Changing Academic Life

As we leave 2024 and embark on the new year, I want to share the reflective template I used for myself, playing with the LP (long play) record concept. I introduce the table structure of the personal, people, play, and projects (Ps) categories, paired with reflective components like land, love, labor, and learn (Ls) for the past year review, and look forward, let go, let grow, and let be (Ls) for the next year. I share some illustrative examples from my own reflections of 2024, including milestones, achievements, and lessons learned. And I share some of the feedback from you that helps make the work of this podcast worthwhile – thank you! I hope this encourage you too to reflect on your LP last year, celebrate your accomplishments, and be more intentional on how you approach the coming year. You can download the LP template here. 00:29 Episode Introduction02:29 Introducing the LP Table Template06:27 Reflecting on my 2024 Landings16:10 What I Loved and What Feels Like Labour19:13 What I Learned23:21 Taking Time to Savour and Celebrate25:06 Celebrating Feedback on the Podcast31:42 Looking forward to the 2025 LP36:44 Wrapping Up and Summary39:48 Final Pointers41:01 Outro41:50 EndRelated LinksPast Episodes: Remembering Volkmar Pipek - on being curious, being youLiam Bannon (Part 1) on a career outside the box – April 2024 Liam Bannon (Part 2) on values & what matters – Sept 2024 On research identity, meaningful work and funding (solo)  - Jan 2024RW9 Progress and praise – July 2021 Other links:Linked In Post by Rachel Ratz-Lubashevsky on the research identity episodeHCI Group, TU Wien Online Academic Leadership Development course – Spring 2025, early bird deadline 2 March 2025To explore more of my offerings: geraldinefitzpatrick.com 

Evan Peck returns to discuss his career evolution since our last conversation in 2017. The focus is on his initial choice to join a liberal arts college post-PhD, emphasizing the balance between teaching and research, how his research evolved, and on his career goals then. Evan then talks through his move to the University of Colorado Boulder, detailing his motivations and the strategic thinking behind the transition. He reflects on the impact of his work in responsible computing and data visualization and the importance he places on aligning career choices with personal values and goals. Evan also discussed the nuances of working in different academic environments and how he continues to prioritize student mentorship and educational impact. Overview00:00 Intro03:21 Welcome Back, Evan!04:33 The Appeal of Liberal Arts Colleges06:26 Making Academic Paths Visible09:31 Balancing Teaching and Research13:21 Shifting Research Interests22:40 The Move to Colorado24:40 Integrating Ethics in Computing and Wanting More External Impact33:50 Reflecting on Post-Tenure Decisions37:16 Exploring New Opportunities40:46 The Unexpected Offer43:34 Transitioning to a Research Institution47:26 Adapting to a Larger Institution53:18 Balancing Work and Family54:30 Reflecting on Career Choices01:00:16 Final Thoughts and Advice01:03:05 EndRelated Links:Evan's CU Boulder web page and his personal web page and LinkedIn profile2017 podcast episode with Evan and his blog post

Özge Subaşı is the Director of Futurewell: CoCreation and Wellbeing Group in the Media and Visual Arts Department at Koç University in Turkey. In this episode, Özge shares a journey from industrial design to interaction design, with a focus on diversity, inclusion, and justice. The work with visually impaired children and older people significantly influenced Özge's transition into human-centered design. Özge's story reflects a life of multiple relocations—whether moving schools as a child, transitioning disciplines, or navigating new countries and cultures. Özge describes “always coming from somewhere and not being in the system.”The episode emphasizes the importance of holding true to core values, such as listening without prejudgment, fostering open communication, and caring for both the individual and the community. Özge's practical examples illustrate how these values influence research and teaching choices, as well as navigating trade-offs, particularly while completing an evaluation document. The discussion also addresses challenges with Özge's depression during the academic journey and strategies for maintaining personal wellbeing. Additionally, the episode highlights some difficulties faced by academics in Türkiye, including engaging with the international community and managing issues related to travel and visas.Özge's commitment to personal values, to trying different ways of being an academic researcher, and to fostering an empathetic and inclusive work culture is really inspiring.Overview00:00 Intro00:29 Episode Introduction03:37 Introduction and Background04:39 Early Career and Education08:10 Transition to Interaction Design11:50 Values and Philosophy14:15 Challenges in Academia18:07 Building a Collaborative Culture26:37 Balancing Academic Expectations34:42 Navigating Academic Trade-offs36:04 Embracing Personal Values38:36 Prioritizing Mental Health42:26 Building Supportive Environments47:00 Challenges in Academia53:45 International Collaboration and Travel01:02:22 Concluding Thoughts01:04:36 EndRelated Links: Futurewell: CoCreation and Wellbeing Group, Media and Visual Arts Department, Koç UniversityÖzge’s LinkedIn page Özge on Instagram @allthefooldays (personal page on food & family) and @sozges on X

