Networks

Click buttons to explore the ABDC's Networks and Awards

International Education Network

The ABDC International Network is a forum for sharing ideas and knowledge about what constitutes good practice in the areas of international recruitment, mobility, research and teaching and learning.

The network meets at least twice a year.

In the videos below, Network Chair, Professor Leona Tam, describes the Network’s value, activities and challenges.

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The contribution of international education to Australia

Many international students go on to create businesses in Australia after they graduate.

In the videos below we profile a couple of success stories from International student entrepreneurs.

Job Makers
Digital Crew

Digital Crew, an international digital marketing agency, is part of the our series of business school international graduates who have created businesses and jobs in Australia.

Our International Graduates Create New Businesses
Mo Works and Hatchquarter

As part of the ABDC series about international graduates who have created businesses and jobs in Australia, is this profile of the international digital agency, Mo Works, and the incubator, Hatch Quarter.

Professional Managers’ Network

Business faculties and schools, like the universities in which they are located, face ongoing funding uncertainty; increasing staff casualisation; disruptive technology; the continuous need for increased efficiency measures; and changing business models, policies and regulations – challenges that make the work of professional services or resource management teams ever more critical and complex.

The Professional Managers’ Network aims to support members by:

Supporting ABDC’s advocacy in influencing higher education public policy and practice on network relevant issues affecting business education. This involves monitoring developments, drafting documents and providing advice to ABDC on issues, international trends, and best practice.
Promoting professional capabilities development through sharing knowledge on current issues and best practice, and providing an engaged collegial network of support.
Facilitating a national, collaborative and strategic approach to systemic change that pursues excellence in business faculties, colleges, and schools across Australia (in areas relevant to the network).

Network membership comprises of those in the most senior general, operational or professional resource management role in ABDC business faculties, colleges or schools.

In the videos below, chair Madelaine Sandall explains the role of the network and the current challenges it faces.

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Business Academic Research Directors’ Network (BARDsNet)

The Business Academic Research Directors’ Network (BARDsNet) provides Australian and New Zealand Associate Deans Research a forum to:

Share knowledge, information and practices related to business school research.
Take on meaningful projects that tackle contemporary research challenges facing business schools.
Provide commentary on government research policy and related activities.
Identify collaborative ways of working together as business academic research directors across Australia and New Zealand.

BARDsNet plays a key role in overseeing the development and review of the ABDC Journal Quality List that is used by business schools in Australia and overseas. The 2025 review of the list is currently underway.

BARDsNet membership comprises business school or faculty research directors, deans or associate deans (research) in Australia and New Zealand. ABDC member deans must endorse Australian BARDsNet nominations.

Network chair Professor Tracy Taylor describes the BARDsNet’s role and the importance of business research in the video below.

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Teaching and Learning Network

The Learning and Teaching Network comprises associate deans, deputy deans, and coordinators who are responsible for learning and teaching in our member business schools. Network functions and presentations provide opportunities for professional development and the sharing of resources and ideas about good learning and teaching practice. Network members meet face-to-face twice each year. They have focused recently on academic standards; benchmarking; quality assurance; accreditation; and strategies for encouraging, measuring and rewarding good teaching. Network members play a key strategic role in enabling a national, collaborative approach to systemic change, which will improve learning and teaching in Australian business higher education.

The Network leads ABDC responses to important learning and teaching pronouncements by major higher education regulatory bodies like the Higher Education Standards Panel, Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency and the Office for Learning and Teaching. Network members, who often collaborate on projects, have been particularly successful in receiving national grants and engaging professional employer bodies to work with them. Since the Learning and Teaching Network was established in 2004, grants from the former Office for Learning and Teaching and its predecessor have supported initiatives, which have included a distinguished visiting scholars program and the development of academic standards across many business disciplines:

ABDC Network Awards

The ABDC Annual Network Awards recognise and reward innovation and excellence across all areas of activity within Business Schools – research, teaching and learning, international engagement, professional management, and climate action.

Network Award Categories

Award criteria

The criteria for this award are:

Innovation: How innovative is the initiative in terms of its objectives, design, approach, delivery and/or content?
Sustainability/scalability: Can you demonstrate sustainability and/or scalability of the initiative?
Institutional support: To what extent has your institution/business school demonstrated commitment to the initiative through the provision of support or recognition of its value?
Value for money: Has the initiative led to efficiency gains on previous practice and provided a return on investment?
Excellence: What evidence can be provided regarding the underlying excellence of the initiative?
Societal impact: How has the initiative had a positive impact on the community at large and stakeholders including students, staff and/or industry partners?

2024 winner

Past winners

2023 winner

Anne-Laure Mention, Professor, RMIT University

Team member: Kerry O’Connor, Elia Vallejos Formatge and Louise Ballard.

For OpenInnoTrain, an open innovation and research translation project between academic and industry.

