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A quiet shift is taking place inside the School of Chemical Engineering, one that’s helping early career researchers step confidently from the lab into the lecture theatre.

The Early Career Academic Fellowship (ECAF) Program is offering �ʹڲ�Ʊ postdocs something rare: a structured opportunity to gain teaching experience while continuing their research. For many, it’s their first formal step into education, and a chance to reimagine what it means to be an academic.

“Before ECAF, I knew I wanted to teach but didn’t know how to start,” says Dr Xiaoran (Daisy) Chu. “Now I know I can do it and enjoy it.”

Chu, who previously questioned whether she could ever teach “well enough,” says the program gave her the tools and confidence to find her footing.

“It wasn’t just about standing in front of a class. I learned how to design a course, how to adapt for different learners, and most importantly, that you don’t have to do it alone,” she says.

Balancing two worlds

The fellowship balances teaching and research roughly 50:50, with salary support from both the School and existing grants. Fellows also gain access to mentoring, peer observation, and targeted professional development in pedagogy.

Dr Choon Jie Wong, who joined the program after years of research-led roles, says ECAF helped him bridge the two parts of academic life.

“Being part of this program gave me a more realistic sense of what the job is: research and teaching are two sides of the same coin,” he says.

Wong’s fellowship includes a teaching microgrant project to develop interactive courseware for process control, allowing students to explore real-time systems and test ‘what-if’ scenarios.

“I wanted to give students something beyond the whiteboard. Tools they can play with, learn from, and build confidence through,” he says.

From inspiration to innovation in the classroom

For Dr Seyedeh Maryam Hosseini, the ECAF Program was a chance to turn her passion for teaching into meaningful practice.

“I was inspired to apply after reflecting on the impact a brilliant lecturer had on me as a student,” she says.

“I wanted to create that same spark—to help students see the possibilities in engineering through great teaching.”

As part of her fellowship, Hosseini co-taught two product development courses where she introduced peer feedback tools and redesigned assessment rubrics to boost engagement and collaboration.

“Working with May Lim, we trialled digital platforms that allowed students to evaluate each other’s work. It helped them reflect more deeply and take ownership of their learning.”

She says mentorship from senior academics Pat Spicer and Per Zetterlund played a key role in shaping her teaching style.

“Seeing how differently they approached teaching—and how effective both were—really expanded my thinking.”

Balancing teaching and research helped her grow as a well-rounded academic.

“It taught me to prioritise, stay focused, and stay student-centred in everything I do.”

From giving back to paying it forward

For others, the motivation to apply was deeply personal. Dr Rishi Ravindra Naik describes ECAF as a natural progression from his early days volunteering with NGOs in North India, teaching children in disadvantaged communities.

“I’ve always felt that education is the most valuable thing we can give,” he says. “ECAF gave me the structure to grow that passion into a career.”

Now lecturing and assisting with labs in core Food Science and Technology / Food Process Engineering courses, Naik says the challenge hasn’t been lack of knowledge but translating it in a way that resonates.

“Through the teaching accelerator and the supervision workshops, I learned how to meet students where they are, not where I assume they should be,” he says.

Not just teaching - but mentoring

Dr Federico Mazur joined ECAF to make a bigger impact on the next generation of researchers and professionals.

“I applied because I wanted to work with students early in their journey,” he says. “Not just to teach them content, but to help them build the skills they’ll take into industry or research.”

In one of his teaching projects, Mazur mentored two student teams as they designed and built custom battery-powered vehicles. It was a move from one-on-one supervision to managing a group, something he hadn’t done before.

“It wasn’t always smooth sailing. But it taught me how to guide a team, manage conflict, and keep a shared goal in focus,” he says.

Supporting student success

For Dr Yasemin Fadil, the ECAF Program offered a chance to grow beyond research and deepen her impact in the classroom.

“I’ve always enjoyed teaching and supporting students,” she says. “ECAF gave me the structure to contribute more meaningfully to the School.”

As part of her fellowship, Fadil co-developed a new course in the Chemical Product Engineering stream and applied inclusive, learner-centred design principles from the Course Design Institute and FULT.

Balancing teaching with an industry-collaborative research project pushed her to sharpen her time management and leadership skills.

“It made me a more confident, well-rounded academic and showed me how to support students in a way that really meets their needs.”

Beyond the lecture theatre

Participation in ECAF isn’t limited to classroom time. Fellows also gain insight into curriculum planning, assessment design, and student support, areas that often remain invisible to research-only staff.

Dr Amr Omar says it’s this behind-the-scenes experience that has been most eye-opening.

“I’d spent years as a demonstrator and tutor, but I never really saw how courses were built or decisions made,” he says. “Now I get it and I’m part of it.”

Omar, who is teaching first-year design students, created a learning resource that explains fluid mechanics through sports. His goal was to make engineering more relatable, especially for students just starting out.

“When I saw students quoting the examples back in their final reports, I knew I’d reached them,” he says.

Looking ahead

Since launching, ECAF has helped early-career researchers across the School become confident educators. Some will go on to pursue education-focused roles; others will fold teaching into broader research careers.

But for all of them, the experience has added a new layer to what it means to be an academic.

“You can’t separate research from teaching,” says Wong. “One feeds the other.”

Applications for the next round of ECAF fellows will open later this year. For now, the current cohort is leading by example — bringing curiosity, energy and care into every class they teach.