Dr Shikha Chaudhary

Senior Lecturer
Physiotherapy

Dr Shikha Chaudhary first came to AUT in 2017 as a PhD student in neuroscience. By 2019 she had joined the physiotherapy teaching staff. What's kept her here is the same thing that struck her early on – people who make her feel like she belonged, and a place that gives her room to explore.

What’s your role and how long have you been at AUT?

I’m a senior lecturer in the Department of Physiotherapy. I’ve been at AUT since 2019, although my journey here started in 2017 when I joined as a PhD student in neuroscience.

What made you choose AUT – and what made you stay?

I came to AUT to pursue my PhD in neuroscience, and it turned out to be a great decision. I met some amazing people and researchers and had the opportunity to work with some really great teams. Ultimately, it’s the people who made me stay. The supportive environment, the collaborations and the opportunities to grow made AUT feel like a place where I wanted to build my career.

What has surprised you most about working here?

I think what has surprised me most is how welcoming and accepting my colleagues have been, and the freedom I’ve had to suggest and explore new ideas, whether that’s in teaching, research or broader processes.

I also come from a very different cultural background, so I expected that moving into a new environment might take some adjustment. Instead, the people around me made sure I felt welcome and included. I never really felt like an outsider, and that sense of belonging has meant a lot to me.

When did you last think: this is why I do this job?

I probably have that feeling quite often. As a teacher, there’s nothing better than seeing a student genuinely engage with and enjoy the content in the classroom. When a student comes up to me and says that I’ve helped make something easier to understand, those moments are incredibly rewarding. They remind me why I love teaching.

I get a similar feeling from research. Whenever we start talking about neurophysiology, new ideas emerge, and suddenly we’re excited about what we could explore next. Those conversations and the possibility of turning an idea into something that can make a difference are a big part of why I love what I do.

What does working here let you do that you couldn’t do anywhere else?

What I value most about working at AUT is the ability to bring teaching and research together. I can take questions and ideas from my research into the classroom, and at the same time, the questions students ask often make me think about my research in new ways. AUT also gives me the opportunity to work across disciplines and connect with people who bring very different perspectives and expertise. That creates opportunities to explore ideas that might not happen within a single discipline or in isolation.

For me, it’s ultimately about having the freedom to be curious, to try new things, and to work with people who are equally passionate about what they do. Whether it’s helping a student understand something for the first time, developing a new research idea, or contributing to work that has an impact beyond the university, AUT gives me the space and the people to make those things happen.