Dr. Sarena Abdullah on Art History & Academic Career at IVPP, Parul University!
Adopting an academic career, rather than simply a job!
Dr. Sarena Abdullah, a professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia, was appointed Visiting Professor at the Centre for International Relations and Research (CIRR), Faculty of Fine Arts, Parul University, to conduct an International Faculty Development Program. An academic career in fine arts, teaching, creative practice, and research can go in several directions. She invited faculty to think about their goals, what areas they would like to move into, and what kind of creative professional they hope to be, balancing academic duties and personal interests, with some areas getting more emphasis at certain points than others.
A journey of curiosity!
Dr. Sarena illustrated the development of direction through her own experience. Though she had studied science from a young age, her love for art remained intact, and she attended additional art classes at school and, after graduating, earned a diploma in interior design before continuing her studies of art history. As a graduate student at SUNY Buffalo, she had to master an unfamiliar academic and cultural landscape and new terminology for art discussion, particularly in an environment where she rarely came across English speakers, much less where they were the only ones speaking English; she had to deal with a long process of permissions and preparation so that her thesis could be read by students and researchers beyond her campus.
Identifying an area of specialisation.
One central message was that it is important to have a clear boundary of expertise and equally of what is not. She stated that she doesn’t try to be an expert in everything in art history but rather is in the fields in which she can connect her core interests with her current work and also suggested that faculty will take a look at what they’re interested in, what they’ve learned, what they know how to do and what they’ve done, their networks, and what opportunities are available to them and see how those things will evolve into expertise. Academic careers have so many opportunities, she said, but it’s not possible to have them all, so faculty should work on their profile in ways that are most aligned to what they are doing well.
Making your work visible, and the longer view
Dr. Sarena urged faculty to keep their academic and professional information.
current across the right platforms, advising them to update their CV, create a LinkedIn and academic profile, and put their portfolio online on open-access research platforms and other professional spaces so that their work is visible and findable. Her closing reframing was to move beyond repeatedly asking, “What should I research next?” and instead ask, “What journey am I building?” treating a career as a direction constructed deliberately over time rather than a series of disconnected projects. Explore your creative potential with Parul University’s bachelor‘s and master‘s programs in visual arts, and turn your artistic vision into a career.
