This is the second of three special episodes that were recorded during the RMeS/NICA career event in June 2023. In this episode, Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) interviews Karin van Es, Associate Professor of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University.  Karin shares her academic journey and how she found the balance in working with people in- and outside academia. How do you make sure that your research stays connected to world? What can researchers do to rightly manage all potential stakeholders in a research project? Karin provides in this episode some tips, tricks, and practical suggestions for these questions.