Celebrating our colleagues: Mario Ricci
Professor Mario Ricci, Deputy Dean, Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.
I’ve always been fascinated with science and especially how the human body works. My mum trained to be a nurse, so in primary school when everyone was reading Winnie the Pooh books, I was instead flipping through her Grey’s Anatomy textbook!
Whilst I was working on my PhD, I was asked if I wanted to do some casual tutoring, and my love for teaching began.
I enjoy sharing my passion for all things anatomy with students, and I feel a real sense of joy and honour knowing that I’m guiding and supporting the next generation and helping students discover the spark that ignites their own interests.
A few years ago, I started a YouTube Channel called ‘Human Biology Explained’ to share my love of all things anatomy with the rest of the world. To my amazement, it now has over 76,000 subscribers and 3.5 million views from 207 countries. So, I suppose if my university career ever ends, I can always become a YouTuber full-time!
That said, I’ve got no intention of that happening. I often hear experts say that changing employers every five or so years is good for advancing your career; whilst that may be true for many people, I have had so many different roles and experiences at the University of Adelaide over the last 30 years, that I feel like I have changed jobs many times.
Sometimes it feels like I’ve been around the University of Adelaide for longer than most of the furniture in my office! I started a Bachelor of Health Sciences at the University in 1994, and following Honours and a PhD, commenced working as an academic in 2001.
Over that time, two major things stand out. Firstly, the satisfaction I get when helping commencing students transition into university. As a first-in-family to university student myself, I understand how challenging this can be, but also how important this is to set-up the foundations for success.
Secondly, I am proud to be course lead for two of the first University of Adelaide MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) – ‘Essential Human Biology’ and ‘Human Reproduction’. These free online courses have 100,000+ enrolments from across the world. Many of our MOOC students are from developing countries with limited access to education. Being able to provide them with high quality learning materials is incredibly rewarding.
My career has grown from Lecturer, to Professor, to Stephen Cole the Elder Fellow, to Director of e-Learning, and now Deputy Dean. I am proud to say that for all these years, and in all these roles, I have had a career that I love, that has given me a sense of self-worth and purpose and enhanced my quality of life.
The University has also given me lifelong, best friends who share my passion and experiences. My education and now career at the University of Adelaide also opened up my eyes to the wider world, giving me a challenging but safe space to learn and grow as a person.
It is clear to me that University of Adelaide staff have a deep and genuine passion to see our students succeed. Our staff engage with students across all aspects of their educational journey, and our students can see that we care about them.
Our staff are acknowledged nationally and internationally for their contribution to the University’s research and education missions. It’s no surprise to me that the University of Adelaide is the first destination for most domestic and international students.
Every day starts – and ends - with stretching and deep breathing exercises to keep my body flexible (an increasing challenge as I get older!) and my mind focussed. Then I power up the laptop and get to work on whatever challenges and opportunities appear in my inbox. Every week I chair and attend multiple learning and teaching related meetings within the Faculty and across the University, and meet with staff and students to listen and learn from those active in the classroom.
Currently, much of my work is focussed on the University merger, specifically in the curriculum development and education quality spaces.
Achieving a healthy work-life balance is essential for my mental and physical health, so I make sure to integrate regular exercise into my every workday.
My office is adjacent the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, so I love scheduling ‘walk-and-talk’ meetings with colleagues in the beautiful gardens.
When it comes to personal holidays, this year I travelled to Italy for the first time. I took my parents with me as they hadn’t been back to Italy in 60 years since they migrated to Australia. So, it was very emotional for us all meeting our Italian relatives for the first time. And, being a history buff, it was also amazing visiting the historic monuments and sites, especially Pompeii, Rome and Florence.
Professor Ricci has received numerous national and international awards for his outstanding contribution to learning and teaching including the nation's highest award, an Australian Award for University Teaching, in 2016.
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