Careers in Your Ears

Can researcher career paths span academia and industry? Is it possible to simultaneously work in both? Dr. Lizzy Moyce, Arup's Research Development Manager and Careers Consultant Laura Johnson explore these oft-asked questions. Lizzy gives us her tips on leveraging transferable skills; seizing opportunities and 'legitimate snooping', to enhance the chances of an intersectoral career. 

In this episode we meet Chloe Locatelli, a PhD student at King's College London, who is currently close to completing her thesis on sex technology. We speak about the importance of her feminist approach to research, why her research has a 'wow' factor and how to engage a wide audience with an arts and humanities research project. We also speak about self-confidence, career thinking and the value of seeking advice and support as a PhD researcher. Along the way we consider how universities can open themselves up to more diverse perspectives and include a wider range of people in their research. You can find out more about Chloe and her research on her website

In this episode, Dr. Pavan Mano tells us about his journey from PhD to research fellow and then to his current lecturing post at King's College London. Pavan tells us about the importance of using the support on offer to researchers (including mentoring, careers advice and friendships). We also speak about equality, diversity and inclusion in higher education, what higher education institutions should be doing and why the concept can be thought about in different ways.

Kinga Bercsenyi, VP of Business Development at Arctoris, shares her inspiring journey from academia to industry. She discusses the unexpected career paths that can arise through networking and adaptability. Kinga emphasizes the importance of work-life balance while navigating family demands and professional growth. Learn about the essential skills in business development, including communication over traditional qualifications. She also highlights the power of on-the-job learning and collaboration in shaping one’s career.

This mini-series of Careers in Your Ears is hosted by King's PhDs and researchers. In this episode, Tisha Dasgupta, Research Assistant and PhD student in the Department of Women’s & Children’s Health, School of Life Course and Population Sciences at KCL, interviews Sam Mukhopadhyay, Head of Programme Management Office and senior events lead at Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (ESNZ). Sam talks about her career to date in the Civil Service and shares what the civil service is looking for in recruits and importantly what attributes and skills researchers have to offer this type of work. Please note this episode was recorded in February 2023, when the UK Government had just newly formed the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. If you would like a transcript of this episode, please email careers@kcl.ac.uk with 'Transcript, CinYE, S8,E3' in the title. KCL PhDs and Research staff can access specialist careers support: from 1-1 appointments and tailored workshops. More information is available on our KEATs page https://keats.kcl.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=5279350&forceview=1

In this special episode for International Women's Day 2023, Dr. Risha Govind, Senior Clinical Informatics Scientist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, speaks about her career journey and the challenges faced by women like her from traditionally patriarchal cultures in getting a professional career started. The interview is hosted by Donald Lush, Careers Consultant for PhDs and Research Staff at King's College London.

In this engaging discussion, Dr. Emily Prpa, Science Manager at Yakult UK and Ireland, shares her unique transition from academia to industry, highlighting the importance of communication in healthcare. Alongside Donald Lush, a careers consultant from King's College London, they explore career consulting experiences and the unexpected challenges faced. They also emphasize the value of honesty and self-reflection during career guidance, showcasing how personalized insights can lead to fulfilling professional journeys.

Join Mackenzie Jorgensen, PhD student in machine learning models (and our takeover host for this episode) as she interviews Dr Luis Pizarro, Global Responsible AI Leader at EY and Visiting Senior Lecturer at King's College London. The first half of this episode covers a great discussion about Luis' career in academia, the importance of collaborations and keeping your career options open between academia and industry and the second half delves into the challenges we face in using AI, including responsible AI and how it could be used to counter disinformation and fake news. Please leave us a review wherever you listen to your podcasts; it really helps us to share the podcast and to know whether the content works for you.  Thank you. Follow us on Twitter @kcldo1thing to learn more about our careers support for researchers at King's College London. If you would like a transcript of this episode, please email careers@kcl.ac.uk with Careers in Your Ears S.8 E.2 in the title.

Join Aline da Silva Cerqueira, PhD student (and our episode takeover host!) researching sea birds and marine soundscapes in the Dept of Geography at King’s College London, and Dr Maud Borie, Lecturer in Environment, Science and Society in the same department, as they discuss an academic career and the politics of environmental knowledge.  Maud talks about her teaching, about wanting her students to be critical of received wisdom, the power that universities have over what is or is not researched, and who gets to conduct that research. To hear more about Dr Maud Borie’s work you can follow her on Twitter @maud_bo, and if you are interested in seabirds and how soundscapes can support biodiversity conservation, you can also give Aline a follow on Twitter @aline_marine. Let us know what you think about these podcast takeovers - get in touch with us if you're a KCL researcher and you'd like to interview an interesting guest for us!

Dr Melissa Willis is the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Research Team Lead at Sellafield Ltd. Prior to this she was a PhD researcher in material sciences at the University of Manchester. Melissa shares her experience of guilt, low self-esteem and anxiety during her PhD. She shares advice about what helped and talks about how she handled her career change from academia to industry. Importantly Melissa discusses how she’s worked through these issues during her career transition and in her current workplace. She hopes that other PhDs in a similar situation will make use of the support available to them and her top tips: talk to someone and take real breaks. King's PhD students can access support for their mental health and wellbeing.  Visit the new PGR Wellbeing Hub (internal) for easy access to all the support available including KCL counselling services: https://tinyurl.com/y25w75er King's Research Staff can access support through visiting the Pathways to Wellbeing pages (internal) https://internal.kcl.ac.uk/staff/experience/wellbeing/index  If you're a PhD student or member of Research Staff from another institution, please do contact the student and staff support sites at your university for local support. More information about the NHS' Talking Therapies can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/  If you require a transcript of this episode please email careers@kcl.ac.uk citing CinYE Series 7, Episode 6. Please do rate us wherever you listen!