Murdoch University is celebrating the success of two academic staff members announced as winners at the recent Aspire awards.

Dr Renita Almeida was the recipient of the Murdoch University Professional Development Aspire Award for 2018  and Dr Vita Akstinaite was the recipient of the Australian Institute of Management (WA) Aspire Professional Development Award.

A researcher and registered clinical psychologist, Dr Almeida is the Director of the Murdoch Psychology Child Clinic. Her research focuses on child development and attachment, and she is currently investigating attachment-based sleep interventions and implementing a family-based intervention for at-risk youth through the Murdoch Psychology Clinic.

Dr Almeida will use the Aspire award prize to attend the 4th International Childhood Trauma Conference in Melbourne in 2020.

“Attending an international conference offers the unique opportunity to immerse yourself in current research, which allows for fine tuning of current projects, generation of new research ideas, and potential future collaborations,” Dr Almeida said.

“The Aspire award recognises the world class standard of research that we are conducting at Murdoch University and throughout our State.

"It will allow me to work together with the Perth Convention Bureau to promote WA as an international conference destination.”

Dr Vita Akstinaite was the recipient of the Australian Institute of Management (WA) Aspire Professional Development Award.

Dr Akstinaite held management roles at PageGroup and McKinsey Consulting before joining Murdoch University, and her research interests lie in the areas of hubris, linguistic markers and leadership.

She is an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management in Western Australia, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Dr Akstinaite will use the Aspire award prize to attend the 2019 European Academy of Management Annual Conference in Lisbon, and the Academy of Management in Boston.

“This award is a recognition of the value that my work brings to my field and those that are affected,” Dr Akstinaite said.

“These conferences provide a unique opportunity to share my work and also to connect with colleagues from all around the world for more international collaborations between Australia and other countries.

Only by working internationally and collaboratively we can ensure transferability of the best knowledge or creation of the new body of knowledge.”

Provost Romy Lawson congratulated the two recipients on their success. 

“Murdoch University places great value in professional learning,” Professor Lawson said.

“The awards provide fantastic opportunities for academics to both share their research and to network with their colleagues around the world and I wish both Dr Almeida and Dr Akstinaite every success in their endeavours.”

These awards are run in conjunction with Perth Convention Bureau (PCB) under the Bureau's Aspire Program.

The Aspire awards aim to raise the profile of individuals and their professional organisations, showcasing the ground-breaking research and development being undertaken in universities and ultimately resulting in conferences being secured for the State, delivering economic benefit to the wider community.

More information about the Aspire program is available on the Perth Convention Bureau website.