Continuing our culture theme, I revisit past podcast conversations that explore how to foster positive research environments and cultures. We hear from people such as Elizabeth Adams, Tanita Casci, Jolanta Burke, Janet Reed, Alex Taylor, Kia Hook, and Lindsay Oades, who share their experiences and insights on creating a sense of belonging and collegiality within academic settings. Their stories emphasize recognizing individual strengths, promoting transparency, celebrating achievements, and the importance of supportive management practices for bringing out the best in people. Hopefully you will take away practical ideas and inspiration, and recognise the importance of both micro-actions and collective efforts in creating supportive, transparent, and inclusive cultures.00:00 Intro00:29 Episode introduction - fostering good cultures03:48 Glasgow Uni's Research Culture Awards07:51 Jolanta Burke on positive organisations09:53 Janet Read on flexibility and supporting people with young families11:47 Janet Read on know your team12:32 Janet Read on bringing out the best in people16:14 Alex Taylor on the power of the collective22:25 Kia Höök on Fika25:50 Lindsay Oades on autonomy, rationales and leeting people they are valued29:58 Wrapping up33:18 Outro34:05 Repeating what Lindsay saidRelated LinksPast episodes used in this curated episode:Tanita Casci and Elizabeth Adams on supporting, rewarding and celebrating a positive collegial research culture (from May 2021)Jolanta Burke on burnout, harmonious passion, positive workplaces & helping others (from Nov 2017)Janet Read on charm bracelets, finish tape & the work to be a complete academic (from May 2018) Alex Taylor on research at the boundaries, moving from industry to academia, the labour of academia & the power of the collective (from July 2019)Kia Höök on challenges of success & value of slowing down and re-connecting (from Feb 2017) Lindsay Oades on academic wellbeing, connecting to strengths, meaning and purpose, and not taking the system too seriously (from Sept 2018)And others you can search for on Changing Academic Life who also talk about culture (among many others): Sarah Davies (part 2), Mark Reed, Karen Stroobants, Elizabeth Churchill.

Continuing the theme of great research environments, I explore how to contribute to creating great research cultures with a focus on the concept of psychological safety. I contrast the prize winning example we heard about in the last episode with examples of experiences with poor research environments. This leads to a discussion of the value of psychological safety as defined by Amy Edmondson, and others for enabling creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Psychological safety is about creating conditions where people feel safe speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns and mistakes and that foster a learning culture. I discuss practical strategies for leaders through their everyday interactions for fostering such an environment and enabling innovation, collaboration and personal growth and wellbeing. And I finish up with an invitation for all of us to reflect on our role in cultivating a supportive and inclusive academic culture.00:00 Intro00:29 Introduction to Creating Great Research Cultures00:52 Recap of Prize-Winning Research Environment02:38 Understanding Psychological Safety03:40 Examples of Poor Research Environments10:37 Defining Psychological Safety12:21 Historical Context of Psychological Safety15:42 Research on Psychological Safety21:31 Psychological safety as key factor in Google's great teams23:03 Leadership and Psychological Safety24:15 Role Modeling and Self-Awareness26:46 Fostering Belonging, Inclusion and Learning29:18 Co-Creating Research Culture through our Actions31:20 Conclusion and ReflectionRelated links:Previous podcast episode with Line, Nicklas, and Nina on Danis Young Academy prize research environmentsAmy Edmondson web pageAmy C. Edmondson and Shike Lei, Psychological Safety: The History, Renaissance, and Future of an Interpersonal Construct. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior. Vol 1:23-43, 2014. Amy C. Edmondson. The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Wiley. 2019.Pat Thomson, Blog article - Felling like an imposter?Pat Thomson, feeling like an imposter? Google’s Project AristotleRoyal Society, Research Culture Embedding inclusive excellence: Insights on the future culture of research. (Tom Welton quote on culture p6)

