Author Archives: Athene Donald

Will This Look Good on my CV?

Posted on 14 May 2013 by Athene Donald

This is a question I was asked recently in the context of outreach work (I answered yes), but it applies across the board. For those climbing the academic ladder specifically, it perhaps amounts to ‘does anything other than research count?’ … Continue reading →

Posted in career progression, commitee membership, Equality, experience, promotion | Comments Off on Will This Look Good on my CV?

The Viva Experience

Posted on 8 May 2013 by Athene Donald

I’ve seen a few posts around recently from anxious PhD students approaching their vivas in fear and trepidation or discussing the experience in the immediate aftermath. For instance, here is @hapsci discussing things after the event in a state of … Continue reading →

Posted in exam performance, PhD, PhD thesis, Research | Comments Off on The Viva Experience

Once Absence of Impact used to be the Fashionable Thing to Claim

Posted on 2 May 2013 by Athene Donald

Up and down the land, academics from Vice Chancellors down are sweating over 3 letters: REF. This dread acronym, standing for the Research Excellence Framework, must be absorbing a fantastic number of hours of time for many people and it … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science, impact, Jan Golinski, REF, Research, Science Culture | Comments Off on Once Absence of Impact used to be the Fashionable Thing to Claim

Changing the Departmental Mind-set

Posted on 25 April 2013 by Athene Donald

Another bumper batch of Athena Swan awards have just been announced: ever more universities and departments are participating. With the hint of financial consequences looming from RCUK funders for those STEM departments that don’t demonstrate commitment to improving the climate … Continue reading →

Posted in Athena Swan, gender equality, leadership, promotion, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Changing the Departmental Mind-set

Practice, Practice, Practice: Getting that Talk Right

Posted on 18 April 2013 by Athene Donald

As my last post noted, my mind is inclined to go for a walk during seminars if I’m not careful. Recently these wanderings provoked me to consider all the pitfalls of seminar-giving – by young and old alike. Experience doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in public speaking, Science Culture, seminars | Comments Off on Practice, Practice, Practice: Getting that Talk Right

Feeling Feverish

Posted on 13 April 2013 by Athene Donald

Last week I was hit by some nebulous virus (I assume) that left me feverish and under the weather without actually confining me to bed. My brain turned to mush and even answering simple emails felt a challenge, a situation … Continue reading →

Posted in brain, Communicating Science, creativity, migraine, Science Culture | Comments Off on Feeling Feverish

Systematic Errors of Judgement

Posted on 7 April 2013 by Athene Donald

To tie in with International Women’s Day, last month Nature ran a series of articles about the issues still facing women in science and also a podcast with Uta Frith and myself debating some of the issues. The interviewer, Charlotte … Continue reading →

Posted in gender stereotypes, Matilda effect, reference letter, Science Culture, Unconscious bias, Women in science | Comments Off on Systematic Errors of Judgement

Lecturer Spotting

Posted on 1 April 2013 by Athene Donald

The Easter break, relatively short though it may be, offers me an opportunity to introduce another raft of characters from the Athenian University to join my previous lists of Dramatis Personae/ character assassinations. Here I describe variations on the theme of … Continue reading →

Posted in education, lecturing, Powerpoint, Science Culture, students | Comments Off on Lecturer Spotting

Trying to Get Away from It All

Posted on 28 March 2013 by Athene Donald

I’ve been away briefly this week, to an extremely cold and windy Suffolk coast.  Not the kind of break one comes back from tanned – other than with wind-burn – or with skiing fractures, but remembering there is a world … Continue reading →

Posted in Charles Dickens, holidays, optimism, sand, Science Culture | Comments Off on Trying to Get Away from It All

Learning the Foreign Language of Twitter

Posted on 23 March 2013 by Athene Donald

Any time I go to Europe, as this week, I come back ashamed of my lack of linguistic skills. This time I struggled through a brief conversation in French with a Brussels taxi driver trying to talk about the impact … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Science, foreign language, hashtag, tweet | Comments Off on Learning the Foreign Language of Twitter