Why every research student needs to build a personal academic brand?
Introduction
In our highly digital and online environment today, talented researchers need to be more than just skilled. Researchers have to be visible. Every year there are thousands of students across universities and academic institutions who produce brilliant research.
However, only a handful get recognised by universities, funding bodies, journal editors, and industry leaders.
This is usually due to the differences in the way they market their academic profile.
This is where a personal academic brand plays a significant role. A personal academic brand is essentially the public image or professional impression that an individual builds through his/her research activities, publications, online presence, participation in academic conferences, research collaborations and other academic contributions. This persona reflects the expertise and interest of a researcher and their standing within the research field. A well developed personal academic brand when coupled with a comprehensive academic profile helps in securing scholarships, research grants, collaborations and career opportunities overseas.
What is an academic brand?
An academic brand refers to the unique perception of an academic in the research community; encompassing their specific discipline or area of study, research interests, publications and their academic values.
Essentially, it is an individual’s academic identity; what their identity says when their name is googled. For any researchers looking for collaborators, a university supervisor, funding,or aspeaking gig; building a powerful academic brand is an integral and important aspect of their professional profile and identity development.
Be an expert in a chosen research field
The number one most effective strategy for building a strong academic brand is to have expertise within a specific research area. Instead of studying diverse or varied subjects students can focus on a research field and slowly develop and hone their knowledge by doing studies, publications, and attending research conferences related to the discipline. In the long run, regular and continuous study into a specific research area and subject area will help the researcher gain the knowledge, credibility and recognition to be known in that area. Being famous or recognised in a specific area will lead to more professional and academic opportunities than being known in many different fields.
Publish quality academic articles regularly
The success and fame of any academic are generally based on his publications. Being able to produce regular and frequent publications such as journal articles, reviews, book chapter, and conferences is important to any researcher. It reflects their dedication to advancing knowledge.
Consistent research publications help a researcher build credibility and enhance their professional status.
High quality academic papers in good journals are more significant to career progression than a large number of articles. All research outputs serve to further the academic identity of the individual researcher.
Establish a professional online presence
Researchers today must be online. Your online footprint of personal academic website, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, LinkedIn, and your institutional web presence should include all the major components such as research publications, conference presentations, achievements, research interests, and academic credentials. Having up to date and well maintained online academic profiles helps your research gain a worldwide reach.
The personal online academic presence complements your overall academic identity.
This can assist collaborators to evaluate their potential research collaborators based on their publications, presentations and overall expertise. A good online footprint ensures that your research will remain visible long after publication.
Share your knowledge through various platforms
Research knowledge goes beyond publishing. The researchers should share their expertise through conference and workshop presentations, guest lecture and seminars, webinars and panel discussion, podcasts, as well as other academic activities that allow interaction with the research communities and general public. This also develops researchers' communication and presentation skills and gain visibility in the academic community. Sharing your knowledge also strengthens the professional identity as a knowledgeable and engaging academic.
Protect your academic reputation
An academic brand will fail without good ethical standing. This applies to maintaining academic integrity through responsible research practices such as Proper citation and avoidance of plagiarism, reporting research results honestly and in accordance with existing methodology, and protecting Intellectual property. A research ethic profile can serve to enhance an individual’s reputation and can be instrumental in convincing universities, funding agencies and publishers of the credibility and value of the researcher. A good research ethic has no price.
Conclusion
Your academic profile illustrates what you’ve achieved while your academic brand tells the world who you are as a researcher. Combined, they both form a powerful personal professional identity. Researchers who consistently do research, publish high-quality content, attend and present in conferences, build their networks, enhance their online presence and ensure ethical practice, will automatically position themselves well to be known and recognized. An academic brand is an identity built over a period of time; with passion and sustained efforts.
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