The new Director of Macquarie University International College (MUIC), Ruby Biscuit, has extensive experience in international education in the areas of English language education for overseas students, high school and academic preparation for overseas students, and Early Childhood Education vocational training.

She is joined by the new Deputy Director MUIC / Director of English Language Centre (ELC), Dr Pamela Humphreys. Pamela has held a number of senior positions in international education and has recently completed her PhD on English language proficiency in higher education, for which she received the IEAA Excellence Award for the Outstanding Postgraduate Thesis category. 

We sat down with Ruby and Pamela to learn more about their career and visions for the future of MUIC and ELC.

---

What has been your greatest career accomplishment to date?

Ruby: I was holding a leadership role in an English Language and High School Preparation College during a period of significant change. The most rewarding aspect of this period for me was contributing to the shift in how individuals in the organisation saw themselves and each other, in turn redefining what they perceived the organisation as capable of achieving.

Pamela: I am very proud of the work that I and my teams were able to achieve in the post-entry academic language and learning space, and the recognition of that work via several high profile national awards.

What is your vision for the future of MUIC and/or ELC?

Ruby: Macquarie University has long been perceived as having the courage to do things differently, and I see the MUIC/ELC future continuing on this trajectory. These two high-performing organisations coming together has the potential to re-frame pathway entry and produce quality tertiary outcomes.

Pamela: My vision for MUIC and the ELC is to continue to build on the current quality so as to provide outstanding pathway programs for our students.

What has been a significant work challenge for you, and how have you overcome it?

Ruby: I am a big-picture strategic thinker, and during my career I have had to learn how to communicate in a way that is tangible enough to be clearly understood, while maintaining enough space for the team to take ideas to new and improved versions. I  I get a lot of satisfaction working with my colleagues improving ideas beyond what I can imagine alone.

Pamela: One work challenge was to manage a number of teams and projects at the same time. I overcame that challenge by ensuring capable people were in place to operationalise each project with me. The team around you is the key to success.

How do you maintain a work/life balance?

Ruby: I make sure that when I am not working, I take my mind away fully. I make an effort to not discuss work issues at home, and if I need support with work-related issues, I use my peer and supervisory support network. I exercise regularly, eat well and maintain personal projects unrelated to my day job. This approach allows problems to sort themselves out in my subconscious while I work on ensuring I’ve got other interesting things to talk about with friends and family.

Pamela: In the last few years, my work/life balance has been achieved by ensuring I kept up with my musical and theatrical interests. I have played piano in a big band for many years and last year I performed in the musical “Wicked”. There’s nothing quite like performing on stage to a packed house!