Author Archives: Athene Donald

Joining the Dots

Posted on 26 November 2017 by Athene Donald

I’ve been in Paris this weekend, talking to a ‘Global Cambridge‘ event for alumni. Paris is a city of which I am inordinately fond – one of my unfulfilled dreams was to spend a sabbatical in the city so I … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge, careers, Paris, Policy, Science Culture | Comments Off on Joining the Dots

Measurements: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Posted on 19 November 2017 by Athene Donald

Measuring us seems endemic to academic life now (as indeed to the NHS or local Councils or any other part of our civic society). The Forum for Responsible Research Metrics is charged with coming up with ways to use metrics … Continue reading →

Posted in KEF, metrics, REF, Research, Science Culture, TEF, The Metric Tide | Comments Off on Measurements: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Soul Music

Posted on 12 November 2017 by Athene Donald

We all have parts of our characters – beyond our work-face – that we feel are important to us. Be it that we like poetry, going for walks or collecting teaspoons, we feel this hobby or habit in part defines … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Science, Desert Island Discs, piano, Radio 3 | Comments Off on Soul Music

Getting to Grips with Writing

Posted on 5 November 2017 by Athene Donald

How did you feel when your supervisor first asked you to draft a piece of writing, whether it was a journal article or perhaps your thesis itself? Excited or terrified? Was it any different the next time and the next? … Continue reading →

Posted in co-author, Communicating Science, communication, Lisa Emerson, Thesis | Comments Off on Getting to Grips with Writing

Higher Education Through the Looking Glass

Posted on 29 October 2017 by Athene Donald

I feel as if the Higher Education sector has somehow stepped through Alice’s mirror. Everything is topsy-turvy and has been for some time.  It is hard to know where the next attack will come from. Labour peer Lord Adonis started … Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit, Daily Mail, David Lammy, Festival of Ideas, Research, Science Funding | Comments Off on Higher Education Through the Looking Glass

It’s Time to Break the Silence

Posted on 26 October 2017 by Athene Donald

One of the pleasurable duties of being Master of a Cambridge College is getting a chance to talk to a wide cross section of people across the dinner table. This week it was the College’s Scholars’ Feast, a feast which … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Stocking, education, Equality, harassment, sexual misconduct | Comments Off on It’s Time to Break the Silence

Thinking about Compassion

Posted on 20 October 2017 by Athene Donald

Compassion. That seems to be a word that is much in the air around me recently. I alluded to it in a recent post in the context of the need for self-control, but have discussed it more extensively in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, jerks, leadership, Science Culture, students | Comments Off on Thinking about Compassion

Dusty Files and Old-fashioned Methods

Posted on 16 October 2017 by Athene Donald

It’s that time of year again when lecturers dust down their files, refresh their memories, and stride out to inspire the next generation of freshers keen to take down their every word. Except, it’s not like that any more. That … Continue reading →

Posted in demonstrations, education, lecture notes, lectures, Powerpoint | Comments Off on Dusty Files and Old-fashioned Methods

Tears and Smiles

Posted on 8 October 2017 by Athene Donald

There is always some trigger for blogposts, sometimes from the news, sometimes from one’s daily life. It is rare that my trigger is someone else’s blog but so it is today. This blog is written by a person who I … Continue reading →

Posted in bereavment, Churchill College, jenny Martin, Science Culture | Comments Off on Tears and Smiles

Nice Girls don’t Ask – but Should

Posted on 1 October 2017 by Athene Donald

In the unfolding furore about the published gender pay gap at the BBC, the situation was not improved by the comments of Philip Hampton who implied that women had ‘let it happen’ and ‘weren’t doing much about it’. Given that … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, market supplement, negotiation, pay gap, Philip Hampton, Women in science | Comments Off on Nice Girls don’t Ask – but Should