What are the ingredients for creating a supportive, inclusive research culture? Nina Molin Høyland-Kroghsbo from the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences , Microbial Ecology and Biotechnology at the University of Copenhagen discusses the Research Environment Prize established three years ago by the Danish Young Academy to promote and celebrate good research environments, as experienced by early career researchers in those environments.  We are joined here by the 2024 prize winners, PhD students Line Maj Sternberg and Nicklas Stott Venzel who nominated their Research Unit in Psychology of Sport, Excellence and Health at the University of Southern Denmark. They share what makes their environment great, and how the group translates their research on what makes a great sports environment into what makes a great research environment. In particular, they talk about encouragement for taking initiative, a focus on long-term development, open communication, psychological safety, promoting mental health, and a sense of belonging, as key factors. Nina also reflects on the common themes that the awarding panel has seen across over a hundred nominations, such as belonging, collaboration, creative practices, and celebrating both successes and failures.Overview:00:34 Episode Introduction03:26 Meet the guests06:44 The Danish Young Academy and the Research Environment Prize11:51 Line and Nicklas on applying sports research to academia18:38 Building trust and open communication22:34 Support for long term development and wellbeing25:55 Psychological safety in research26:55 Creative methods for sensitive topics29:56 Common themes from nominated research environments34:47 More examples of good practices38:41 Having clear values44:03 Learning from failures, celebrating successes45:56 Value of good research culture for scientific integrity49:51 Wrapping up, final thoughts53:48 EndRelated links:SDU Prize announcement Prize announcement by the Young Academy on LinkedInLinkedIn profiles for Nina and Line

In this solo episode (S6 E3) I invite us to rethink the concept of networking within academia, inspired by what the late Liam Bannon shared with us in our recent conversation and the evident relational impact he had on people. I encourage us, myself included, to view networking as being about the other person, not about us, and see it as an opportunity for forming meaningful impactful social connections. I offer some practical ideas for making networking about giving and helping others, based on the value of generosity, curiosity, and everyday interactions. In the end our real impact and success in academia are measured by the quality of relationships and the human connections we build, not by the titles or metrics we collect.Overview00:00 Introduction to Changing Academic Life00:29 The Challenges of Networking01:33 Rethinking Networking: Social Connections01:48 Tribute to Liam Bannon02:43 Personal Relations in Academic Careers03:44 The Importance of Human Connections10:16 Networking for Others10:50 Practical Networking Strategies17:17 Maintaining Connections21:38 Conclusion and Call to Action22:58 EndRelated links:Recent episode with Liam Bannon Gopinaath KannabiranAdam Grant, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania  

Update 22 Sept 2024: It is with deep sadness that I share Liam passed away this morning. May we honour his memory and his generosity in sharing his reflections by always reminding ourselves about what and who is really important.Liam Bannon is a Professor Emeritus and founder and director of the Interaction Design Centre at the University of Limerick in Ireland. In April 2024 I released a conversation with Liam Bannon recorded in 2017 about his career, ending with a hint about some health issues. This is a follow up conversation with Liam from Sept 2024 where he shares his profound reflections on life, health, and academia, amid dealing with terminal cancer. Recorded from his hospital bed, Liam shares his journey since his 2015 stage-four lung cancer diagnosis and subsequent health challenges, including a brain tumour. Emphasising the importance of appreciating life, paying attention to how and with whom we spend it, and maintaining meaningful relationships, Liam offers invaluable insights on managing career pressures, the costs of neglecting personal connections, and the significance of staying true to one's values. Despite audio quality issues, this deeply personal and reflective conversation is a poignant reminder to reassess our priorities and strive for a life balanced between professional aspirations and personal well-being, and prioritising relationships.Here is a pdf file of the transcript. There is also a transcript embedded with the audio that you can follow along with.Overview:00:29 Episode introduction07:25 Liam’s health journey12:11 Reflections on professional connections & relationships21:22 Being reflective about 25:37 Contributions & tradeoffs31:04 Asking what do you want to do with your life33:48 Prioritising people & relationships38:50 Taking stock, taking holidays, being true to yourself44:32 Wrapping up46:16 End

Introducing the new season of Changing Academic Life.Reflecting on my recent transitions. And thanks to the HCI group for support.

In this short solo episode a share a simple yet powerful technique, S.T.O.P., for taking a purposeful pause throughout your every day. Stop, Take a breath, Observe, Proceed.00:29 Motivating STOP01:50 What is STOP04:37 Using STOP11:19 Towards making STOP a habit13:58 End