In The Palgrave Handbook of Imposter Syndrome in Higher Education, editors Michelle Addison, Maddie Breeze and Yvette Taylor bring together contributors to reflect on the crisis of imposter syndrome in higher education. The book gives fascinating insig…
Category: Early career researchers
Why don’t we account for luck in research careers?
Success in academia is popularly linked to hard work and individual ability. However, a study of how academics describe their research careers suggests luck plays a significant role. Following this observation, Sarah R Davies and Bao-Chau Pham discuss …
What 40,000 job adverts say about academic career progression
Discussing the findings of a study of over 40,000 academic job ads, Lilia Mantai and Mauricio Marrone, highlight how the skills required for academic progression differ over career stage and geography. The skills required to progress from PhD to profes…
From early career to senior academic, there are many ways researchers can engage with policy
Drawing on research from their recently published edited collection, Syahirah Abdul Rahman, Lauren Tuckerman and Tim Vorley explore the diversity of ways in which academics can engage with policymakers and consider how these interactions can change ove…
When publishing becomes the sole focus of PhD programmes academia suffers
Reporting on their findings from qualitative research project focused PhD students across China, Hugo Horta and Huan Li explore how a culture of publication has become central to doctoral study and discuss how this can negatively impact wider aspects o…
Post-COVID and the new normal for Early Career Researchers
Early career researchers have both been the most directly effected by the COVID-19 pandemic and responsible for some of the most innovative responses to it. Reporting on findings from the Harbingers-2 study, Dave Nicholas discusses how the internationa…
A lost generation? Early career researchers and the pandemic
A year ago the potential impact of COVID-19 on precarious early career researchers (ECRs) looked bleak. Reporting on findings from the longitudinal Harbingers 2 project, David Nicholas suggests the effects of COVID-19 on ECR researchers have been varie…
Defending a PhD thesis is an emotional moment candidates and supervisors should be prepared for
The PhD defence, or viva, is significant academic rite of passage, which as well as marking the culmination of years of study, can also be a highly charged emotional moment. Drawing on years of collecting accounts of PhD defences on her blog and her re…
What will the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic be for Early Career Researchers?
David Nicholas discusses the challenges facing early career researchers as a result of the pandemic and outlines how a new longitudinal, qualitative study involving 160 Early Career Researchers (ECRs) from 8 countries will seek to understand how they fare over the next two years. In something of an oxymoron, we often look to new generations … Continued
Putting the brakes on professional nomadism? Prospects for long-distance commuting in a post-pandemic world.
Until now, academics have accepted that professional nomadism is part of the job. However, as the global pandemic puts a brake on unnecessary travel, Dr Emily Yarrow and Dr Julie Davies explore the challenges and opportunities that new working patterns mean for commutes, campuses and careers. For many academics, the journey to work is a long one. … Continued