Summer Holidays

Hands up and be counted all of you who think that lecturers (like myself) who work in colleges / universities have extended long holidays over the summer. Go on, hands up!

I thought I had plenty to do until I compared myself to some others. Taliessinthroughlogres will / is having a busy summer. Thankfully, mine won’t be as busy as this and I’m actually planning on 2 weeks holidays. Here’s how mine compares –

• Development of new courses and subjects (no, not this year for me)
• Research (yes, the only time of the year I get an extended period to focus on research)
• Recruitment which can be meeting and interviewing potential students and production of promotional materials (no to the second, as for the first…)
• Liaising with Industry and government bodies (not over the summer)
• Writing research papers (depending on research progress)
• Dealing with student appeals and cases of unfair practice (yes)
• Supervising postgraduate students (yes)
• Applying for research funding (no)
• Helping organise conferences (no)
• Reviewing journal papers and drafts of student dissertations (yes to the second, no to the first)
• Helping students revise for repeat exams (yes)
• Teaching in partner institutes (no)
• Development of teaching and assessment materials for next year (yes)

Life doesn’t stop just because classes stop and (some) students take an academic break.

Do you still wish you worked in my area?

Alas, no rest for the wicked over the summer for some.  But what about our charges…..

Pic from olesverden blog