This session will present strategies for developing your career as a researcher with an emphasis on long-term sustainability and growth. It is premised on the acknowledgment that working in the university sector presents unique pressures and challenges, but also distinctive opportunities for flexible and diverse paths to success. The successful development of an academic career while maintaining a healthy work/life balance is a marathon, not a sprint. First, you need tools to help you maintain control of your time. Second, it involves planning to ensure that your longer-term projects come to fruition. Third, it entails the development of approaches to managing relationships which build on your own strengths. Finally, a sustainable academic career requires openness to inevitable change in the sector, your local work environment, and your own aspirations.

The session will include breakouts for participants to share their own strategies and experiences, with an eye to gaining an understanding of shared challenges and approaches across the board.

Facilitator:

Professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, University Dean of Research Environment and Culture, Cardiff University (FLSW)

Karin Wahl-Jorgensen is University Dean of Research Environment and Culture at Cardiff University. In that role, she works on initiatives to develop a more inclusive, collaborative, and creative environment for researchers across the institution. She is also a Professor in the School of Journalism, Media and Culture, where she served as Director of Research Development and Environment between 2012 and 2020. She holds a PhD from Stanford University, USA, and an honorary doctorate from Roskilde University, Denmark. Her research focuses on journalism and citizenship, and she has authored or edited ten books, and over 80 journal articles and 45 book chapters.