Strengthening the links between research and teaching: using academic teaching colleagues’ perspectives to enhance practice

In this paper we provide an exploration of the conceptions of, and approaches to, research- teaching linkages (RTL) that are held by a group of research active educators in our university. Teaching and research are at the heart of what universities do, but the relationship between the two is not always clear to staff or students (Dandridge,2023). The work we report on is an institutional project to broaden and deepen engagement with RTL in a university that historically sits within a teaching- led context. The project focuses on learning from creative ways to embed RTL principles and practices across a broad range of subject areas, learning and teaching environments, and curricula. A primary intention is to highlight how the intellectual work our students undertake and produce has a direct value to them, their future aspirations, and the needs of the wider communities the university serves. This phenomenological study with a discussion of contextualised literature contributes to a relatively small research base of qualitative research concerning RTL. The findings and pedagogic examples, aligned to Boyer's (1998) original classification, emerge from exploring five academic participants' conceptions and approaches to strengthening their research to teaching links. The examples reflect a focus on enhancing student learning and skill development, building critical thinking and using authenticity to stimulate engagement. In doing this, we offer a discussion of the findings and provide practical recommendations we hope others find useful.