Applied Finance Professor Martina Linnenluecke discusses what it means to “look like a professor” and what the role of a professor involves these days.

 Work stuff
I’ve been at Macquarie for…
Just about one year.

In a nutshell, my job is to…
Figure out how companies and industries can help to create a better world.

The question I hear most often in my work is…
“But you don’t look like a professor?”

It’s an interesting question summarising so many of society’s underlying assumptions about academic work, gender and institutions! And this question really started to make me think about what it actually means to “look like a professor”. The Harry Potter movies have firmly established Professor Dumbledore or Minerva McGonagall as professorial stereotypes. Many people are expecting that professors are still looking like the professors they had in their undergraduate years. But academia has been rapidly transforming, with much greater diversity in staff attributes such as gender and ethnicity.

“So, what do you do as professor?” is usually the follow up question. Generally speaking, professors conduct lectures for university students, undertake research and publish scholarly works. These days, many professors are focussing not just on intellectual pursuits, but on addressing many of the significant challenges we are facing in society, including climate change and environmental pollution, big data, technological transformation, and so on. It’s great to be part of a new era in academia where we have so many impressive young and innovative professors making a real difference to science and education!

The top three things on my to-do list today are…
1. Writing this ‘60 seconds’ text
2. Catching up on emails. I have been away on an overseas trip and they have multiplied a lot in my absence!
3. Meeting with an industry partner for a sustainability transformation project.

If I could do any other job at Macquarie (with instant qualifications/knowledge) it would be…
Being a student! I really enjoy learning (perhaps minus the exams and tests) and having the time and opportunity to study was a great privilege in my life.

I get my campus coffee fix from …
Normally, I get my coffee from the coffee cart that’s underneath the FBE building.

If you were given $50 million to create or build something at Macquarie, what would you do with it?
I would set up a Macquarie Centre for Global Change Research leading Australia’s Global Change Research Program, with interdisciplinary links across the University and industry. It would be a major centre for collaboration and learning, support industry partnerships and help us to understand how we can address changes in the global environment and their impacts on society.

Personal life
My ethnic heritage is…
German. I grew up in Germany and completed my undergraduate studies there.

My favourite subject at school was…
I can’t really remember having a favourite subject. I was much more interested in my university electives as I could choose those based on my interests.

Outside work, you’ll often find me…
Doing yoga! I love the philosophy behind yoga, which is not just about the physical benefits of the exercise.

I’m really looking forward to…
The event that we will be hosting at the end of the year, ‘Target Zero: Zero Carbon, Zero Pollution, Zero Waste’. We will advertise it soon – in the meantime make sure to keep 6-7 December free in your diary!

The most amazing place I’ve ever visited is…
There are too many to choose from. One more reason to protect this amazing planet!

In 10 years from now, I hope to be…
Located at the above-mentioned Macquarie Centre for Global Change Research. Hopefully we can find the $50 million to make it happen!