Academic staff professional development is central to Sydney Met’s commitment to maintaining and building an environment of quality learning and teaching that fosters engagement with scholarship as a cultural practice to provide a learning environment informed by research and scholarship for students. Professional development is an expectation of all academic staff and academic leaders so that professional currency in the discipline(s) and in the teaching of these discipline(s) is maintained.

The Academic Staff Scholarship Policy sets out principles that underpin academic staff professional development at Sydney Met which is aligned to the vision of the institute, as outlined in the strategic plan, of socially responsible, culturally appropriate higher education in Australia, and the agenda of ‘Education for Change’ and reflective of the three interconnected strategic goals of the institute, academic quality, equitable practice, and social impact.

Professional development is supported by institutional activities that contribute to the advancement of discipline knowledge, professional practice, and learning and teaching, including through the design and delivery of courses. Sydney Met management is responsible for supporting an environment that supports staff professional development by:

• implementing processes to support annual workload planning that includes professional development;
• maintaining policies that specify the expectations of academic roles and for using these when recruiting sessional and ongoing staff; and
• ensuring that resources are available to support staff professional development activities.

For example, the Sydney Met Workload Model allocates 20% of permanent academic staff time to non-teaching activities, and the Small Grants Scheme supports these activities financially. Approved non-teaching professional development activities include:

• preparation of peer reviewed publications, conference presentations, and delivery of academic and professional seminars/webinars;
• contributions to professional bodies, cross-institutional partnerships, and/or communities of practice;
• active involvement in academic societies evidenced by delivering presentations, undertaking leadership roles, or reflecting on/sharing with other staff current topics and issues;
• contribution to academic journals, other than through publication (e.g., through editorial roles, peer review) and contribution to conferences and related activities, other than through presentation (e.g., through membership of organizing committees, peer review, and related activities);
• undertaking further study in an area relevant to discipline or to teaching and learning, including enrolling in/completing formal courses of study (such as a higher degree by research or a Graduate Certificate of Higher Education), and short courses selected to maintain or develop specific skills.