Do you wonder about the difference between coding and programming? Are you new to these concepts? If you hear the word kernel, do you think about corn before you think about computing? Do you have maths trauma, believe in the ‘geek’ gene, stare blankly at people who mention operating systems, the command line or bandwidth? […] … learn more→

My commute is a big chunk of my working life these days. I’m more than five years into a job for which I commute about 3 hours a day (1.5 hours there and back). It’s usually a two-leg journey—train then bus—and occasionally a three-leg one—two trains then bus. I love my job and the people […] … learn more→

Imagine you’re running a small business. But imagine you only have one customer, and there’s only a one-in-five chance of getting a contract with them each year. Obviously, you plough huge, disproportionate effort into getting that contract. But you’ve missed out for a couple of years. Will you have to lay off staff? Can you […] … learn more→

The word “ethics” strikes fear into the hearts of most early career researchers. Some of the reasons are beyond our control, but there’s actually a lot we can do to make our own experiences of the ethics approval process less painful. I’m writing this from two perspectives: as an early career researcher (I finished my […] … learn more→

First of all, an introductory note: to propose a one-size-fits-all definition of colonialism would be itself quite a colonial approach, and I would instead prefer to point you at this extensive reading list. For the purpose of this article, it will suffice to say that colonialism is about the oppressive domination of lands and people […] … learn more→

It is tempting to be suspicious of the research impact agenda – not least the new industry it has created. With the value of a 4* impact case study in the 2014 research excellence framework estimated at £324,000, it is not surprising that specialist jobs in research offices, impact-focused workshops and consultancy opportunities have emerged. […] … learn more→

Last week, the Australian Research Council (ARC) released their Gender and the Research Workforce report. While it appropriately positions the need for direct action in providing support to increase the national participation rates of female researchers, there’s an entire group of researchers missing from the analysis, graphs, and the resolutions of gender parity announced on the 10th of October […] … learn more→

Crowdfunding a project is a great way for your research, or research communication, to connect with a wider audience. Sometimes, it’s the only way to make a project happen if it doesn’t fit into traditional funding models. Crowd-funding can also support projects that are joyful or beautiful, which are not standard grant metrics. Crowd-funding is not a […] … learn more→

Over the last two decades, industry funding for medical research has increased globally, while government and non-profit funding has decreased. By 2011, industry funding, compared to public sources, accounted for two-thirds of medical research worldwide. Research funding from other industries is increasing too, including food and beverage, chemical, mining, computer and automobile companies. And as a result, academic freedom […] … learn more→

We had a question recently from Ely asking for pragmatic advice on starting an international research network. Alyssa Sbisa and Sally Grace wrote “Setting up a professional network” a while back and that post has heaps of relevant good advice that I’d strongly encourage you to check out! I’d written previously on building a research network […] … learn more→