As the darker nights draw in and time spent outdoors decreases, looking after your well-being, whilst staying focused on your studies or your job search, can be tough. Finding a healthy balance between living in the present to ensure you stay on track and looking ahead to the new year…>
Academic Careers
Mentoring women in STEM
Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) are still navigating gender imbalances in their field. While progress has certainly been made, gender disparities remain, particularly in leadership roles and research visibility. One way to close this gap is through mentorship, so that women don’t drop out of the leaky…>
AI in STEM
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere. From search engines that predict your query before you finish typing to AI-based chatboxes as an entry point for customer service, AI is embedded into our daily lives. For those of us in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), this evolution brings both excitement and…>
What makes a good PhD supervisor?
Embarking on a PhD is both an academic and personal journey. It is a process that can take a number of years, requiring dedication, resilience, and the ability to contribute original knowledge to a chosen scientific field. Explore jobs.ac.uk article on ‘What makes a good PhD supervisor?’. At the centre…>
What’s the difference between FE and HE Lecturers?
Are you thinking about becoming a lecturer in the Further Education (FE) or the Higher Education sectors (HE)? In the article below, we shall explore some key differences and similarities of the two roles. HE Lecturer Working as an HE lecturer can be an incredibly rewarding job. You can talk…>
Why share your research?
In today’s competitive research landscape, many early-career researchers (ECRs) with aspirations for a long and healthy academic career might be wondering where to start with getting their research noticed. Whereas others might think it an impossible task to establish themselves as credible. When there is so much research out there…>
How to encourage professional networking as a PhD supervisor
Being a PhD supervisor is just one of (many!) responsibilities we have as part of our academic commitments. Supervising doctoral students goes beyond providing intellectual support and critical feedback about their research. It is also about helping them to develop the skills and capabilities needed to succeed in the post-doctoral…>
Mentoring beyond the PhD
Helping academic skills transfer to non-academic careers Thirty years ago, I started training graduate students. I realise now that I had no idea what I was doing. That’s not a big surprise: like virtually all new professors, I’d been taught how to design an experiment and write a thesis, but…>
What DO academics do in the Summer?
“It must be nice to have your summers off” – and other things we don’t know about each other If you’re an academic, I bet you’re like me: thoroughly tired, if not driven to hair-pulling and teeth-gnashing, by the well-intentioned comments you get about your summers. Supposing I had 10p…>
How career mentorship helps growth and development
The opportunity to receive mentorship from another professional or peer can create a valuable activity for continuing professional development and growth by offering a varied and hands-on approach to learning. Typically, a mentoring relationship can enable individuals to benefit from real-world/industry insights, shared experiences and individual and personalised guidance. These…>