Author Archives: Athene Donald

What Does Excellence Look Like?

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Athene Donald

Harnessing the Metric Tide, the recently-published follow-on to the 2015 Report The Metric Tide, provides a welcome focus on our cultures and practice within HEIs. It imagines an ecosystem where metrics are collected which inform the community about the health … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Research | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on What Does Excellence Look Like?

Has the World Changed (Enough)?

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Athene Donald

“The reported incidents of racism and misogyny are extremely alarming” according to Gareth Cook, fire brigade’s union regional organiser for London about the recent report into the London Fire Brigade. “Women have been “systematically failed” by the criminal justice system”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Women in Science | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Has the World Changed (Enough)?

Refereeing and Bullies

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Athene Donald

We’ve heard a lot about bullying at the heart of government in recent days. One defence of the behaviour of the former Chief Whip is that it used to be worse, much worse. That is of course a line one … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Refereeing and Bullies

Research Leadership: Are we Getting it Right?

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Athene Donald

We are stuck in an academic world where the model of how science research is done appears not to have shifted much from that deemed appropriate fifty years ago. Back then (more or less when I set out, give or … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Science Culture | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Research Leadership: Are we Getting it Right?

Does Life Get Better at Mid-Career?

Posted on October 28, 2022 by Athene Donald

Julie Gould and Nature Careers podcasts have been running an interesting series (Muddle of the Middle) on what it’s like to be a mid-career/middle aged scientist. A time when precarity is likely to be past, but reality of all the different … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture, Women in Science | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Does Life Get Better at Mid-Career?