Changing Academic Life
134 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★ - 7 ratingsWhat can we do, individually and collectively, to change academic life to be more sustainable, collaborative and effective? This podcast series offers long-form conversations with academics and thought leaders who share stories and insights, as well as bite-size musings on specific topics drawing on literature and personal experience.
For more information go to https://changingacademiclife.com
Also see https://geraldinefitzpatrick.com to leave a comment.
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Episodes
Reflections on 2017 & creating kinder better work cultures
January 02, 2018 09:51 - 18 minutes - 15.2 MBAs with the end on 2016, this is a short podcast (18:58) where I reflect on the year that has been. (Does this make it a tradition now?) I also add my call to increasing compassion and kindness in the workplace and discuss the benefits of doing this and various options for how to play it out. I would also love to hear your feedback and ideas for what and who you want to hear about in future podcasts: Email: gerifitz at changingacademiclife.com or Twitter: @ChangeAcadLife Wi...
Reflections on 2017 & creating kinder better work cultures (solo)
January 02, 2018 09:51 - 18 minutes - 15.2 MBAs with the end on 2016, this is a short podcast (18:58) where I reflect on the year that has been. (Does this make it a tradition now?) I also add my call to increasing compassion and kindness in the workplace and discuss the benefits of doing this and various options for how to play it out. I would also love to hear your feedback and ideas for what and who you want to hear about in future podcasts: Email: gerifitz at changingacademiclife.com or Twitter: @ChangeAcadLife Wis...
Michael Muller on principled engagements, value tensions, liking people & giving back
December 06, 2017 19:24 - 1 hour - 48.9 MBMichael Muller is a researcher at IBM Research in Cambridge MA. We cover a lot in this conversation, Michael reflects on his long PhD process in cognitive science, long in part because of chronic diseases that he still deals with. He talks about the decision to move to industry and his experiences working in various industry positions since then, including interpreting participatory design methods for a North American industry context, finding out he wasn’t suited to management, and loving ...
Michael Muller on principled engagements, value tensions, liking people & giving back
December 06, 2017 19:24 - 1 hour - 48.9 MBMichael Muller is a researcher at IBM Research in Cambridge MA. We cover a lot in this conversation, Michael reflects on his long PhD process in cognitive science, long in part because of chronic diseases that he still deals with. He talks about the decision to move to industry and his experiences working in various industry positions since then, including interpreting participatory design methods for a North American industry context, finding out he wasn’t suited to management, and loving t...
Jolanta Burke on burnout, harmonious passion, positive workplaces & helping others
November 14, 2017 12:30 - 1 hour - 52.4 MBJolanta Burke is a Positive Psychologist, who works as a Senior Lecturer and Associate Leader of the MAPPCP programme at University of East London and also has her own consultancy business. Her enthusiasm and passion for her work is infectious. She shares how she dealt with burn-out during her PhD, and having to find a place of harmonious rather than obsessive passion, and how this influences her work supervising students now. She also shares her experiences working in business contexts as ...
Jolanta Burke on burnout, harmonious passion, positive workplaces & helping others
November 14, 2017 12:30 - 1 hour - 52.4 MBJolanta Burke is a Positive Psychologist, who works as a Senior Lecturer and Associate Leader of the MAPPCP programme at University of East London and also has her own consultancy business. Her enthusiasm and passion for her work is infectious. She shares how she dealt with burn-out during her PhD, and having to find a place of harmonious rather than obsessive passion, and how this influences her work supervising students now. She also shares her experiences working in business contexts as a...
Evan Peck on making choices, accepting trade-offs, and liberal arts as a great middle way
August 09, 2017 17:58 - 47 minutes - 38 MBEvan Peck is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Bucknell University in the US. Evan has a passion for teaching and also wants to do good research but when he was looking around for a faculty position, he decided he didn’t want to trade off family life and life quality to do it all, as he considered he might have to at a top-rated school. He also wasn’t sure about industry where he could have better life quality but would miss teaching. He is now an evangelist for Liberal Arts Coll...
Scott Robertson on missing tenure, persevering, and connecting to mission & community
July 27, 2017 19:32 - 1 hour - 48.6 MBScott Robertson comes from a psychology and cognitive science background and is now a Professor in the Information and Computer Sciences Department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Scott shares the experiences of being rejected for tenure twice and how he dealt with that. His story is one of perseverance and courage, doing what you care about, and the importance of mentors and being part of a community. He is now in a tenured position and enjoying the freedom to follow his mission aroun...
