Geography of Research in Europe & Territorial Policy Innovation

23/02/2024

happy to support such a great publication!

13/10/2023

We have an exciting opportunity for an EC plenary speaker to join the opening plenary session at on the topic of Global Challenges and Policies for Subnational Transformation - application deadline 17th Jan 2024. More info can be found here: http://bit.ly/RSA24web

07/06/2023

How to Become an Effective Science-Policy Advisor? 16 Lessons Learned

How to become an effective science-policy advisor? The science-policy interactions have a longstanding relationship with complex dynamics. The COVID pandemic was only one of the ‘wicked problem’, where decision-makers called for science-informed advice. In this context, Formas, Marie Curie Alumn...

07/06/2023

SCIENCE–POLICY IN ACTION: INSIGHTS FOR THE GREEN AND DIGITAL TRANSITION

20/05/2023

Probably one of the reasons why depression and poor mental health is so prevalent among students is that many academic leaders are focusing on their own career instead of inspiring & mentoring their students and . We decided to add a new Researcher Mental Health Observatory COST Action post to celebrate with an inspiring podcast of Nature and related important thoughts from Andrew Akbashev'S Tweet.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00417-2
COST - European Cooperation in Science and Technology

Retweet from :

"As a professor, pursue the careers of your PhD students and postdocs instead of pursuing your own.

I know it may sound strange and even provocative. But in fact it is how it’s supposed to be.

Unfortunately, a personal gain is the biggest motivation for many professors. More publications, more awards, more invited talks…

Why? In addition to personal recognition, it can result in more funding and higher salaries (especially in the U.S.).

Many P*s say that their personal growth also helps their students get a better visibility. Plus, more funding brings in more students, which is (kind of) “great” for those students.

Others will say that their “tenure requirements are too demanding” and if they stop focusing on personal gain, they will be denied tenure.

In either case, I want you to think about the following:

1. When we focus on personal achievements, we lose track of the wellbeing and personal preferences of team members. Although it often feels like we still track it, in fact we become far less efficient at it. Students' progress and personal development are impeded. Their career opportunities become less diverse or even missed.

2. Concentrating too much funding in one big lab is NOT a good idea because it leads to PhD students receiving far less mentorship and research advising (than in smaller labs).

3. Tenure requirements often look intimidating to young professors. However, in reality, very few professors are denied tenure. Why? First, because any university invest big resources into TT professors and don’t want get rid of them without a big reason. Second, because departments often exaggerate the tenure challenges to ensure their young hires are “hard-working faculties”.

Many P*s think I am too idealistic and propose unrealistic ideas. And a lot of people will never agree with this post. Even myself, I can easily come up with bitter criticism over it.

However, idealism is among the biggest driving forces. It can drive you through challenging times and help improve.

My message is:

If we all pursue the careers of your students/postdocs in the first place, this shift in priorities will make academia a much better world to live in.

I see an increasing number of faculties trying to genuinely care for their team members, in all countries and academic environments. It is all possible. Just do it. Make science better.

Oh, and don’t forget:
Growth of your team members = Growth of yourself."

29/10/2022

A review of conceptualisations and methods to assess and promote the Societal Impact of University Research.

The discussion on the ‘societal impact of university research’ has emerged within the recent decade with different utilisation from the British REF im…

29/10/2022

New book coming soon! You can already pre-order

Clusters and Sustainable Regional Development conceptualises the role of organised clusters in the transition towards sustainability. It introduces a novel perspective on these clusters, viewing them as deliberate collective actors within their environments that can become the driving force for tran...

25/03/2021

New! Open Research Europe
The European Commission launched Open Research Europe, a publishing platform for scientific papers that will be accessible to everyone. The platform will present the results of research funded by Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation programme for 2021-2027, and its predecessor, Horizon 2020.

https://open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/

29/01/2021

New publication available. Free download using the link below

(2020). The ‘certain’ returns from expenditures for ‘uncertain’ activities: a local multiplier approach to evaluate regional R&I policy. European Planning Studies. Ahead of Print.

20/08/2020

Abstract Recent thinking about innovation and industrial policy emphasises purposeful related diversification strategies or more transformative—but potential...

15/06/2020

Learning is decisive for successful problem solving in governance networks: it is by acquiring, interpreting and diffusing information that public and private actors build joint action and innovative...

05/06/2020

An outstanding paper

(2020). The knowledge behind Brexit. A bibliographic analysis of ex-ante policy appraisals on Brexit in the United Kingdom and the European Union. Journal of European Public Policy. Ahead of Print.