Rate My Professor William Ashraf

Dr. William Ashraf is an Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences at Macquarie University, where he also serves as an Associate Professor and Convenor for the HDR Supervision Enhancement Program in the Office of the Dean of Higher Degree Research. A microbiologist by training, he earned his PhD from the University of Warwick in the UK. His early career included a Medical Research Council Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Nottingham and a position as Senior Lecturer in Microbiology within Biomedical Sciences at the University of Bradford. There, he successfully supervised PhD students in biochemistry and microbiology, as well as externally funded postdoctoral research fellows in molecular biology and protein chemistry to completion. In 2002, he was awarded a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship. Ashraf developed the use of podcasting as a distance-learning and support tool, becoming a finalist for The Times Higher 2006 Awards for the most imaginative use of technology in distance learning. In 2006, he obtained his Executive MBA from the University of Bradford.

Currently at Macquarie University, Ashraf's research interests lie in Studies in Higher Education, including strategy development, innovation and competitive advantage in the digital transformation of learning and teaching; Student Voice to understand HDR students’ digital expectations; and Digital Learning Objects' adoption and best practice via a big data/learning analytics approach to secure student success. He delivers workshops, seminars, one-on-one clinics/mentoring, and bespoke faculty/school events to support the HDR Supervision Enhancement Program, and leads partnering with faculties to redesign and implement the HDR Supervision Continuing Professional Development and Fellowship Programme. Key publications include “Analysis of alternative strategies for the teaching of difficult threshold concepts in large undergraduate medicine and science classes” (2017), “The new normal: shifting the CPD paradigm for Higher Degree Research supervision enhancement” (2017), “Towards consistency: digital learning thresholds” (2016), “m-learning” (2013), and “What's wrong with feedback?” (2013). His work has had a significant impact on enhancing supervision practices and digital pedagogy in higher education.