Margaret Burnett on pioneering, mentoring, changing the world & GenderMag
July 05, 2017 04:43 - 1 hour - 51.3 MBMargaret Burnett is a professor of Computer Science in the School of EECS at Oregon State University. She is a pioneer woman in computer science whose work has been honoured with numerous awards, including ACM Distinguished Scientist. Her passion is to change the world by designing more gender-inclusive software. In this conversation, she shares experiences being the first woman software developer at Proctor & Gamble Ivorydale in the 1970s, and creating two start-ups as well as a women’s bus...
Andy Ko on being reflectively self-aware, deliberately structured, & amazingly productive
June 20, 2017 11:28 - 50 minutes - 40.8 MBAndy Ko is an Associate Professor in the Information School at University of Washington. Building on Andy’s blog post on “How I sometimes achieve academic work life balance”, we explore lots of different perspectives about how he works at being structured and productive. The conversation ranges from his experiences doing a start up, learning planning skills from his mother, putting them to work at college, and adapting priorities while working in industry. Now back in academia, he shares his ...
Amy Ko on being reflectively self-aware, deliberately structured, & amazingly productive
June 20, 2017 09:28 - 51 minutes - 71.3 MB[NOTE: UPDATE since this episode was recorded Amy transitioned and now identifies as a woman: see Amy’s blog post on ‘I’m trans. Call me Amy!” - https://medium.com/bits-and-behavior/im-trans-call-me-amy-8a72a3951964] Amy Ko is an Associate Professor in the Information School at University of Washington. Building on Amy’s blog post, “How I sometimes achieve academic work life balance”, we explore lots of different perspectives about how she works at being structured and productive. The conve...
Gloria Mark on service, multitasking, creativity and fun
June 06, 2017 18:38 - 52 minutes - 42.2 MBGloria Mark is a Professor in the Department of Informatics at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at University of California Irvine. Gloria talks about her experiences as chair of a major conference, not just the work but also the rewards. She talks about how she moved from a Fine Arts background, painting murals on buildings, to a PhD in cognitive science and now studying the relationship between media use, attention and stress, but still being able to be creative...
Gloria Mark on service, multitasking, creativity and fun
June 06, 2017 18:38 - 52 minutes - 42.2 MBGloria Mark is a Professor in the Department of Informatics at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at University of California Irvine. Gloria talks about her experiences as chair of a major conference, not just the work but also the rewards. She talks about how she moved from a Fine Arts background, painting murals on buildings, to a PhD in cognitive science and now studying the relationship between media use, attention and stress, but still being able to be creative ...
Chris Frauenberger on post-docs, parental leave & multiple dreams
April 04, 2017 05:28 - 1 hour - 60.7 MBChris Frauenberger is a post-doctoral researcher and principle investigator at Technical University Vienna. Chris shares his experiences navigating various post-doc positions, taking parental leave, negotiating with his partner about family-career choices, dealing with an uncertain future, and being strategic about trying to build up a CV and visibility to maximize the chance of getting a permanent position. He also reflects on what happens if this doesn’t happen and being able to pursue o...
Ali Black on doing academia differently...caring, connecting & becoming
March 20, 2017 20:16 - 1 hour - 48.5 MBAli Black is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia. Ali tells stories of courage and care and connection, stories that grew out of painful interactions with ‘the academic machine’ and feeling like failure. She talks about creating a different way of engaging in academia, one that is based on intentionality and meaning, on connecting to what is important, on being and becoming, and on creating a more caring and collaborative c...
Anna Cox on family, work & strategies for making the changes we want
March 06, 2017 12:13 - 1 hour - 52.6 MBAnna Cox is a Reader and Deputy Director at the UCL Interaction Centre (UCLIC). Anna shares her early career experiences, the challenge of lecturing a large class, and how she and her partner created flexible work practices to manage family and work. She also talks about the research studies she and her students have been doing on ‘work life balance’, including the ways in which people are different, and strategies such as creating microboundaries and frictions to help us take more control o...
