Dr Ishani Chandrasekara

Describe some of the scholarship projects you have been a part of throughout your career

My scholarship work is situated within the context of developing accounting programmes to inspire and celebrate the accountancy education and the profession equally. My scholarship work led to inspiring others to make meaningful transformations based on showcasing and celebrating the best practice and innovation that drives success in the HE sectors. I am deeply committed to supporting the professional learning of students in developing their learning practices and pedagogies. My unique, data-driven approach helped to seek out and showcase innovation; highlighting best practices and new ideas that can help students reach their academic and professional goals. I have embedded the standards of excellence in the profession, technology, and employability skills into the curriculum. This new and innovative approach with forward thinking, allowed students to gain accounting professional qualifications while they study at our university. I aim to deliver compelling and practical content to widen accounting excellence, to support individual growth through providing academic advice, industry placements and hosting inspiring industry panels. The new accounting programme I have recently designed and will seek to develop a deeper appreciation of widening access to education for young people born into disadvantaged backgrounds.

How has that work contributed to your career progression?

I am a true learning champion who actively engage in my own professional development and uses my learning to inform and inspire others. I am profoundly involved with the three main accounting professional bodies in the Europe leading conversations relating to professional and academic accountancy education, transforming the overall, teaching, learning and assessment experience through new and innovative pedagogical initiatives at a national level. I am not only driven by my own career progression, but also by Queen Mary’s own mission to make our university the most inclusive university of its kind, anywhere to open the doors for opportunity. 
Very recently I received a several prestigious awards including the Queen Mary Principal and President’s Prize Excellence for my work on widening access to accounting and finance, after helping to develop new routes into the industry for students from underrepresented groups. I am a recipient of the Professional Qualifications Magazine (PQ Awards 2022) Public Sector Lecturer of the Year and the best Accounting Education Innovation of the Year Awards. In 2022, I was awarded 2nd place for the Most Impactful use of Pearson digital courseware or services in the Pearson HE Innovate awards, for my use of e-texts and MyLab for widening access to education. This year I became a finalist of Future of the Finance Awards presented by the ICAEW and Deloitte for my leadership in social sustainability. 

How would you describe the impact of your scholarship?

In 2021, I took the lead to launch our first ever flagship undergraduate programme in accountancy in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), called BSc Accountancy (Flying Start). This programme will allow every year 60 undergraduate students to fast-track their careers in accounting, by offering paid work placements at PwC as part of the course. Successful graduates of this degree will have completed 12 of the 15 modules of the ICAEW Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualification. This course will widen access to the industry by allowing students to complete paid placements at a ‘Big Four’ company and take key accountancy exams as part of their course, removing additional costs associated with professional accountancy training. So far, through this programme we have awarded just over 35 PwC bursaries each worth £10,000 to support our Flying Start students from low-income backgrounds joining the School of Business and Management. 

Since the launch of this new flagship programme in 2022, women outnumbered men in accountancy programme, 53% of undergraduate enrolment in year 1 was female. This was partly due to the female targeted promotion strategy we have led together with our marketing and widening participation teams for role modelling, coaching, mentoring and school visits. In fact, the gender enrolment gap started to balance in 6-year period, and women outnumbered men in accounting enrolment in our department. What this work reveal is that, indeed, getting partnered with the industry and the professional body is an important way to close the gender gap to admit more female students to accounting education. Women on the other hand have a better access to careers in accounting, especially in the Big Four firms where otherwise male dominated (e.g., Accounting and Finance professional service firms). 

Further to that my longstanding and ongoing strategic influence, contributions, and active commitment towards raising the profile of excellence in teaching and learning has positively impacted success and progression of students not limited by their background, location, or characteristics within and beyond Queen Mary, in the UK, and in Sri Lanka and India, as well as on a national and international level. 

What advice would you give to academics about the importance of scholarship to academic careers?

My advice to others joining the scholarship track is to be prepared to take control risk and be bold with your ideas and always think of the bigger picture. What would make you stand out beyond the scope of your paid job, embrace your true and authentic leadership. I wasn’t sure in my mid-career if I should change from research track to scholarship track, but it was the best move I have ever made, and I totally enjoy working with teaching and learning community of practice scholars to ensure we can provide with skills and knowledge to drive transition to sustainable economies. This great opportunity to work with the Queen Mary Academy members have provided me personally and professionally great opportunities. I love being part of a candid and open discussions about what scholarship can do to support our student body to demonstrate real results. I believe it is vitally important to get scholarship projects out there to our peers and the teaching and learning professional community to show how these projects can be transformational to institutions. That’s why champions in this area are very important, to bring together that are doing great scholarship work in this space, share success stories and best practice. Together, through scholarship academic community we can create innovative projects in education and practice to articulate the value of our actions. It’s more critical than ever for us to work towards a better future for people and planet, in a way that will help protect vulnerable societies. That’s something that really excites me.