Author Archives: Athene Donald

A Lifetime of Music

Posted on 15 July 2018 by Athene Donald

It is inevitable that as one gets older the deaths of people who have meant a great deal to you happen more and more often. I have written in the past years about the death of two key mentors of … Continue reading →

Posted in Camden School for Girls, education, LSSO, Peter Morgan, viola | Comments Off on A Lifetime of Music

What does the Future Hold for Interdisciplinary Research Funding

Posted on 8 July 2018 by Athene Donald

UKRI has big shoes to fill. So far it has only just begun to signal its intentions regarding strategic directions: the ‘strategic prospectus’ it published in May was more a road map for developing its strategy than a strategy itself. … Continue reading →

Posted in Interdisciplinary Science, refereeing, Science Funding, Strategic Priorities Fund, UKRI | Comments Off on What does the Future Hold for Interdisciplinary Research Funding

Anchoring Your Biases

Posted on 26 June 2018 by Athene Donald

I couldn’t tell you when I last listened to a football commentary on radio or TV (the current World Cup has not caused me to rush to change this), but I don’t need to listen to realise that a statement … Continue reading →

Posted in anchoring bias, Equality, unconscious bias training, voice | Comments Off on Anchoring Your Biases

Where are the Modest Men?

Posted on 17 June 2018 by Athene Donald

A hashtag debuting this week has caused quite a stir on Twitter: #immodestwomen. In the wake of a US newspaper deciding not to accord anyone the title of Dr in its articles, unless they were medical doctors, historian Dr Fern … Continue reading →

Posted in Amplification, Dr Fern Riddell, Equality, immodest women, mansplaining | Comments Off on Where are the Modest Men?

Being Critical

Posted on 10 June 2018 by Athene Donald

When discussing the skills students pick up – and need to pick up – during their undergraduate courses in a subject like physics, I always highlight the fact that they learn how to be critical, notably about assumptions underpinning an … Continue reading →

Posted in assumptions, education, errors, exams, marking, Research | Comments Off on Being Critical

The Only Woman in the Room

Posted on 1 June 2018 by Athene Donald

As the Master of a Cambridge College it probably isn’t surprising that I get asked to talk about Leadership, and often more specifically Women in Leadership/as Leaders, but there is nothing that brings out the inner impostor in me faster … Continue reading →

Posted in board membership, Equality, gender pay gap, Philip Hampton | Comments Off on The Only Woman in the Room

Writing, Creativity and Grief

Posted on 28 May 2018 by Athene Donald

What acts are best to provoke creativity? Some poets – from Samuel Taylor Coleridge to Dylan Thomas – seem to have felt that drug- or alcohol- induced hazes may be effective, but I don’t think many scientists would recommend that … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Science, Dictionary of National Biography, Sir Sam Edwards, Thomas Edison | Comments Off on Writing, Creativity and Grief

Strategic Developments at UKRI

Posted on 24 May 2018 by Athene Donald

The new super-research council (in UK terms) UKRI that acts as an umbrella organisation – sitting above the seven research councils plus Innovate UK and Research England – launched its Strategic Prospectus a few days ago. Not so much a … Continue reading →

Posted in Horizon2020, interdisciplinarity, Interdisciplinary Science, Nurse Review, place, Science Funding | Comments Off on Strategic Developments at UKRI

How might the Athena Swan Process Emerge?

Posted on 13 May 2018 by Athene Donald

When groups of (comparative) strangers sit around a table, it is impossible to predict what will emerge in the way of new ideas. Readers of this blog will not be surprised to know that I think diversity – of background, … Continue reading →

Posted in AdvanceHE, Athena Forum, diversity, Equality, letters of reference, Women in science | Comments Off on How might the Athena Swan Process Emerge?

The Meeting of the Ways

Posted on 26 April 2018 by Athene Donald

There are many reasons why people believe – as I do – that interdisciplinarity has to sit at the heart of any research agenda. It does not require that two disciplines bring cutting edge tools and ideas together to create … Continue reading →

Posted in Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Eldar Shafir, Equality, Interdisciplinary Science, Policy, stereotype threat, values affirmation | Comments Off on The Meeting of the Ways