Kia Höök on challenges of success & value of slowing down and re-connecting
February 13, 2017 12:39 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBKia Höök is a professor in Interaction Design at KTH in Stockholm Sweden, director of the Mobile Life Centre and an ACM Distinguished Scientist. We talk about her early research career, and her experiences securing a large amount of research funding with some colleagues then co-leading a large research centre, building a culture, and managing relationships with industry partners. She also talks about how her year-long sabbatical gave her time and space to reflect on the challenges of success...
Cliff Lampe on the joy of academic service, faculty meetings & peer networks
January 20, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 48.4 MBCliff Lampe is an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. He also plays numerous key service roles in the HCI and CSCW peer communities. He talks about faculty meetings and peer service being joyful, the importance of social capital and relationships, how he decides what to say yes/no to, how he manages his work. He also talks about concerns around the production of busyness, the push for quantity not quality, and the increasing community burden of pee...
Reflections to kickstart the new year!
January 02, 2017 19:53 - 7 minutes - 6.35 MBThis is a very short reflection [07:55 mins] from me on 2016 and the wonderful diverse stories we have heard. And looking forward to 2017 as we continue to explore together how to create a better academic life. I would also love to hear your feedback on the podcasts so far and your ideas for what and who you want to hear about in future podcasts: Email: gerifitz at changingacademiclife.com or Twitter: @ChangeAcadLife Wishing all of us a balanced, authentic, vibrant, joy-fill...
Reflections to kickstart the new year of 2017! (Solo)
January 02, 2017 19:53 - 7 minutes - 6.35 MBThis is a very short reflection [07:55 mins] from me on 2016 and the wonderful diverse stories we have heard. And looking forward to 2017 as we continue to explore together how to create a better academic life. I would also love to hear your feedback on the podcasts so far and your ideas for what and who you want to hear about in future podcasts: Email: gerifitz at changingacademiclife.com or Twitter: @ChangeAcadLife Wishing all of us a balanced, authentic, vibrant, joy-fille...
Lone Malmborg on academic performance measures, benchmarking and strategies
December 15, 2016 17:56 - 57 minutes - 46.1 MBLone Malmborg is an Associate Professor and heads the Interaction Design Research Group and the People and Computational Things Section at the IT University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She talks about what is happening in Denmark and ITU around performance measures for academics. She reflects on the impacts of what gets counted and how counts get benchmarked and what this means for things like publication strategies and stress levels. She also shares strategies that she has tried out in her o...
Lone Malmborg on academic performance measures, benchmarking and strategies
December 15, 2016 17:56 - 57 minutes - 46.1 MBLone Malmborg is an Associate Professor and heads the Interaction Design Research Group and the People and Computational Things Section at the IT University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She talks about what is happening in Denmark and ITU around performance measures for academics. She reflects on the impacts of what gets counted and how counts get benchmarked and what this means for things like publication strategies and stress levels. She also shares strategies that she has tried out in her ow...
Ben Kraal on moving from academia to industry
December 02, 2016 19:03 - 1 hour - 53.7 MBDr Ben Kraal recently started working as a User Experience Consultant, having chosen to leave a contract research (and teaching) position after 9 years in academia for a position in industry. He talks about his early career, doing a PhD and then working for 9 years on time-limited university contracts. He reflects on the challenge of being legible within an academic system when you are not in control of your own research agenda. And he talks about making the decision to leave academia for in...
Tom Rodden on doing good work, metrics, failure, funding, and family
November 02, 2016 19:42 - 1 hour - 48.7 MBTom Rodden is a Professor of Interactive Computing and Director of Research for the Faculty of Science at the University of Nottingham. He has led the Mixed Reality Laboratory and founded and co-directed the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute. He is currently Deputy CEO of the UK research funding council, EPSRC. In this podcast we cover lots of issues from personal career choices, what drives his research and dealing with insecurities and rejections, to bigger issues around funding m...
Saul Greenberg on supervising, building a lab, creating good work life balance
October 18, 2016 17:39 - 48 minutes - 39.1 MBSaul Greenberg is an Emeritus Professor and Faculty Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary in Canada, where he led the GroupLab, doing research in the area of HCI/CSCW/Ubicomp. He discusses his experiences picking and supervising students, strategically building a research lab and community, taking control of our own work-life balance, publication strategies, remote working, and moving into retirement. "Work will never end and it’s up to me to balance ...
