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Author Archives: Athene Donald
Leadership from the Top
What will it take for true equality to occur, not just in academic science but in employment anywhere? One key aspect is that people at the top not just ‘talk the talk’ but ‘walk the walk’. So, when talking about … Continue reading
Posted in ASSET, Athena Swan, career breaks, Equality, REF, Science Culture, Women in science
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Tea and Tradition
And the votes are in. The University of Cambridge Senate has just voted for its new Chancellor. Senate rarely votes about anything, and the last time a Chancellor’s nomination was put to such a vote was in 1847 when Prince … Continue reading
Posted in Chancellor, David Sainsbury, education, election, Senate House, University of Cambridge
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Is this an Insoluble Problem?
Previous posts by fellow OT blogger Jenny Rohn (here and here) and me (here) about fellowship funding have sparked a lot of debate and interest. With the report that Science is Vital has just produced for David Willetts described in … Continue reading
Posted in careers, David Willetts, fairness, fellowships, postdocs, Science Culture, Science Funding, Science Is Vital
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To Whom I Give My Vote of Thanks
Today is Ada Lovelace Day, a day when we are asked to celebrate the women who have inspired us in our scientific lives. I have to admit that ‘famous’ women such as Marie Curie or Rosalind Franklin have no part … Continue reading
Posted in Ada Lovelace, Camden School for Girls, education, inspiration, physics, teachers, Women in science
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Balmy Beginnings, But What Comes Next?
Cambridge – like much of the country – was bathed in sunshine, hot sunshine this weekend. It was that weekend when our roads are cluttered up by cars full of suitcases, assorted bulging bags and guitar cases, and with bikes … Continue reading
Posted in education, Freshers, HE White Paper, University Council, University of Cambridge
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Logic, What Logic?
This week I attended the Elizabeth Johnson lecture at the Institute of Physics, given by Mary Curnock Cook, chief executive of UCAS. Her topic was Gender Maps in Higher Education, and it explored the differences between male and female progression … Continue reading
Posted in education, Equality, gender pay gap, graduate premium, IOP, Mary Curnock Cook, Women in science
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Nodes and Links
This week I was invited to talk at the annual conference organised by Postdocs at the Institute of Cancer Research; the Conference’s theme was Networking and I was asked to talk about how networking has influenced your career and any … Continue reading
Posted in advice, mentoring, networking, Science Culture
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Why Should She Do it All?
My recent article in the THE about cultural expectations being imposed on young girls (which also appeared as a post here) got a mixed reception in the online comments. Several seemed to have failed to grasp the central point that … Continue reading
Posted in Allison Pearson, children, Equality, maternity leave, Ottoline Leyser, Science Culture, Women in science
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How Do You Know How to Write a Thesis?
I wrote my PhD thesis so long ago it was typed for me by someone else based on my handwritten chapters; the diagrams were drawn laboriously and messily by me with a pen, ink and a fair number of smudges; … Continue reading
Posted in Communicating Science, communication, examiners, PhD thesis, Research, Science Culture, viva
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Start of Year Shenanigans
Having returned from a few days of holiday, I am feeling frivolous. So here is a sketch representing the Start of the Academic Year at the Department of Paintballing The main characters in this sketch are described in a previous … Continue reading
Posted in REF, Science Culture, staff meeting
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