Careers In Your Ears

In this episode we are delighted to be joined by Teresa Bautista Solans who shares her transition from a research career in theoretical physics to quantitative finance. It's a fantastic testament to the transferability of the skills developed in research such as critical thinking, analytical skills, and research communication which are so valuable in her role as a Senior Analyst and Model Validator at ICE Clear Europe. It is also a brave and honest account of finding a way through a mid-career change balancing researcher identity, home life, and practicalities with finding a rewarding career. Useful resources: ICE Clear Europe Teresa Bautista Solans King's Careers & Employability

In this episode, we delve into the intersection of research and entrepreneurship with Dr. Mercy Ofoya, founder of the Mami app, and Dr. Ema Talam, Entrepreneurial Skills Manager.  Our discussion explores how Mercy, with support from the King’s Entrepreneurship Institute, took an idea for a life-saving health app and made it a reality.  Ema tells us about the entrepreneurial mindset and how developing 7 key skills can help researchers succeed both in and beyond academia.  Together, they challenge perceptions of commercialisation, outline practical steps for validating ideas, and emphasise the value of articulating the ‘threads’ that run through your work.  Useful links: Dr Mercy Ofuya: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mercy-ofuya-phd-02053380/ Mami App: https://mymamiapp.com/ CupArise: https://cuparise.org/ King’s Entrepreneurship Institute: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/entrepreneurship King’s Careers & Employability: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/careers

This week's guest is Pippa Sterk, a postdoctoral teaching fellow at King's who was curious about where their research could take them. Seizing an opportunity, they successfully applied for a place on the King's Parliamentary Research Internship (for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers). Pippa tells us the valuable lessons they learned through this work experience and how it has shaped their future career plans.

In this episode we meet Dr. Lienkie Diedericks, a King's PhD graduate. After completing her PhD Lienkie worked for the Royal Institute of British Architects on their equality and diversity initiatives. She has now returned to work at King's on research culture in our Faculy of Dentistry, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences. In this episode we discuss the unexpected turns researchers careers can take, being an international student and professional in the UK, what higher education institutions need to do to be more equitable and what research culture means in practice.

We're back with Series 11! We are delighted to be joined by King's PhD alumnus, Adrian Signell, Senior Associate at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Adrian completed a PhD in Biology and Genomics in 2023 and started it 'with the full intention to ride the academic wave until, you know, being a professor into my late 70s'. Find out what happened next including tips for building relevant experience and what the biggest differences were between academia and consultancy. Useful links include: www.kcl.ac.uk/careers for King's students and research staff https://www.savitas.co.uk/newsletters for sector updates www.bcg.com - Boston Consulting Group

In this episode we meet Joe Shute, a humanities PhD researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University. Joe is also a journalist and is about to publish his third book. In this podcast he talks about combining his three careers and offers us his insights on how they compliment each other. He also provides us with tips on getting started in writing and how he manages the multiple demands on his time. We also get to find out more about creative non-fiction. We'd like to thank the Leverhulme Trust for their introduction to Joe and their generosity with their time and support to make this episode possible.

“Narrative CVs are an attempt to be able to surface all of the things which academics do in a structured way.” We would like to invite all researchers and their supporters, developers and enablers to build their awareness of Narrative CVs (NCV) with this podcast episode. They are increasingly used for funding applications, in recruitment or promotion processes, and as such are also a useful framework for academic career planning. We are delighted to be joined by narrative CV researchers, Becky Ioppolo and Kate Murray from the University of Cambridge who are doing fascinating research into the use of narrative CVs to uncover more about them and answer the big questions about whether or not they meet their purpose of being more inclusive, how to write a good one and where you can go to find out more. Resources below mentioned in the episode: King’s researchers can access one-to-one specialist careers support and narrative CV resources. If you are based in another institution, check for careers support and t

'It's really an art' - join us for an enjoyable and informative conversation with Antonio Forte about the ups and downs of applying for fellowships, the importance of resilience and building a supportive network and the joy of thinking outside the box (and how this helps with applications). There is also a fascinating glimpse into the future in the form of shape shifting meta materials. For King's researchers applying to fellowships you can also find recordings from fellowship funders on the CRSD webpages and get support and advice from the King's funding teams in addition to speaking to careers consultants about CVs and applications.

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Burton, writer and researcher tells us about her career in education and about her experience of gaining funding from the Leverhulme Trust, what that meant to her and gives some tips on making an application. Many thanks to the Trust for introducing us and making this episode possible.

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Dmitry Kishkinev who is a lecturer in animal behaviour and behavioural neuroscience at Keele University. He tells us all about his career history, moving countries, the need to think strategically about your career and the support he has received from the Leverhulme Trust. We'd like to thank the Leverhulme Trust for their generosity in helping us record this episode.

