About Academic Coach

Dr Melanie Smith, Founder & Academic Coach

Academic Coach exists to help researchers build the skills, judgement and systems that underpin successful academic careers. Through coaching, training and strategic mentoring, I help academics publish more effectively, develop sustainable research practices and build long-term research capability.

I believe that excellent research careers are built, not discovered. They emerge from developing capabilities that can be learned, practised and refined throughout an academic career.

Why Choose Me as a Coach?

About Me

I’m a published author of multiple peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, books, and edited collections, with over 17 years of experience in research, publishing, and academic programme development. Before founding Academic Coach, I spent more than 13 years as a tenured Associate Professor at Cardiff University, served as a consultant to the European Parliament, and designed and delivered faculty development programmes to help researchers strengthen their writing, publishing, and research practice.

Originally trained as an EU law scholar, I've worked with researchers across almost every discipline—from the creative arts, where research takes the form of artistic practice, to medicine, engineering, and the natural sciences. While every field has its own methods and conventions, the capabilities required to succeed in academia are remarkably consistent. Regardless of discipline, researchers need to develop the judgement, systems, and strategic thinking that underpin excellent research and successful academic careers.

My Mission

I founded Academic Coach in 2019 to provide the mentorship, skills, and strategic guidance I wish I had received much earlier in my own academic career.

Like many researchers, I was taught what to produce but rarely how to become an effective researcher. Nobody explicitly taught me publication strategy, sustainable research systems, career planning, writing technique that elevate my contributions, or the countless day-to-day decisions that determine whether an academic career feels reactive and exhausting or focused and rewarding. These are the invisible capabilities that sit behind successful researchers, yet they are rarely taught within universities.

Drawing on research in writing productivity, behavioural psychology, neuroscience, and deliberate practice, I help academics develop those capabilities. My programmes are designed to build sustainable research practices, stronger publication strategies, better judgement, and the confidence to make strategic decisions throughout an academic career.

Since 2019, I've coached more than 1,000 academics and delivered over 50 training programmes for universities around the world, supporting faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and PhD candidates to publish more effectively, develop sustainable research practices, and build successful research careers.

My Coaching Philosophy

Academic success is about much more than writing, even though writing is the bedrock of your academic career.

Writing is the visible output of research capability, but it is only one part of the picture. Behind every published paper, successful grant application, or completed book sits a much broader set of capabilities: strategic judgement, critical reading, effective research systems, intellectual identity, publication strategy, confidence, and the ability to make good decisions under conditions of uncertainty.

These are the hidden skills of academia and exactly what I coach.

What Kind of Coaching Do I Offer?

Academic coaching is a specialist field, and not all coaching serves the same purpose.

My work is not executive coaching, life coaching, or generic career coaching. I don't focus on personality assessments, leadership exercises, or helping people change careers. Instead, I work with researchers who want to build successful, sustainable academic careers.

My coaching is built around developing what I call the hidden skills of academia: the capabilities that universities expect researchers to acquire, but never teach explicitly.

These hidden skills include academic writing, publication strategy, strategic judgement, research planning, intellectual identity, sustainable research systems, and the confidence to make good decisions in environments where there is rarely a single "right" answer.

Writing is an essential part of that work, but it is only one part. Excellent writing is the visible outcome of much deeper capabilities. Researchers who consistently publish high-quality work are not simply better writers; they have developed stronger judgement, clearer research strategies, more effective working practices, and a deeper understanding of how successful academic careers are built.

Whether your goal is to publish more consistently, complete a book, secure promotion, win research funding, or simply enjoy your research again, my role is to help you develop the capabilities that make those outcomes possible.

How I Help Academic Researchers

Whether you're an individual researcher, a research group, or a university, my coaching and training are designed to develop the hidden skills of academia—the capabilities that underpin long-term research success.

Together we develop the capabilities to:

✅ Build sustainable research systems that make consistent progress possible.

✅ Develop stronger academic judgement so you can make confident decisions about your research, writing, publishing, and career.

✅ Strengthen publication strategy, from selecting the right projects to positioning your work for maximum impact.

✅ Improve writing quality and efficiency by developing the habits, processes, and editing skills that support excellent academic writing.

✅ Build long-term research capability, so success is repeatable rather than dependent on working longer hours.

The result isn't simply more writing. It's becoming a more capable, confident and strategic researcher.