Yunan Chen on getting tenure, the two-body experience & negotiating motherhood
October 09, 2016 14:20 - 51 minutes - 41.5 MBYunan Chen is an associate professor in the Department of Informatics at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS), and the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) at the University of California, Irvine. Yunan shares her experiences moving from a medical degree in China to a PhD at the intersection of medical informatics and human computer interaction in the US. She also speaks out about her tenure experiences, being part of a long distance relations...
Marcus Foth on creating a research niche and building a lab
September 25, 2016 14:47 - 46 minutes - 36.9 MBMarcus Foth is an i/Director of the QUT Design Lab, founder and former director of the Urban Informatics Research Lab, and Professor in Interactive & Visual Design, School of Design, Creative Industries Faculty at Queensland University of Technology. Marcus talks about being on sabbatical, creating a research niche at the intersection of disciplines and publishing in diverse venues. He also shares his experiences of setting up a new lab and of chairing conferences. “We need to first fo...
Katherine Isbister on finding your fit, being productive 8-5 and praising yourself
August 18, 2016 04:37 - 45 minutes - 36.5 MBKatherine Isbister is a full Professor in the Department of Computational Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she is a core faculty member in the Center for Games and Playable Media. Katherine talks about her experiences working on the west and east coasts of the US, and in Japan, Denmark and Sweden, and working in industry and academia. She talks about the importance of fit, being an interdisciplinary researcher, and how she lives out her commitment to work life balanc...
Rafael Calvo on technology and choices for mental health and well being
August 11, 2016 18:57 - 35 minutes - 28.2 MBRafael A. Calvo is an ARC Future Fellow, Professor and Director of the Positive Computing Lab at the University of Sydney. He is also a co-author with Dorian Peters of the book, Positive Computing, published by MIT Press. Rafael describes a fascinating academic journey that spans physics, philosophy, computer science, and cognitive and affective computing. He talks about his current work on Positive Computing and designing technology to support people’s mental health and well being. He ...
Rafael Calvo on technology and choices for mental health and well being
August 11, 2016 18:57 - 35 minutes - 28.2 MBRafael A. Calvo is an ARC Future Fellow, Professor and Director of the Positive Computing Lab at the University of Sydney. He is also a co-author with Dorian Peters of the book, Positive Computing, published by MIT Press. Rafael describes a fascinating academic journey that spans physics, philosophy, computer science, and cognitive and affective computing. He talks about his current work on Positive Computing and designing technology to support people’s mental health and well being. He also...
Mary Czerwinski on managing people, managing stress, and the work to do good work
August 03, 2016 10:14 - 30 minutes - 24.1 MBMary Czerwinski is a principal researcher and research manager at Microsoft Research in Redmond, US. Mary shares some great experiences about her role as a manager and how she plays this out practically in enabling and protecting people, and establishing a culture in a group. She also talks about some of the key insights from her own research work on stress and how to manage stress, from email management strategies, to designing technology interventions as well as some very easy practical i...
Jon Whittle on the digital brain switch, drama and dance
July 27, 2016 14:14 - 36 minutes - 29.4 MBJon Whittle is a full Professor in the School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University, England, and also a Chair of Software Engineering and Head of Department. He covers lots of themes including making career shifts, changing strategies when proposals get rejected, making multi disciplinary work work, creating balance, and leading by example. He lives work-life balance, describing himself as an artist and a scientist. “You have to give yourself a break” ... “you can do v...
Judy Olson on her career and blooming where you are planted
July 18, 2016 19:40 - 32 minutes - 25.8 MBJudy Olson is Bren Professor of Information and Computer Sciences in the Informatics Department at UC Irvine. Judy reflects back on her career, on changes she has seen particularly the increasing expectations of hiring committees, on common issues people deal with, on blooming where you are planted, on paying it forward, on dealing with imposter syndrome, on the value of good colleagues/collaborators and on her work plans after retirement later this year. “What would Olson do? Follow your ...
Carl Gutwin on academic life, making choices, getting perspective
July 03, 2016 15:59 - 33 minutes - 26.6 MBCarl Gutwin, a Professor in the Computer Science Department at University of Saskatchewan, describes himself as a gentleman farmer in Saskatoon who happens to be a university professor as well. "Even with all the bumps, being an academic is the best job in the world" He talks about (times approximate) … 2:40 How he moved into a computer science degree and PhD program 8:30 How he decided on a faculty position, and the experiences of setting up a new lab, learning how to teach, applying fo...