Generating a buzz about projects, seeking external funding and collaborating across the Australian education research community; these are key aims for Dr Mike Horsley, the new Noosa-based Director for our Learning and Teaching Education Research Centre (LTERC)...

What was a key turning point for you?

"While working at the University of Sydney I had the chance to work with teacher education programs that were problem-based and case-based, rather than being content-driven, which excited my interest in different modes of higher education and the scholarship of teaching.

Dr Mike Horsley. LINK for a larger image

"As a socio-cultural scholar, I've worked with the concept that all learning and learning motivation is social in origin and you have to look at the context, players and partners to see the complexity of the situation."

What's coming up in future?

"LTERC has clusters of people with similar research and scholarship interests who have started publishing, so the next part of the journey is to get external competitive grants, to link up with similar clusters at other universities and to create a big buzz about the reseach of teaching and learning in higher education."

What do you do outside the campus?

"Obviously being from Noosa I'm a keen surfer. I'm also chief judge of the Australian Education Publishing Awards which I run in partnership with the Australian Publishers Association."

What's something people might not know about you?

"Until recently I've had a long involvement with Samoan, Tongan and other islander groups based in Australia, and I've run learning support centres for them. I spent many years living in the islands, including working at the University of the South Pacific, and have strong community links there."

What advice do you have for young people coming through the system?

"Irrespective of the teaching resources, be passionate about teaching and the research of teaching so you can share your passion and experiences with others."

Dr Mike Horsley. LINK for a larger image