I work directly on journal articles, books and other scholarly projects, helping academics strengthen their argument, contribution, structure, positioning and impact. But I do not simply improve the manuscript in front of us. I teach the systems, strategies and judgement that enable researchers to produce excellent work repeatedly across an academic career.

ways to work with me IF YOU ARE AN ACADEMIC

Every researcher needs different support at different stages of their career.

Some people need to establish sustainable research systems. Others want to master journal articles, complete a book, or develop their long-term research and career strategy.

The programmes below each develop different aspects of the hidden skills of academia, from building foundational research systems to developing publication excellence and long-term research leadership.

FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS, THE PHD ACADEMY

The impact of academic coaching on my clients

Every academic's journey is different, but the outcomes are remarkably consistent. By developing the hidden skills that underpin successful research careers, my clients don't just become better writers—they become more capable, confident and strategic researchers.

Research & Publication

✅ Publish more consistently and with greater confidence.

✅ Complete papers, books and long-delayed projects.

✅ Improve publication quality and increase research impact.

✅ Navigate peer review and editorial feedback more effectively.

Academic Career

✅ Secure promotions and new academic appointments.

✅ Build stronger publication pipelines and research profiles.

✅ Make more strategic decisions about projects, collaborations and career direction.

Research Practice

✅ Develop sustainable research systems that reduce overwhelm.

✅ Make meaningful progress despite competing academic demands.

✅ Rediscover confidence, motivation and enjoyment in research.

Over the past seven years, I've worked with more than 1,000 academics across disciplines and career stages, from PhD researchers to professors, helping them develop the capabilities needed to build successful research careers. I’ve run 12 month programmes coaching faculties and delivered more than 50 workshops globally.

Read client stories and testimonials →

Choosing the right academic coach

Academic coaching is an increasingly popular form of professional development, but like any growing field, the quality of coaching varies considerably.

Before investing in coaching, I encourage you to take the time to understand what academic coaching is, what it should involve, and how to evaluate whether a coach has the experience and expertise to help you achieve your goals.

→ Read: Should You Hire an Academic Coach?

In that guide, I explain:

• when academic coaching is likely to be valuable,

• how to identify the right type of support for your goals,

• the questions you should ask before investing,

• and the characteristics of an experienced academic coach.

What I believe matters

When choosing an academic coach, I encourage you to look for someone who is transparent about:

• their academic background and research experience,

• the type of coaching they provide,

• the clients they work with,

• the results they have helped people achieve,

• and the structure and pricing of their programmes.

Academic coaching is a specialist field. If your goal is to succeed within academia, consider whether your coach has first-hand experience of building an academic career, publishing research, navigating promotion, securing funding, and understanding the realities of university life whilst thriving in that career. Those experiences shape the quality of advice and judgement they can offer.

Academic coaching is an investment in your research career. You should expect the same standards of evidence, transparency, and professional integrity that you would expect from any other professional service.

If you're considering working with an academic coach, I encourage you to read my guide Should You Hire an Academic Coach? It explains what academic coaching can (and cannot) do, how to choose the right coach, and the questions I believe every academic should ask before making that investment.

Not sure where to start? Explore how we work

Current writing projects

My forthcoming coaching book:

M. Smith Rewriting Academia: Escape from Writing Prison. A practical guide. (2026)

Academic Credentials

Please click here to see my full publications list as of when I finished working in an institution, including my professional consultancy work.

CV

Please click here to see a summary of my teaching qualifications and academic roles.

I have also trained with Patoss in ‘Enabling Students with SpLDs to Succeed in HE through Effective use of Study Skills Certificate’ in order to support writing and study skills for dyslexic and other neurodiverse students.

Continuing professional development is a core aspect of Academic Coach’s mission to offer the best coaching and teaching to our clients and all the programmes are developed with reference to the latest research on writing and writing productivity, neuroscience, psychology and higher education studies.

FAQs

Q. Should I hire an academic coach?

A. Go here to find out the questions you should ask yourself: Should you hire an academic coach?

Q. Who is coaching suitable for?

Anyone who is looking to change the way they are interacting with your job.

Q. Can coaching help if I already publish?

Yes. Coaching is not just about better quality publications or increasing the quantity - that is a benefit, but coaching offers much wider and deeper interventions in you career progression and research capability.

Q. Is coaching appropriate for PhD students as well as academics?

Yes. You can find out the type of PhD coaching I offer in the PhD Academy here.