We are not just academics

• Main Author: Mohamad Jamil, Siti Nurnadilla
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform; LB2300 Higher Education
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/76514/1/76514_We%20are%20not%20just%20academics.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/76514/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

MUCH has been said about the areas that we need to reform in order to improve the quality of our education system. Perhaps one thing that we could also do is encourage a healthy work-life balance among academics. Recently, we, early career academics at a public university, were invited to attend a special meeting with a professor who spoke about the university’s research ideals and the way forward. Among other matters, he revealed that he has, and will continue to have, a full schedule until mid-next year with teaching, research, surgeries (he is a top surgeon in the country), community engagements and the university’s flagship project. Many of us think that the session was inspiring but slightly problematic. This is because he failed to acknowledge that while he’s climbing the academic ladder by working on all those big and important things, there’s someone else who has been carrying the household, someone who puts his children to bed when he’s in a long surgery until late at night, someone who sits next to a child with a 40 degree fever, who gets his children ready for school when he is already on the road for his 7am lectures, and who is there with his children on his behalf when he is with the community; then there are the very patient family members who accept that he will not be able to attend gatherings or when he has to leave the weekend kenduri early to focus on his research – these are his understanding wife, parents, in-laws and friends. Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2019/11/13/we-are-not-just-academics#7IuAlxubdheMKSoE.99