Lending a helping hand to graduates pays off for Professor

Professor Cordia Chu (front row, holding her certificate on left) has been recognised for her work in graduate research.

Griffith University’s Professor Cordia Chufrom the School of Environment and the School of Medicine has been awarded a Special Commendation for Excellence in Graduate Supervision at the annual Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR) Awards, held in Adelaide on Monday night.

Professor Chu was one of two recipients of the special commendation chosen from a pool of academics at the awards, which highlight exemplary graduate research supervisors and leaders from across Australia.

“It means a lot to me to have this recognition for research supervision work. It’s a national award and to work with the creme of the crop is quite a privilege,” Professor Chu said.

“We have a great multicultural research culture in my group, where there is critical thinking, debate, and a high completion and publication rate. We try to nurture researchers to conduct research that addresses health issues of global significance, and the impact that our students have on the industry and in regards to policy making is great.”

This year’s ACGR winners were recognised for their interdisciplinary team-based approach to supervision, leadership in the maturing area of creative practice research, engaging with industry on real world problems and preparing candidates for post-graduation careers.

Professor Chu highlighted the sense of community within her graduate research group as being among one of the most rewarding aspects of her work.

“Every month we have a cultural lunch where graduates each bring a dish that represents their country and learn about each others’ cultures and it creates a strong, family-like support environment. This support helps a lot of our female students to deal with pregnancy and new motherhood while still completing their thesis in a timely way,” she said.