Careers In Your Ears

Join Mackenzie Jorgensen, PhD student in machine learning models (and our takeover host for this episode) as she interviews Dr Luis Pizarro, Global Responsible AI Leader at EY and Visiting Senior Lecturer at King's College London. The first half of this episode covers a great discussion about Luis' career in academia, the importance of collaborations and keeping your career options open between academia and industry and the second half delves into the challenges we face in using AI, including responsible AI and how it could be used to counter disinformation and fake news. Please leave us a review wherever you listen to your podcasts; it really helps us to share the podcast and to know whether the content works for you.  Thank you. Follow us on Twitter @kcldo1thing to learn more about our careers support for researchers at King's College London. If you would like a transcript of this episode, please email careers@kcl.ac.uk with Careers in Your Ears S.8 E.2 in the title.

Join Aline da Silva Cerqueira, PhD student (and our episode takeover host!) researching sea birds and marine soundscapes in the Dept of Geography at King’s College London, and Dr Maud Borie, Lecturer in Environment, Science and Society in the same department, as they discuss an academic career and the politics of environmental knowledge.  Maud talks about her teaching, about wanting her students to be critical of received wisdom, the power that universities have over what is or is not researched, and who gets to conduct that research. To hear more about Dr Maud Borie’s work you can follow her on Twitter @maud_bo, and if you are interested in seabirds and how soundscapes can support biodiversity conservation, you can also give Aline a follow on Twitter @aline_marine. Let us know what you think about these podcast takeovers - get in touch with us if you're a KCL researcher and you'd like to interview an interesting guest for us!

Dr Melissa Willis is the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Research Team Lead at Sellafield Ltd. Prior to this she was a PhD researcher in material sciences at the University of Manchester. Melissa shares her experience of guilt, low self-esteem and anxiety during her PhD. She shares advice about what helped and talks about how she handled her career change from academia to industry. Importantly Melissa discusses how she’s worked through these issues during her career transition and in her current workplace. She hopes that other PhDs in a similar situation will make use of the support available to them and her top tips: talk to someone and take real breaks. King's PhD students can access support for their mental health and wellbeing.  Visit the new PGR Wellbeing Hub (internal) for easy access to all the support available including KCL counselling services: https://tinyurl.com/y25w75er King's Research Staff can access support through visiting the Pathways to Wellbeing pages (internal) https://internal.

In this episode we hear from Dr. Nigel Eady, Dr. Amy Moore and Dr. Kathy Barrett. All our guests began their careers in research and now have roles at King's College London where they support the training and development of PhDs and Research staff. We hear from them about their own career journeys, what they do from day to day in their current roles and their professional challenges. They also share their reasons to be cheerful about the future of healthy workplaces for researchers and their top tips for someone thinking about working in their roles. You can find out more about support for PGR well being at King's College London here and how we support our staff here.

Professor Evelyn Welch, Senior Vice-President for Service, People & Planning at King’s and Professor of Renaissance Studies talks about her own career journey from when a PhD was expected to last 10 years (hers didn't!), balancing temporary jobs with childcare and no maternity leave to today, in her new role as Senior Vice-President and a Wellcome Senior Investigator. She is keen to use her experience and role to support researchers to thrive in their careers through job design, career planning, secondments, collaboration, community and more. 

Listen to this episode of Careers in Your Ears to understand more about a very experienced academic's route.  Kate Murray talks to Simon Wessely (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/professor-sir-simon-wessely), Professor of Psychiatry at King's College London, about his experiences as a clinician and epidemiologist, about the peaks and troughs of research life and the excitement of making an impact.  We also discuss the SMaRteN (https://www.smarten.org.uk/) network, a student-led research network looking at student mental health issues, and talk about the issues involved in understanding research studies looking at perceptions of mental health and stresses in occupations.  Simon describes the importance of a healthy social network, and of a good manager, in promoting good mental health. KCL PGRs can access the new PGR Wellbeing Hub here: tinyurl.com/pgrwh  Please email careers@kcl.ac.uk if you would like a transcript of this podcast.

