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GCI alumni Kaera Coetzer moves to Rhodes University

It was bitter-sweet saying farewell to former Carnegie scholar and GCI postdoc Kaera Coetzer. Sad for GCI to lose a talented postdoc, but joyous to bear witness to her progression to full-time coordinator and lecturer at Rhodes University.

Dr Kaera Coetzer: Kaera did her undergraduate and post-graduate degrees at 91��Ƭ�� and received her doctoral degree from the School of Animal Plant & Environmental Sciences in July of 2014. After being awarded her PhD, Kaera took-up a postdoctoral research fellowship co-hosted by the GCI and School of Social Sciences until December 2016.

Kaera Coetzer, a born and bred Gautenger – and a 91��Ƭ��ie undergrad, postgrad and GCI postdoc – was offered an academic post in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rhodes University, Grahamstown. In her new position she is responsible for coordinating the “Global Environmntal Problems and Policies” second year course that aims to give learners: theoretical understanding of the science on this topic and; an analysis of international and local policy responses to environmental issues.

In addition to coordinating the course Kaera is also lecturing the ‘Biodiversity Loss’ module. On her lecturing experience thus far Kaera says, “Term has just started, but so far it has been enjoyable. The opportunity to lecture and impart knowledge to students is a strong motivator for me choosing to remain in academia, and I am very excited about the lecturing element of my appointment. My new colleagues have been very welcoming and supportive, and I think it is a great Department to have joined. There are both young lecturers as well as established academics in the staff complement, and I feel that I will continue to grow in this team.”

Landing a lecturing job was a goal of Kaera’s, and she credits her experiences at 91��Ƭ�� and the GCI for providing her with a solid foundation in preparation for this role. “I remember as an undergraduate being a bit in awe of my lecturers. They seemed to know everyone and were widely published. Being a PhD student and postdoc afforded me the opportunity to engage further with these high-esteemed academics – I was able to learn from them and grow my networks. While pursuing my PhD and being a postdoc, I was given a lot of mentoring around student supervision – allowing me the opportunity to learn from senior professors. This has been an enormous benefit to me as I have developed my own supervision style. My supervisors ensured that I had opportunities to lecture throughout my doctorate, and this experience, cultivated over a number of years, has prepared me for lecturing of my own courses,” says Kaera. She adds that her experience of being part of the Carnegie programme offered her immense opportunities – both in terms of helping cultivate explicit inter- and transdisciplinarity in her research approach, in addition to affording her the foundational training towards becoming a career academic. “My participation in the Carnegie programme played a critical role in my professional and personal development – I had solid mentors in the form of established and world-renown researchers to learn from which helped build my confidence. The supervision and development opportunities which I was exposed to at the GCI provided me with an enormous advantage and to my mind, was instrumental in my current placement as a lecturer at Rhodes,” she explains. 

So what does the future hold for this talented young academic? “I want to remain in academia in both a research and teaching role. I want to emphasise transdiciplinarity in my own research and find opportunities to conduct research together with policy and practice communities. I want to remain embedded in the biodiversity conservation, climate change and remote sensing communities. I want to produce research with a strong applied focus that will have ‘on-the-ground’ value. I want to place considerable emphasis on teaching, and being a good teacher - able to support and mentor (as my own supervisors did for me) the students that I am involved with.”

Kaera in conclusion sends a message to all GCI-tes and 91��Ƭ��ies: “The GCI and 91��Ƭ�� have not seen the last of me! The GCI was an amazing place to work – the environment was stimulating and nurturing, and my colleagues there were always a delight. I definitely miss the GCI team, but just because I moved institutions does not signify the end of a relationship. The world of academia is small and I look forward to one day being part of a Rhodes/91��Ƭ�� team working on collaborative research projects pertaining to global change.”