Dr Natalia Veles coordinates Graduate Certificate of Career Development course and course subjects at James Cook University and is based on Townsville campus. She is the Head of Professional Programs portfolio at the Academy leading development, curriculum improvement and delivery of career development, research methods, academic practice, continuous professional development, short courses and micro credentials.  

Her extensive professional experience in education leadership, project management and international market strategic business development compliments and informs her academic research in career development, university third space, intercultural and cross-boundary collaborations in higher education and staff professional identities. 

Natalia is based at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia with a research and doctoral student supervision and research affiliation with the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She is a third space professional whose higher education management practice, passion for lifelong learning and commitment to enhancing the learning experiences and improving the careers and self-realisation opportunities of university students and staff drive her research interests and motivation for improving academic practice and enhancing research collaborations. 

Natalia’s academic background is in organisational sociology, intercultural psychology, career education and development and applied linguistics (Mandarin Chinese language) within the interdisciplinary higher education field of research, with a particular curiosity for how organisations work, and how organisational boundaries and discursive spaces are co-constructed and enabled by individuals and organisations. 

Natalia’s current research focus is on university staff collaboration, career pathways and career motivations. Her recent research monograph Optimising the Third Space in Higher Education: Case Studies of Intercultural and Cross-Boundary Collaboration was published by Routledge in 2022.

Teaching

• ED5581: Theories and Assessment in Career Development (Level 5; ONL)
• ED5582: Professional Practice of Career Development (Level 5; ONL)
• ED5583: Labour Market Information and the Future of Work (Level 5; ONL)
• ED5584: Career Development Theories and Counselling Approaches in Practice (Level 5; ONL)

Interests

Professional

• Editorial Board member: Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, an international journal of professional higher education research and practice
• Regular reviewer for the Journal of Higher Education Policy Management
• Regular reviewer for Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education

Research

• Higher education staff: identities, collaboration and agency
• Career education and development
• University third space
• Sociology of organisations

Teaching

• Career development theories
• Research methods

Experience

• 2022 to present - Head, Professional Programs, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2022 to present - Course Coordinator, Graduate Certificate of Career Development, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2019 to present - Adjuct HDR Supervisor, University of Southern Queensland (Toowoomba)
• 2015 to 2022 - College Manager, College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2021 - Lecturer, Research Methods, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2010 to 2015 - Director, Community Services, TAFE Queensland (Sunshine Coast)

Research Disciplines

• Education systems (3903)
• Specialist studies in education (3904)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Schools and learning environments (1602)
• Learner and learning (1601)

Awards

• 2022 - Dean’s Award for Higher Degree by Research Excellence
• 2021 - PhD - James Cook University
• 2021 - Graduate Certificate in Career Development - James Cook University
• 1999 - Bachelor of Arts (Applied Linguistics, Asian Studies, Chinese language)

Memberships

• 2023 - RPCDP (Registered Professional Career Development Practitioner)
• 2022 - Asia Pacific Career Development Association (APCDA)
• 2022 - Career Industry Council of Australia (CICA) registration
• 2022 - National Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (NAGCAS)
• 2019 - Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Veles N and Danaher P (2024) Transformative research collaboration as third space and creative understanding: learnings from higher education research and doctoral supervision. Research Papers in Education, 39 (1). pp. 50-66
• Veles N, Graham C and Ovaska C (2023) University professional staff roles, identities, and spaces of interaction: systematic review of literature published in 2000–2020. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 7 (2). pp. 127-168
• Veles N, Carter M and Boon H (2019) Complex collaboration champions: university third space professionals working together across borders. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 23 (2-3). pp. 75-85
• Veles N and Carter M (2016) Imagining a future: changing the landscape for third space professionals in Australian higher education institutions. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 38 (5). pp. 519-533

Books

• Veles N (2023) Optimising the Third Space in Higher Education: Case Studies of Intercultural and Cross-Boundary Collaboration. Routledge, Abingdon, UK

Other research outputs

• Veles N (2023) Identifying career paths and supporting career development of the university third space. [Presented at the Online Symposium of the Higher Education Third Space Research Group]. In: Online Symposium of the Higher Education Third Space Research Group (HETS), 8 November 2023, Online
• Veles N and Graham C (2023) Third-space research: Influencing higher education policy? [Presented at the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Conference]. In: Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) International Conference 2023, 6-8 December 2023, Birmingham, UK
• Veles N (2022) Optimising the university third space professional partnership in the world of work(er) dislocation. [Presented at the 2nd International Conference on Business, Economics, Management, and Sustainability (BEMAS)]. 1-3 July 2022, Cairns, QLD, Australia
• Veles N (2021) University third space professional partnership in the world of work(er) dislocation: A provocation. [Presented as a TELedvisors Network Monthly Webinar]. In: TELedvisors (part of ASCILITE) Network Monthly Webinar Recordings, 27 May 2021, Online
• Veles N (2019) Third space environments: learnings from an intercultural inter-campus multiple case study in one Australian university. [Presented at the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Conference]. 10-13 December 2019, Newport, UK
• Veles N, Boon H and Carter M (2017) The university third space phenomenon: investigating perceptions of professional staff working across boundaries in an Australian university and its Singapore campus. [Presented at] Education: What's politics got to do with it?. In: Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Conference 2017, 26-30 November 2017, Canberra, ACT

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