Ann-Maree Moodie looks at the benefits and prestige of landing fellowship funding.
When Vietnamese veterans marched earlier in the week for Anzac Day, a young academic from the University of Melbourne was watching with the eye of a passionate observer of history.
Associate Professor Nathalie Nguyen is devoting her academic career to understanding the Vietnamese diaspora, which has so far been a neglected area of academic research in Australia.
"Vietnamese veterans have marched on Anzac Day since 1981, yet few know of their histories," says Nguyen, who works at the Australia Centre at the University of Melbourne's school of historical studies. "My new project will be the first oral history study of Vietnamese Australian veterans and will contribute a vital new dimension to Australian war and immigration history."
Despite the historical significance of Nguyen's work, she may never have been able to embark on her research had it not been for a series of fellowships she was awarded, including one through the National Library of Australia (NLA) based in Canberra.
The NLA is one of a number of institutions that offer annual fellowships for the purpose of advancing knowledge as well as rewarding people who are committed to an area of research but don't have the resources to start, continue or maybe even finish their work. Among the more prestigious and highly contested fellowships offered annually are the Churchill Fellowships.
"My project has the support of two key national institutions: the National Library of Australia, which is keen to add these unique oral histories to its oral history collection, and the National Museum of Australia, which will be able to identify cultural artefacts arising from this project for inclusion in its national historical collection," says Nguyen, a former child refugee, who is presently on a six-month research program at the University of Oxford.
"My work also has the support of the Australian Vietnamese Women's Association, which has more than 25 years of experience in welfare, and that of the Vietnam Centre and Archive, Texas Tech University ... My project will lead to new collections in two key national institutions.
"In addition to producing a major book, I plan to present my work in a variety of public, academic and community forums, and to organise a symposium that will gather Australian and international scholars and result in an edited book of essays."
Applying for a fellowship is often an arduous process that requires time to gather relevant evidence to support the application and to participate in the selection process.
A first cull of applications means candidates are placed on a list and interviewed by a panel of judges. If they advance further, more interviews will take place to determine the merit of the work they propose to investigate.
Winning a fellowship has the immediate benefit of candidates being able to conduct research that may not otherwise have been possible. The secondary benefit is the depth it adds to a job candidate's CV, as fellowships are prestigious and rare.
"As a successful senior academic and researcher, I sincerely hope that my record and achievements will provide me with further opportunities for research and ongoing opportunities in academia," Nguyen says.
The assistant director-general of the Australian collection and reader services at the NLA, Margy Burn, says there are many long-term career benefits to fellowship winners. "One of the key advantages is that it signifies the person is a cut above someone who hasn't won a fellowship," she says.
"It means the recipient is part of an elite, prestigious group, which also exposes them to a very selective network as well as to informal mentoring opportunities even after they've won the fellowship."
Among the past recipients of NLA fellowships are historian Professor Henry Reynolds and award-winning writer Frank Moorhouse, who researched part of his novel Grand Days at the NLA.
"We have a vast collection of work here in Canberra and we want to offer people programs where they can stay for a considerable period of time in order to really research parts of the collection in some depth," Burns says.
"Recipients receive a staff card, they have an office and many stay here day and night during the period of their fellowship. These programs are about keeping the collection alive, rich and used."
The managing partner of Watermark Search International, Nick Waterworth, says a job candidate who has won a fellowship will send employers a message that they are "someone who will go the extra mile".
"Awards are recognitions of various types and are always valued by employers but a fellowship will not be the only way a candidate will stand out," Waterworth says. "Skills, experience, external contacts and cultural fit with the organisation also remain very important."
Ann-Maree Moodie is the managing director of the Boardroom Consulting Group.