In this episode of Careers in Your Ears, we talk with Tim Newton, Professor of Psychology as Applied to Dentistry and Dean for Research Culture at King's College London. We hear about Tim's journey in academia and why he ventured into Ethics and now Research Culture.  Tim shares 4 key pillars for the work of research culture; ethics, governance, integrity and community.  We talk about the role of community in supporting researchers' mental health, what needs to change and what's working well.  Learn more about Tim's work here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/tim-newton Science R.I.O.T. Club: http://riotscience.co.uk/ Science R.I.O.T Club on Twitter: https://twitter.com/riotscienceclub Dignity at King's: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/hr/diversity/dignity-at-kings/index For more information about support from the Centre for Research Staff Development at KCL: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/support/professional-development/centre-for-research-staff-development KCL PGR Wellbeing Hub: tinyurl.com/pgrwh

Roger Carles-Fontana is a PhD student at King's College London and Mental Wellbeing and Events Lead at King's Doctoral Students Association (KDSA). He talks with us on this episode of Careers in Your Ears about why PGR students might struggle with their mental wellbeing and what they can do to address it.  Roger invites you to follow @KDSA_KCL on Instagram and/or Twitter to find out more information about events and resources.  They will also provide updates here about the new Mental Wellbeing Hub. You can also email them on kdsa@kclsu.org  King's Counselling & Mental Health Support: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/counselling King's Counseling & Mental Health Support (internal pages): https://self-service.kcl.ac.uk/article/KA-01164/en-us  If you would like a transcript of this episode please email careers@kcl.ac.uk with the title 'Careers in Your Ears' transcript.

This episode is the second part of a conversation about race and identity in research careers which we recorded in June 2021. Alexandria Mitchell, a PhD student at King's College London (KCL) and co-chair of the KCL Race Equality Network (www.kcl.ac.uk/hr/diversity/get-involved/networks/race-equality-network) talks with Mary Okesola who is also a PhD student at KCL and Dr. Bernadine Idowu of KCL and University of West London. (Listen to the first part of this conversation where we find out how the speakers got into academia and what that was like without visible representation of female black scientists: www.anchor.fm/careersinyourears/episodes/Series-6--Episode-8-Race-and-Identity-in-Research-Careers-Part-1-e12ffs6)     In this episode, you’ll hear the speakers discussing how the Black Lives Matter movement has affected EDI spaces in academia and science, and how we can move forward. You will also hear how, as academics, they deal with set backs (cue, conversations about resilience and the imp

This episode is the first part of a conversation about race and identity in research careers. Alexandria Mitchell, a PhD student at King's College London (KCL) and co-chair of the KCL Race Equality Network (www.kcl.ac.uk/hr/diversity/get-involved/networks/race-equality-network) talks with Mary Okesola who is also a PhD student at KCL and Dr. Bernadine Idowu of KCL and University of West London. In this episode, you’ll hear why the speakers went into science and what that was like without visible representation of Black female scientists. You’ll also hear their thoughts on mentoring, job hunting and learn more about the day to day life of a senior academic. Bernadine runs the BME Early Careers Conference (www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-5th-black-and-minority-ethnic-early-career-researchers-conference-2021-tickets-143563764083) which has a waiting list for this year's event on 09 July 2021 however if you follow them on twitter you can stay up to speed with future plans for the conference: @BmeEcr  If you requi

In this episode we wanted to explore what’s happening with recruitment to roles in academia and in sectors outside academia, which PhDs and Research Staff are typically attracted to. To do this, we spoke with Rebecca Oakey, a King’s Professor of Epigenetics and Dean for Doctoral Studies and Andrew Wright, Head of Employer Engagement in King’s Careers & Employability. Listen out for advice from Rebecca about getting into academia, the value of the PhD and from Andrew, listen out for his thoughts on skills which are increasingly needed by employers and how sectors are recruiting at the moment. NB: we recorded this episode over July and August 2021, and the information shared here is time sensitive. If you require a transcript of this episode, please email careers@kcl.ac.ukquoting Transcript CinYE S6E8. Please do leave a review if you like what you hear! Links and resources mentioned in this episode: King’s Student Services  - advice on visas: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/services/advice/advice#Immi

Dr Jason Myers is a Data Scientist with Faculty AI.  Prior to this, he completed his PhD with the 'Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to Non-Equilibrium Systems' (CANES) Centre for Doctoral Training at King's College London. Jason joins us on Careers In Your Ears to talk about his (not always easy) experience finding work after the doctorate. He also shares insights into his current role and answers a question a current PhD student shared with us about the difference between coding in academia and in industry.  Jason gives us insights into tackling issues around diversity in tech. If you have questions you'd like to ask our speakers on Careers in Your Ears, please tweet us @kcldo1thing or email careers@kcl.ac.uk. We'd love to hear from you. King's PhDs and Research Staff can book an appointment via kcl.targetconnect.net by looking for 'PhD + Research Staff' under appointment type. If you would like a transcript of this episode please contact careers@kcl.ac.uk.

