[Back]

G. Fitzpatrick:
"Changing Academic Life: sharing experiences and strategies";
Talk: Queen Mary University of London, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, London (invited); 2018-11-14.

It doesn´t matter with whom you talk or what country or institution they come from, almost every academic will say that the nature of academic work is changing significantly and that the pressure (however that is experienced) is increasing. The reasons are complex and there can be a feeling that there is little we can do about it. Building on the Changing Academic Life podcast series <http://www.changingacademiclife.com>, I continue the discussions about what we can do to change academia for the better. What are the qualities and values we care about and want to argue for; what experiences and strategies can we start sharing? It is up to us to start to shape a new agenda for personal, institutional and cultural change - albeit recognising that each level operates at different time-frames and with different opportunities. In the end, we can all be much more reflective about how we shape the future of our profession by our own actions and about how we can effect change at all levels, from what we can directly control to what we can influence. This will be critical to the long-term sustainability of academia and a good quality of life for ourselves, our students and peers.