Impact | The impact realities for early-career researchers

In this episode, Wade Kelly, Senior Lecturer at Deakin University’s Researcher Development Academy and a leading voice in research development and community engagement, unpacks what it really means to be an “impactful academic” today.Drawing on his background in education, public engagement, and researcher development, Wade reflects on why impact is not simply about metrics or outputs, but about how knowledge lives — or dies — beyond the page.From speaking to academics in bars through Nerd Night, to shaping national conversations on community engagement, one question roots his journey into impact work: What responsibility do researchers carry toward the communities they serve?