Dr. Hilary Jones is a former post-doctoral researcher who has worked in careers and employability, started her own business, is in training to be a psychotherapist and is now working for a non-profit organisation. In this episode she tells us her career story so far and gives us her insight into her varied career path. King's PhDs and Research Staff can book an appointment via kcl.targetconnect.net by looking for 'PhD + Research Staff' under appointment type. Check out our Career Change course: https://keats.kcl.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=4821037 If you would like a transcript of this episode please contact careers@kcl.ac.uk.

Bethan Cornell is a final year PhD student at King’s College London’s Physics Department and she’s also a Policy Officer in the Higher Education Unit in the UK’s Department for Education. We discuss taking on other opportunities during the PhD, the value of connecting with people who share your interests, and we ask Bethan how a Physics PhD prepares you for non-science policy work? Starting her PhD full time, Bethan became interested in the gender disparities in people studying and researching Physics and became energised by the issues belying these inequalities. She also became interested in broader issues in higher education and happened to come across Higher Education Policy Institute. Listen in to find out what happens next. If you would like a transcript of this episode please contact careers@kcl.ac.uk. King's PhDs and Research Staff can book an appointment via kcl.targetconnect.net by looking for 'PhD + Research Staff' under appointment type.

We explore why Mohamed decided to do his PhD (which is around differences in neurodevelopment in children with different diseases).  Listen to this episode, to find out more about finding (or even creating) the right PhD for you, applying to a PhD, how it's different from a Masters, and how helpful Google can be.  He also talks about his side project of tutoring and his thoughts about his future.  'As long as you find enjoyment in what you're doing, that's your motivation.' If you're a King's student thinking of applying for a PhD, use the careers team to work through these questions for yourself. If you would like a transcript of this episode please contact careers@kcl.ac.uk. King's PhDs and Research Staff can book an appointment via kcl.targetconnect.net by looking for 'PhD + Research Staff' under appointment type.   If you're a UG or Masters student considering applying for a PhD, please see our KEATS resources on this topic https://keats.kcl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=41567&section=1

Dr. Fawzi Abou-Chihane is a former science researcher who now runs his own careers consulting business. He has a background in sustainable technologies and sensor development. In this episode he talks about his decision to pursue opportunities outside academic life and his new career. If you would like a transcript of this episode, please contact us at careers@kcl.ac.uk. 

Vicki is a part-time PhD student with extensive work experience in international banking and science policy, doing a PhD in Policy and Bioethics, incorporating publications. Join us as we explore career transition and the benefits and importance of establishing a flexible career, tips for managing a part-time PhD and a fascinating insight into the world of science policy.

Why do women disappear from the history of philosophy?  What can be done about it? In this episode we interview Rebecca Buxton and Lisa Whiting the editors of the recently published book "The Philosopher Queens" which is the only book currently in print exclusively about women philosophers and written and edited by women. We look at the implications for an academic philosophy career of inequality in universities and ask if things are similar in policy work. Finally, our interviewees have some tips for busy researchers and students trying to juggle too many projects at once. Rebecca Buxton is PhD student at Oxford University and Lisa Whiting works full time in policy and studies part time at Birkbeck, University of London.  More information about 'The Philosopher Queens' can be found here.

Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham is a pharmacist, Lecturer in Pharmaceutics at King’s College London, Founder and Academic Lead of King’s College London Fight the Fakes. She also leads her own research group “The Raimi-Abraham Group”. Dr Raimi-Abraham's research to date has been in pharmaceutical materials and innovative manufacture. More recently she has focused her research efforts within the therapeutic and drug development aspects of malaria. In this episode we discuss power in academic life (and how to manage it), changing careers and leadership in research.

Dr Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, is a lecturer in sustainable development at the University of St. Andrews and gained her PhD from the African Leadership Centre at King's College London in 2019. Her research focuses on maritime threats, governance and security in the Gulf of Guinea. Ifesinachi has consulted for different international and regional organisations on issues relating to ocean governance, peace, and security in the African continent. She is the lead author of the Stable Seas: Gulf of Guinea report, and a contributing author to the Blue Paper 16, titled: Organized Crime in the Fisheries Sector, commissioned by the High-Level Panel on Sustainable Blue Economy, a global initiative led by 14 Heads of Governments.  In this episode of the podcast, we learn how Ifesinachi discovered this research area and why she wanted to become an academic. She shares what helped her to get to where she is now, and how her presence on LinkedIn and Twitter has been crucial to her public engagement work and to diversif