How do you demonstrate your impact and contribution as a lecturer to your peers, employers and stakeholders?

For lecturers new to the role, it is easy to feel drawn in a whole range of different directions of where you should be devoting your attentions - should I be concentrating on research? Developing my teaching? Applying for grants? Undertaking CPD? The truth is there is no right or wrong route, but you should not try to do too much. Establish where you can best develop transferable skills, ensure you build your network, and learn from others as much as you can. Most importantly, do not be afraid to reach out to your colleagues and ask for guidance! Whilst goals might be individual, developing them need not be a solo task.

True impact in the realm of education and lecturing often begins with acknowledging the profound depth of human knowledge and understanding. This, in itself, is a humbling phenomenon. The more I learn, the more I realize the vastness of unexplored territories in an unending cosmos of knowledge. In the words of Socrates, "I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing." This paradoxical realization is an essential element in my approach to demonstrating impact. I engage with my peers, employers, and stakeholders in a way that acknowledges that we are all on a shared quest for knowledge, and my contributions are but drops in the vast ocean of wisdom.

As lecturers we should give space on fuelling our passions and transfer those in the classroom/staff events/conversations/appraisal. Your passions are shaped around your unique experience, talents, dreams and interests. Your voice will stand out. It does not matter how focused the topic/area of interest is, follow it to excellence and it will show?

Para demonstrar o impacto do trabalho, é importante avaliar o que a pessoa espera, quais s?o as suas necessidades e como o meu trabalho permitirá o atendimento delas. Entendo que n?o basta ter claro apenas o que eu queria atingir, mas sim como isso vai ao encontro do que a pessoa, empresa ou contratante necessita.

I think it is the other way around. My peers, students and employer need see the value of my work, which I cultivate by producing consistently high quality and original ideas, derived from being curious, open minded and focused on increasing knowledge in my field.

I agree with this. As a teaching assistant, I get regular evaluation and feedback from my students. It helps me redesign my lecture materials and delivery.

Achieving recognition takes time, often longer than expected. Delays in research, funding, and publication can be frustrating. You may feel unrewarded despite teaching, publishing, and engaging with your university and field. Remember, promotion is also about the faculty and institution's needs. Don't limit yourself to what you think proves your impact, find out precisely. It's your ongoing, above-level efforts that eventually lead to deserved recognition, compensation, and support. Make sure whatever your work is, be it research, lecturing or service, that you are consistent across the board. Thinking of yourself and your work like brand can help. And always remember to take into account your achievements relative to your opportunities.

Effective communication is key in academia - both landing it the first time with no questions, and engaging with debate and achieving clarity with your students and audience. Whether through reports, presentations, podcasts, even fun and short social media bursts, adapting to your audience is crucial. For me, it's about clarity, engagement, and relevance. I use visuals and storytelling in lectures to connect theory with real-world applications. Each medium has its strengths, and I choose based on the context and goals. A report offers detail, while a video can bring a concept to life. It's not just what you communicate, but how, that showcases your impact as a lecturer. Always remember, know your audience, and be the positive influence.

Gathering feedback from students (mid-semester and end of semester) is helpful. A short in-class reflection on key takeaways or further qns can also be helpful to students and teachers. I’d also recommend asking someone to take the role of a ‘critical friend/peer’ to give feedback. This doesn’t need to be a formal peer review but it is helpful to have someone who knows your field (at least a little) and that you can trust to audit your lecture and give honest feedback. They might flag some points which you hadn’t noticed or might ask questions about the session which makes you reconsider some of what you are doing in class.

Gather as much feedback directly from students as you can - this can be either ‘formal feedback' (e.g., Module evaluations) or informal feedback. I find that a great way to do this is to give students a post-it note (a standard sized one, to ensure feedback is concise) at the end of the session and asking them to write down something they liked about the session and something that can be improved. This can be an efficient way of gathering feedback (evidence) and helping develop your teaching approach, along with enhancing the student experience.

Feedback is one of the hardest things to get into at any point in one's academic career. Many already have a dread that is caused by lots of tangential, irrelevant or unhelpful even mean feedback from students, peers and the field. So what can be done about it? Firstly, a fair and reasonable attitude with all forms of feedback as a baseline. Having a purpose for the feedback also helps. Being able to engage with the feedback, either in your defence or to capitalise on positive moments is also important. You should also try to give the type of feedback you would like to receive one day. Staying humble in both your seeking of feedback and giving of feedback, being tactful and helpful is important and welcomed.

Being an academic will present plenty of oppertunities to collaborate and network. Sometimes the moment you're waiting for just appears in your inbox. Other times, you're scrolling social media and see the call for papers in the journal you've always wanted to publish in. But what happens when you're not looking? This is when it counts to have a connections and cordial relations with people across universities, campuses and even with your own students. You never know who might become a PhD student one day, even yours. So when you're not looking, your network could be, and that's how you got that surprise e-mail that lead to you getting 4 publications out over the Winter break. Sounds like I am talking from experience, because I am!

Keeping an up to date and detailed academic CV is a great way to review and easily update a list of achievements. I find using an online CV builder the easiest way to do this (and it helps make it very easy to find and quickly update/edit). By keeping an up to date CV it means that all the evidence and a list of your achievements is easily to hand whenever you need to demonstrate it. Plus seeing all your achievements listed in a single document, helps you realise how much you have accomplished in your career.

- Student Impact - examine pass rates, level of engagement in class, does everyone say they understand yet fail the exam? Peers - share knowledge and thoughts. You may be surprised they may implement your ideas jn their sessions. E.g demonstrating a new activity on the LMS. Employers - pass rates shoukd speak for themselves. Sudent feedback (formal and informal - almost like a grapevine effect) speaks for itself. Number of students enrolled for your course speaks for itself. Once you do the right things your impact will be seen and felt. Strive to get feedback and improve continuously. Your reputation as a lecturer improves and students come out of your class feeling like they have accomplished their learning goals. Win, win.

As a lecturer, I feel that I am contributing not only to the future generation but also to the institution where I'm working. What I do mostly is, sharing my perspectives, ambitions, achievements, expectations etc. I post content online as a video creator to have an impact and rapport with my colleagues and stakeholders also get to know me through it. I also contribute to articles to showcase my experience and personality to reflect and gain insights. I ask for feedback from my colleagues and seniors for improvement and development as well.