My educational leadership has progressed through three connected pathways: leading curriculum change, developing future educators and researchers, and removing institutional barriers to scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).
As co-convenor of PATH3205 Molecular Basis of Disease (2017–2026) and PATH3206 Cancer Pathology (2017–2023), I led curriculum and assessment renewal beyond routine course administration. I brought together co-conveners, lecturers, tutors, educational developers and former students to identify problems, evaluate evidence, test solutions and embed agreed changes. In PATH3206, we replaced disconnected histology practicals with narrative-based practical classes that have remained integral to the course since 2018 (Rodrigo et al., 2019). In PATH3205, my research provided the evidence base for major curriculum renewal (Rodrigo et al., 2022). I worked with the course team to restore face-to-face practicals and tutorials, increase tutor engagement and reorganise content into four connected modules, with improved student experience detailed elsewhere. I also recruited and mentored more than ten junior academics as tutors and demonstrators. One is Dr Mathew Nguyen, whom I first taught as an undergraduate and later mentored as a PATH3205/PATH3206 tutor. He progressed from supported teaching to broader teaching responsibilities and now contributes to UNSW Pathology as an adjunct lecturer while undertaking specialist Pathology training.
I extend this leadership by developing research capability in medical students and junior doctors in Australia and Sri Lanka. Rather than retaining ownership of projects, I progressively support trainees to formulate questions, apply appropriate methods and lead dissemination. The Sri Lankan junior doctors I trained are now specialists in Neurology, Cardiology, Endocrinology and General Medicine. Dr P. Weeratunga, whom I trained in systematic-review methodology (Rodrigo et al., 2018), subsequently completed a DPhil at the University of Oxford and is now a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Medicine. He continues to collaborate with me on research in Sri Lanka. Dr Nipun de Silva, who led our published peer-assisted learning research, is now a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Medicine at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka (de Silva et al., 2017).
My institution-wide leadership at UNSW addresses barriers to SoTL ethics review. Reflecting on my own difficulties obtaining timely ethics approval for projects with only one annual opportunity for data collection, such as student surveys in courses offered once a year, I recognised that other educational researchers faced similar challenges. Also, the review panels did not consistently include reviewers familiar with pedagogical principles or UNSW educational systems, including learning-management platforms, formative and summative assessment, myExperience surveys and enrolment arrangements. As Presiding Member of UNSW Human Research Ethics, I built support for change with Scientia Education Academy Director Professor Patsie Polly, education-focused academics, Research Ethics and Compliance Support, and University research leadership. I led the appointment of education-focused academics to all low-risk panels and modification of the iRECS submission process to identify SoTL applications requiring specialist review. This University-wide pathway now provides dedicated infrastructure for contextually informed review within teaching timelines.
Together, these contributions demonstrate an expanding sphere of leadership: sustaining effective course teams, developing others’ educational and research capability, and enabling institution-wide improvement beyond my own practice.
References
de Silva, N. L., Parththipan, B., Rodrigo, C., Constantine, G., Fernando, S. D., & Rajapakse, S. (2017). Peer assisted learning among Sri Lankan medical undergraduates: A cross-sectional study. BMC Research Notes, 10, Article 595. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-017-2920-2
Rodrigo, C., Weeratunga, P., Fernando, S. D., & Rajapakse, S. (2018). Amphotericin B for treatment of visceral leishmaniasis: Systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective comparative clinical studies including dose-ranging studies. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 24(6), 591–598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2017.11.008
Rodrigo, C., Tedla, N., Thomas, S., Polly, P., Herbert, C., Velan, G., & Saunders, D. N. (2019). Using narratives to teach students enrolled in science and medical science bachelor’s degree programs. Medical Science Educator, 29(2), 357–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00698-1
Rodrigo, C., Herbert, C., Saunders, D., Thomas, S., & Polly, P. (2022). Influence of COVID-19 restrictions on student satisfaction with undergraduate pathology teaching in an Australian university. Frontiers in Education, 7, Article 1014906. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.1014906