2022 winner

Sagar Athota, Senior Lecturer, University of Notre Dame

Team member: Associate Professor Sean P. Kearney

For the India Immersion Program, an international service-learning immersion to Tenali, India, that over 100 students have participated in over nine years.

2021 winner

Andrea Haefner, Senior Lecturer & Director of Griffith Asia Business Internship (GABI), Griffith University

For leading the Griffith Asia Business Internship, an interdisciplinary, global work integrated learning course, and pivoting to a remote offering in 2020-21.

Award criteria

Excellence in research will be judged and recognised separately for scholarly and applied work and, in each case, for emerging researchers (up to level C) and established researchers (level D and E). As a result, up to four awards will be made. Applications should clearly indicate the researcher’s level and whether the research that is the basis for their application is scholarly or applied in nature. Group applications will be assessed at the level of the most senior named academic.

The criteria for the research awards are:

Innovation: How innovative is the research in terms of its aims, design, approach and the gap it fills?
Excellence: What evidence can be provided regarding the underlying excellence of the research (e.g. the quality of the peer reviewed outlet, unsolicited feedback, testimonials, co-design with research partners, stakeholder feedback etc.)?
Engagement: Is there evidence of communication of the research to a wide audience (e.g., presentation at conferences, media coverage, conversation articles, evidence of industry collaboration and/or funding, industry or policy briefings etc)?
Impact: Using objective measures, how has the research positively impacted the field (e.g., significant citations and awards, contribution to the improvement of practices in the industry, government, or the NFP sector).

2024 winners

Established, scholarly research

Hari Bapuji (University of Melbourne), Sneha Chrispal (Monash University) and collaborators for research that has established a scholarly understanding of caste in organisations and societies to study global inequalities, addressing SDG 10.

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Established, applied research

Anne Summers (University of Technology Sydney) for The Choice: Violence or Poverty – research casting new light on the incidence and nature of domestic violence in Australia.

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Emerging, applied research

Fei Huang (UNSW) and team member Xi Xin (UNSW) for research to develop anti-discrimination insurance pricing models.

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Past winners

2023 winners

Established, scholarly research: Daniel Schlagwein (University of Sydney) and team for leading research on digital nomadism. Read more.

Established, applied research: Dimitria Groutsis (University of Sydney) for Counting Culture: Towards a Standardised Approach to Measuring and Reporting on Workforce Cultural Diversity in Australia. Read more.

Emerging, scholarly research: Noman Shaheer (University of Sydney) for incorporating digital innovation and entrepreneurship into international business theories and frameworks. Read more.

Emerging, applied research: Keyao (Eden) Li (Curtin University) for integrating human systems into data science innovations. Read more.

2022 winner

Associate Professor Simon Angus, Department of Economics and SoDa Laboratories, Monash Business School

Team members: Klaus Ackermann and Paul A Raschky

For the Monash IP Observatory — a unique data gathering virtual instrument that is able to passively, safely, remotely and scientifically measure the activity and quality of the internet anywhere on the planet.

2021 overall winner

Professor Alexander Newman, Deakin University

Team members: Karen Dunwoodie, Luke Macaulay, Jo Ingold

For Centre for Refugee Employment, Advocacy, Training and Education (CREATE), which helps people from a refugee background rebuild their careers through access to education and meaningful employment.

2021 highly commended

Associate Professor Michelle Evans, University of Melbourne

Team members: Cain Polidano, Julie Moschion, Marcia Langton

For I-BLADE (Indigenous Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment), a partnership between government, data custodians and researchers to measure the significant economic, social, and cultural contributions to Australia made by Indigenous businesses.

Award criteria

Intellectual support: Evidence that the scholar helps the mentee or HDR candidate develop ideas constructively (e.g., by brainstorming, offering a sounding board, suggesting a diverse perspective, providing written feedback).
Social support: Evidence that the scholar helps the mentee or HDR candidate develop a professional network to support their success (e.g., introducing them to others, writing reference letters, suggesting them as co-authors/reviewers/editors).
Personal support: Evidence that the scholar prioritises the wellbeing and development of the mentee (e.g., encouragement through difficult times, helps maintain self-efficacy, provides perspective or specific career/work strategies).
Inclusivity: The scholar has an authentic record of inclusive mentorship and supporting diverse mentees.

2024 winner

Award criteria

The criteria for this award are:

Innovation: How innovative is the initiative in terms of curricula and resources, evaluative practices and delivery that influence, motivate, and inspire students to learn?
Excellence: What evidence can be provided regarding the underlying excellence of the initiative including scholarship activities and testimonials?
Collaboration: Is there evidence of partnership with academics and non-academic stakeholders outside the individual’s institution including the industry and/or the community?
Scalability: What evidence is there that the initiative can be deployed to other disciplines in the business school or university or across business schools?

2024 winner