When Jim was 20 years old and light bulbs up to his elbows at the kitchen sink, he discovered something that changed his life. Jim was born in Ireland and has had a successful career as a molecular biologist. He was a professor of biochemistry at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and dealt with typhoid. „I tell my students. If you don`t think outside the box in science, you won`t discover anything, because the obvious things have all been done, and it`s very important that as a lawyer, you also think outside the box. Further adventures in Irian Jaya and Mexico are planned for next year, with the next generation of Australian full-backs in between. Jim`s role as a part-time JCU law lecturer gives him plenty of time for bird watching between semesters. He has currently flown over a million nautical miles on birdwatching adventures in Rio Negro, Argentina and Macquarie Island, to name a few. Once the 2018 learning year is over, Jim will fly to Zambia and Zimbabwe to add more birds to the 8,100 of the 10,000 bird species he has already seen. Jim returned to Australia and decided to try something different by studying law at JCU. „I decided to take a little scientific break and do something different, and the Jura turned out to be interesting.” „In other words, you are faced with a problem, like a person who is not a lawyer, who is unhappy; They will come to you with a number of circumstances to find a solution. There are usually several paths to go, and you have to think as far as you can and try to see all the walls that might become obvious in your path,” he explains. After graduating from JCU Law, Jim worked in Aboriginal title law for three years, but found he needed more time for bird watching.
Jim returned to JCU as a lecturer on time, which he appreciates. „I like to meet students face-to-face. I like to talk to them and I like to chat with them. The change in the law was not completely unknown. „As a scientist, you`re trained to be logical and careful, but the bottom line is really that you have to be able to think outside the box,” Jim says. Previous scientists had discovered that bacteria bind to a protein in the gut. Jim and his team extended this and discovered the mechanism (PilS) that allows bacteria to bind to the protein. Challenge your worldview and learn to think outside the box with JCU`s Bachelor of Laws Jim work as a scientist has answered part of the question of why typhoid fever (a type of Salmonella Salmonella typhi bacteria) affects humans so much.
A chance meeting began a lifelong passion for scholar Jim Hackett, who became a JCU law lecturer. „One day I was doing the dishes and there was a washing machine outside. This beautiful little bird came and sat on it. The bird was a New Holland honeyeater and sparked curiosity that would lead to decades of global birding adventures. A curiosity that has underpinned Jim`s other efforts as a scholar, lawyer, and now JCU law lecturer. This lateral thinking can be applied to any field and is a skill Jim considers crucial to success. Jim`s favorite moments in class, however, are when students demonstrate lateral thinking. „I especially like it when they actually say, `Jim, that`s not good, or `Jim, there`s another point of view,` and then we have a professional, academic conversation. Sometimes they bring out a point that should be taken into account, and that point hadn`t crossed my mind.
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