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View from the top: Prof. Nasser Spear - University of Melbourne
It has one of the most successful initiatives in recruiting talented international Masters and PhD students and is widely regarded as one of the leading universities in the world today. Hitting the headlines in recent times with it’s controversial yet visionary reorganization of undergraduate education, the University of Melbourne continues to be an international leader in higher education.
One reason why Melbourne University continues to attract masters students of the highest calibre is Professor Nasser Spear, Associate Dean at the Faculty of Economics and Commerce. Professor Spear gained his PhD from the University of North Texas in 1992 and joined the University of Melbourne in 1996. He currently holds the GL Wood Chair of Accounting at the Department of Accounting and Business Information Systems and directs one of the PhD programs as well as the Masters of Applied Commerce. He has been an active teacher and researcher for over ten years.
With his specialised academic background, and once an international student himself, Prof. Spear echoes the views of many colleagues at Melbourne when he speaks of the opportunity and experience of teaching international students: “It is a fulfilling and a rewarding experience for me and for all lecturers to observe international students grow, mature, integrate, adjust and deliver to the highest standards in a short time period. It makes me feel and believe that I have fulfilled my role as a mentor and as a lecturer.”
There are almost 10,000 international students currently enrolled at Melbourne University, more than 3,500 of whom are studying at the graduate level.
There are almost 10,000 international students currently enrolled at Melbourne University, more than 3,500 of whom are studying at the graduate level, which makes the environment for those coming from outside of the country one that is essentially multicultural and very diverse. Prof. Spear sees this as one of the essential challenges of teaching in a contemporary university: “International students bring different challenges to the classroom environment. Lecturers must balance the needs and expectations of all students regardless of academic or cultural backgrounds and must at the same time deliver to the learning objectives of their subjects. International students have to quickly adjust to a different learning environment and assessment methods, let alone the cultural adjustment.”
Perhaps, with more students travelling to other countries in search of graduate education, part of this challenge comes in the form of balancing the experience and world view international students bring with them and the way in which they meet and collaborate with students from the host country. Prof. Spear describes the situation many international students face: “They must integrate with local students as well as other international students from diverse backgrounds. More importantly they want to be challenged and are eager to prove that they can compete with the very best.”
Speaking of the approach many international students take when they arrive at Melbourne, Prof. Spear is consistently positive about what he has seen and experienced over the years. Whether it is with students reading taught masters programs or the more research-intensive PhD program the University offers, their application and appetite for hard work is apparent: “The international students that impress me the most are those enrolled in graduate programs. They have far shorter time and a far more demanding workload.”
Prof. Spear recalls one particular masters students with great admiration: “This student was enrolled on one of my programs – I remember she was from Hong Kong. What impressed me the most about her was her ability to quickly integrate with international and local students and her active involvement in the life of the University. She quickly understood that in order to succeed she must perform at the highest level in her subjects and at the same time involve herself in student associations, debate teams and student experience programs. She understood that employers are interested in top performing students who are technically strong and who also are actively involved in the university life and in the community. She realized very quickly that she had to develop her generic skills and appreciate the fact that time is a scare resource and must be used effectively.”