“I wanted to see what it was like in a different environment.” For this episode, we’ve passed the mic to Lingxing Kong, a King's PhD student in his third year of research in Robotics, and an Inclusive Careers Education Ambassador (ICEA). Lingxing is joined by Dr Emmanouil Spyrakos Papastavridis, Lecturer in Engineering, who shares his fascinating career journey. Emmanouil's career has taken him from academia, into a startup lab, and back again – he shares his thoughts on the benefits and drawbacks of working in both contexts, tells us about the skills he acquired along the way and provides plenty of inspiration for those exploring career options.   For more info on the ICEA programme: https://keats.kcl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=61839&section=7 for King's students and staff Public links: Phoenix Issue 164 February 2022 (agcas.org.uk) https://www.agcas.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/Phoenix/Phoenix_Issue_164_February_2022_-_Students_as_co-creators.pdf Emerging insights from a peer-to-peer social ju

We’re celebrating International Women’s Day with a special episode and we're joined by Drs Amal Abuzainab, Lovelin Obi and Rokhshid Ghaziani who are all academic researchers, teachers and involved in many other things alongside their main careers. In a very uplifiting conversation, we hear about how they came to be academics, what kinds of barriers women can face in academic life (and how to overcome them) and the challenges of managing complex careers and responsibilities.

Join us for an inspiring chat with Professor Michael Sanders as he lets us in on his approach for getting things done in academia, the need for code-switching to develop a career in multiple sectors and how to view and use your own privilege to empower others. Michael demonstrates the power of a porous career that spans academia, Chief Scientist in the Behavioural Insights Team, Chief Executive of a What Works charity and advisory work. He provides insight into the role of a professor and shares his take on protecting your wellbeing whilst building a fulfilling, multidisciplinary career in a competitive environment. 

Can researcher career paths span academia and industry? Is it possible to simultaneously work in both? Dr. Lizzy Moyce, Arup's Research Development Manager and Careers Consultant Laura Johnson explore these oft-asked questions. Lizzy gives us her tips on leveraging transferable skills; seizing opportunities and 'legitimate snooping', to enhance the chances of an intersectoral career. 

In this episode we meet Chloe Locatelli, a PhD student at King's College London, who is currently close to completing her thesis on sex technology. We speak about the importance of her feminist approach to research, why her research has a 'wow' factor and how to engage a wide audience with an arts and humanities research project. We also speak about self-confidence, career thinking and the value of seeking advice and support as a PhD researcher. Along the way we consider how universities can open themselves up to more diverse perspectives and include a wider range of people in their research. You can find out more about Chloe and her research on her website

In this episode, Dr. Pavan Mano tells us about his journey from PhD to research fellow and then to his current lecturing post at King's College London. Pavan tells us about the importance of using the support on offer to researchers (including mentoring, careers advice and friendships). We also speak about equality, diversity and inclusion in higher education, what higher education institutions should be doing and why the concept can be thought about in different ways.

Kinga Bercsenyi is VP of Business Development at Arctoris and has never seen a job description. She also had no idea what she wanted to do after her PhD and says she has never attended a formal training course. And yet she has progressed rapidly in her career in Business Development and balanced that with a family. Too good to be true? Find out about creating the right environment for serendipitious career possibilities, the benefits of creating a network, career decision making and exploration and work life balance. Also includes a handy guide for understanding more about Business Development and the different types. We have crammed a lot into this episode, we hope you enjoy it too. For King's researchers you can access the career tools 'Trying Out Career Options' and 'Career Tracks' via our Researcher pages accessible from here: www.kcl.ac.uk/careers.

This mini-series of Careers in Your Ears is hosted by King's PhDs and researchers. In this episode, Tisha Dasgupta, Research Assistant and PhD student in the Department of Women’s & Children’s Health, School of Life Course and Population Sciences at KCL, interviews Sam Mukhopadhyay, Head of Programme Management Office and senior events lead at Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (ESNZ). Sam talks about her career to date in the Civil Service and shares what the civil service is looking for in recruits and importantly what attributes and skills researchers have to offer this type of work. Please note this episode was recorded in February 2023, when the UK Government had just newly formed the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. If you would like a transcript of this episode, please email careers@kcl.ac.uk with 'Transcript, CinYE, S8,E3' in the title. KCL PhDs and Research staff can access specialist careers support: from 1-1 appointments and tailored workshops. More information

In this special episode for International Women's Day 2023, Dr. Risha Govind, Senior Clinical Informatics Scientist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, speaks about her career journey and the challenges faced by women like her from traditionally patriarchal cultures in getting a professional career started. The interview is hosted by Donald Lush, Careers Consultant for PhDs and Research Staff at King's College London.

In this special episode for National Careers Week 2023, Dr. Emily Prpa, Science Manager at Yakult UK and Ireland and Donald Lush, a careers consultant working with PhDs and research staff at King's College London, interview each other about their careers and working together.  They tell the story of their careers and then reflect on the process of career consulting from both their perspectives as client and consultant. Emily explains what brought her to book career consulting appointments and why she they weren't what she was expecting. Donald shares what he is thinking while he is working with someone and what he is trying to achieve. This is a great chance to hear two career stories with unexpected twists and turns as well as gain insight into how a careers consultant might be able to help you.