Growing leadership in agricultural research: Sophia Thach joins the Crawford Fund’s Master Class

Sophia Thach, Research Agronomist at AHR, was among an exceptional group of agricultural researchers who recently gathered in Penang, Malaysia, for the Crawford Fund's 9th Master Class in Agricultural Research Leadership and Management.

The Master Class, delivered by the Crawford Fund for Food Security in collaboration with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), brought together 25 participants from many countries including Laos, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Bangladesh, Ghana, Ethiopia, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Australia.

The five-day program was designed to cover a variety of topics relevant to leadership and management of agricultural research, equipping participants with the skills, strategies, and vision necessary to drive impactful change.

The course emphasised practical, experience-based learning; through group discussions, interactive activities, and the sharing of diverse workplace and cultural perspectives.

“The Masterclass gave me time to step back and think differently about how I work with people and approach leadership. I’m already thinking about small changes I can bring back to my role and share with my colleagues, especially around effective communication, collaboration, understanding different personalities and evaluation and research impact,” Sophia said.

“I loved hearing honest experiences from the cohort and realising a lot of us face similar challenges at work, no matter where we are from. I came away with some practical ideas and a fresh perspective that I can apply in my day-to-day work and projects.”

“I am very grateful to the Crawford Fund and Researchers in Agriculture for International Development (RAID) Network for funding and supporting early-mid career researchers."