Working in academia and research is a tough field for anyone, but even more so for women.
Australia through the Australia Awards PNG Linkage Support for Women Academics Program, is supporting PNG’s women academics to attend conferences in Australia, to build new skills and networks to inspire and advance their research and activities in PNG.
This year, 23 women academics will be supported to attend conferences in Australia, covering subjects as diverse as pain management, agricultural software, midwifery, and gender studies.
Betty Tiko-Motoro from the Department of Agriculture at the PNG University of Technology attended the International Conference on Agriculture Software and Information Management in April.
For Betty, attending the conference provided a valuable opportunity to engage with leading academics and researchers specialising in agriculture data management, agricultural software applications, and e-commerce solutions for farm products.
Dr Marilyn Morris, a Clinical Lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at University of PNG who is also supported by the program is pleased with the connections she made attending the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) Regional Scientific Meeting in Adelaide.
“We were fortunate to meet up with RANZCOG President Dr Gillian Gibson. Dr Gibson has been invited to be the keynote speaker at the upcoming PNG Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society meeting and look forward to her visit and the opportunity to forge stronger relationships,,” Dr Morris said.
The connections created by attending these conferences will support the academics throughout their career, for both research projects and in activities to benefit others in the community.
Dr Irene Semos from Divine Word University, is also enthusiastic about the future potential for partnerships from her attendance at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in Melbourne in April: “Industry partnerships and research partnerships were forged and strengthened through attending the World Health Regional Summit,” she notes. “Seeking to build partnerships through research and knowledge exchange will help to inform our curriculum for the future training of health workers which in turn will also help us to do local, small scale research that can help our industry partners to improve their practice in the fields of climate change, water, sanitation and hygiene and women’s health.”
Attending conferences is a crucial way for academics for building confidence and their own understanding. It can also help inspire solutions to difficult problems, and give researchers access to support and guidance in their field from all over the world.
Daphne Oevi-Artango from Pacific Adventist University, who works in quality assurance in the tertiary education sector, commented on the benefit of finding other researchers facing similar issues to her own.
“One of the workshop facilitators worked as a quality assurance manager in the universities in New Zealand. I was fortunate to connect with her as when I shared my challenges; she totally understood them as she had experienced them herself,” she said.
The Australia Awards PNG Linkage Support for Women Academics Program opened in February 2024 and has supported 23 woman academics to attend conferences, making a significant contribution to improving the quality and capabilities in PNG’s higher education sector.
For more information on the support available for PNG women academics, or on the Australia Awards program, visit www.australiaawardspng.org.