Navigating the Nexus: From Wicked Problems to Colleague Voices
Over the past year, I’ve been immersed in Navigating the Nexus—a project born out of a “Wicked Problem Set” at the University of Manchester’s 2024 Teaching & Learning Conference. Since that initial session, rather than simply reporting its outcomes, I’ve been speaking directly with colleagues across all faculties—on both Teaching & Scholarship (T&S) and Teaching & Research (T&R) contracts—to dive deeper into the lived realities of working in a research-intensive environment.
Why Balance Still Matters
It’s one thing to discuss how teaching and research might interact in theory; it’s another to hear the stories of those who live that dual role every day. Through these interviews, I’ve been uncovering:
Time and priority clashes. How do you protect space for scholarship when teaching demands surge?
Perceptions of value. Do colleagues feel their pedagogical expertise is respected alongside, or even by, research outputs?
Barriers to belonging. What makes some staff feel unwelcome in research communities, and how does that ripple out to students?
These conversations are spotlighting where the real tensions—and surprising pockets of enthusiasm—lie.
Listening for Resistance and Belonging
A recurring theme is resistance: not just to new policies or initiatives, but to feeling that one’s professional identity is under threat. T&S colleagues often describe scholarship time as theoretical—a box they’re told they have, but can never actually use. T&R colleagues sometimes confess to guilt over the hours they can’t dedicate to teaching. Both groups speak of imposter-syndrome in research seminars or pedagogical workshops where they feel out of place.
Yet within those tensions, I’m also hearing stories of belonging—moments when a well-timed mentorship conversation, or an invitation to co-author a student project, make someone feel truly part of a shared academic endeavour.
What’s Next
Over the coming months, I’ll be synthesising these interview insights into:
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Actionable recommendations for line managers and faculty leaders on protecting time and signalling value for both teaching and research.
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Guidelines for creating more inclusive “research spaces” where every colleague—and every student—can find a sense of belonging.
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Stories and case studies that show these approaches in practice, so we can move from culture-change talk to culture-change action.
I believe that by listening closely to the people at the heart of our university—those teaching in seminars, mentoring dissertations, and leading high-impact labs—we can build frameworks that truly honour both teaching and research, and in turn, enrich our students’ experience.
Stay tuned to get the latest updates!