Networking can undermine academic meritocracy, study finds

Further research on networking needed ‘if equity in the academy is to be increased’

Academic networks contribute to academic success but can also be perceived as undermining merit-based achievement, according to a La Trobe University study.

In a study report published in Higher Education Research and Development, Troy Heffernan from La Trobe’s school of education says that networking has an impact on “career aspirations, planning and even remaining in the academy at all when those within the field know how easily merit-based achievements can be overshadowed by network opportunities”.