a sanctuary where people are free to write, while being assisted by a ‘critical friend’” – added Dr. Seng Kok.