Group work – Hard work but worth the effort!

Pictured above is the multidisciplinary research project team in action. The team includes Redeemer Lutheran College Principal Tanya Crooks, and Chris Seiboth from Lutheran Services.

Reflection from Dennis Mulherin:

I completed some post-graduate studies a few years ago. I absolutely loved it… apart from the group work. While group work is a highly valued and normal of children’s education today, for some of us ‘more experienced’ campaigners, working cooperatively, collaboratively and/or in teams can be challenging. Some of my group assignment experiences frustrated the living daylights out of me.

While it was hard, group work supported the development of tolerance, patience, and respect for those with a skill set complementary to mine. The end results from some of those group assignments and business proposals were some of my proudest academic achievements over the two years.

Working together as a church is also difficult and frustrating at times. Maybe even too much of the time. As individual members of congregations and/or employees and volunteers within the ministry arms of the Church, we share a significant degree of like-mindedness. We share a common faith, a common desire for community through relationship with God and each other, and a common passion for serving others. And yet, even around those commonalities, it can be hard to intentionally come together to leverage those unique and complementary skill sets to create outcomes that individually we could never hope to achieve.

That is why this story is worth celebrating: The LCAQD is part of world leading research that can make a genuine difference in the lives of community, young, old and with disability in urban, regional and remote settings. Redeemer Lutheran College has partnered with Lutheran Services to apply for and receive a national NHMRC grant for a 5-year project relating to intergenerational living and learning called Grandschools. The lead universities for this research project are QUT, ACU and Deakin universities.

Redeemer Lutheran College Principal Tanya Crooks has let us know that there are four exciting and funded opportunities for doctoral scholarships.

The ACU-led Research Scholarships close July 7. See:

• Models of Intergenerational Learning and Living – Youth Social Enterprise Employment Project; and
• Models of Intergenerational Learning and Living – Cooperative Spaces Project

while the QUT-led scholarships

• Models of Intergenerational Learning and Living – Inclusive Environments Project, close July 23.

The project team is keen to cast a wide net for these doctoral candidates, so please help spread the word. There will be projects for research in Queensland, NSW, and Victoria. In Queensland, a number of Lutheran schools may feature in these projects and Redeemer may have a possible candidate for Phase 2 research though their proposed Innovation Hub project.  It is hoped a Lutheran School could be a potential site for the fully designed project in phase 3 with the possible building of a community village in partnership with Lutheran Services.