It is common to think, that academic environment tends to be very formal, but in today’s liberal world the highest productivity and satisfaction of work is being reached in nice and friendly environment along with still keeping it formal. We asked our lecturer from Sydney, Australia to tell the importance of proper working environment and academic writing nowadays, also to share his own experience, as well as share thoughts about Lithuania, compare Australian and Lithuanian students and tell us more about his newly published album “The material city”.
Ron Ringer – professional writer, researcher, and communication specialist – is a lecturer from Australia working at VGTU Faculty of Creative Industries. Ron works with academics and staff who want to improve their standard of written English.
Ron was born in England and followed a career path as a history and English teacher after graduating from the universities of Nottingham and Liverpool. Later, he set out to explore the world, travelling as a backpacker throughout Australia and Papua New Guinea, as well as continuing with teaching. It was during his time at a private school in Sydney that he was approached by educational publishers to write textbooks for senior school students.
“I’m really not sure if I fit the typical boxes,” says Ron who explains what he is doing now at VGTU as someone with specialized skills and experience in communication. He uses his skills to problem solve, often with marketing people in large organizations such as major Australian banks. A different type of writing – technical writing – is needed so that customers can understand the legal basis of contracts- “ it is like being a voice of organization” says Ron Ringer.
“Academic writing is not the same as journalism, and neither is it like writing a novel or history book. It is a type of writing that should never be boring, and whilst it is much less formal it still needs to follow the usual rules and conventions. However, he adds that even for those whose mother tongue is English, writing and speaking in an ‘academic voice’ is challenging.
Asked how he feels about working here in Creative Industries, Ron replies that working with academics is a lot of fun, because ”you make people engage, talk, get on their feet and laugh.” Compared to students in Australia, he thinks that people here are a bit shy, perhaps because they think their English is not good enough. “But there’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” says Ron, who encourages people by saying, “Stop: your English is good, my Lithuanian is terrible, I only know 20-30 words, but I’m learning…”
He points out that in Australia they have an expression – “have a go”- just do it, which works well for any of us, whoever we are. “Education is an opportunity and students need to grab hold and go for it. We are so lucky, because in many countries people don’t have that. Often, we don’t appreciate what we’ve got until we lose it.” So, our teacher thinks that it is up to professors and teachers to make students work!
In sharing his thoughts about Lithuania, Mr. Ringer thinks it’s a great place to be and he and his wife have met so many nice people here. They both like weather here- that we have four seasons, unlike Australia. The summer weather is also very hot: “it is like sitting in the oven”- jokes our guest. Even if it is beautiful in Australia he does miss Europe, its old history, culture and traditions. Asked what is the main difference between Australia and Lithuania, lecturer shortly answers: “the people in Australia smile more”.
As a writer, our lecturer has run his own business for over 25 years. Ron soon discovered that communication is such a broad field, so he is able to write about many different subjects. After coming to the notice of one of Australia’s largest manufacturer of building products with its wide network of independent firms of architects, he was invited to research and write books as well marketing material, video scripts, websites and speeches for the CEO and senior executives.
His latest book, “The Material City”, was launched in February 2019 and focuses on issues of design and urban density in Australia’s capital cities. So, working alongside architects and professional photographers helped him to create a very rich visual of communication that gives readers a strong idea about what is going on, and what we should do in order to understand issues of urban growth. Jokes the author, “the book is massive, heavy, but also works as a coffee table book.”
At the end of the conversation, Ron says that writing is vital to communication and once you become good at this – you can find yourself a career. He compares it with going to the gym- “if you want a result you must work for it”. Writing is combination of research and organizing material, with preparation before actual writing. So, the practical advice that he shares with those, who are interested in writing is: start with short articles for a magazine or newsletter because they are always looking for content. And keep your day job until you have established yourself. Just do it!
