Name: Zachary Bresler, PhD Research Fellow
Applying for the position of: Open position- communication and marketing coordinator
Name of department: Popular Music
It is with pride that I am submitting this letter of intention to run for the office of Open position-communication and marketing coordinator on the first board of the PhD and Postdoc association
UiAdoc. I believe that all post-graduates at UiA should be active participants in this new
association for many reasons, not the least of which is the great opportunities for personal and professional growth that are no doubt going to come from it. I hope that you will find after
reading this letter that my background and experience as an educator, artist, and academic make me an ideal candidate for this role, and if I am elected as such, I will look forward to serving you on this board.
Prior to moving to Norway in 2016, I taught for 2 years in the music technology and audio
engineering programs at Iowa Western Community College, a small college in Midwest of the US. As the leader of this instruction area, I implemented curricula for two programs, taught a full course load, and organized and oversaw internships for soon-to-graduate students. At the same time, I was operating a small recording studio in Omaha, Nebraska, freelancing as a recording engineer, and performing as a drummer in multiple area bands and ensembles. Now, as I am coming to the end of my first year as a PhD student, I am finding all the time that the skills I have learned in those experiences—time management, efficient writing, collaboration, teaching—have been crucial.
I have identified several items that I believe would be useful to many PhDs and postdocs, which, in my opinion, should be priorities for this coordinator and the association as a whole. First, UiAdoc should organize regular seminars and workshops for academic and professional skills development. These initiatives should include visits from our own faculty and guest speakers from other organizations and institutions and should include developmental events on all topics related to research methods, writing and dissemination, pedagogy, time and resource management, interdisciplinary collaboration, and even professional development and academic job seeking. Second, the coordinator for academic and skills development should work closely with the communications team to provide better materials for the onboarding of newly hired PhD and postdoc researchers. I am finding that even after one year of study, I am still learning things about the operations, structures, and resources of our institution that are important for my research, and this kind of information needs to be clearer and easier to find, particularly for international researchers who are still learning Norwegian language. Finally, I believe it is the role of this association to listen to researchers both here and abroad, and constantly advocate for improvements and changes to academic course requirements and offerings for researchers.
Thank you for your time in reading this letter. While I hope to serve you as a member of this
board, I am looking forward to participating actively in UiAdoc regardless of the election
results. Please, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
