Researcher Development in Graz: A Research Careers Community

Der RCC Blog: Teilen von Erfahrungen, Wissen, und Ressourcen für eine Forschungsumgebung in der alle sich entfalten und ihre beste Arbeit machen können

How do you practice collegiality in academia? #88

Do your colleagues make it easy for you to thrive at work?

* RCC Blog, Dec 2, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

To mark the transition from 2024 to 2025, we have prepared examples of the power of good relationships in academia, complete with suggestions on actions to try, resources and reading recommendations.

The following will be found in this text: How is collegiality practiced in academia? - Information und Service für PostDocs

  1. How collegiality is practiced in the PostDoc Office and Doctoral Academy
  2. Writing Groups: How to create a supportive interdisciplinary group
  3. How to be more confident in your academic career with the help of peer
  4. How to professionalize peer networking
  5. Why researchers engage in peer mentoring
  6. How community building can fail and what to do about it
  7. The Concept of Sponsorship in Academia
  8. How research groups can distribute leadership 

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Why is institutional and sector knowledge good for your career? #87

Why does it pay off for a career in academia to be aware of sector developments? Why should you know about strategic priorities at your university?

* RCC Blog, Nov 28, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

The answer from Cambridge Postdoc Careers Consultant Vicki Tipton and Lucy Romijn 

 "As you look to progress your career, particularly towards permanent academic positions, you’ll find that an awareness of the wider academic context can help you to think strategically about which roles you apply for, how to prioritise your own professional development and can support you to better position yourself in applications."

postdoccareers.edublogs.org/2024/11/22/a-lot-goes-on-in-the-academic-sector-do-you-know-about-it-and-do-you-know-why-its-important-to-your-career/ 

That can include knowledge about:

  • Higher Education Institutions & Research Institutes
  • Government & Regulatory Bodies
  • Research Funders
  • Developments at the European Level

Requirements for positions relate to what strategies the entity that funds the position pursues. And that in turn is open interdependent with wider sector developments.

We at the PostDoc Office monitor these developments - and we're happy to share what we know!

Similarly, it's useful to understand how your own university's complex systems works, why it is designed the way it is, how performance is assessed, how money is allocated, and how you can work both with it and in it. 

In our May 2025 expert talk with an experienced former member of the Rectorate of our university, you get the chance to explore:

  •  which external and internal strategic priorities shape the university
  • where the money comes from and how that affects individual research staff
  • which organizations and steering processes constitute the basis for governance
  • informal and formal ways of decision making
  • how you can work both with and in these processes by getting involved in committees
  • roles/functions of postdocs in university decision making: requirements, challenges, scope for engament and limits
  • where you can get involved depending on your career phase and role
  • how to plan for and balance your committee work with your career
  • strategies to get the maximum impact for your own profile

Dienstag 06.05.2025, 10:00 - 12:00 

postdoc.uni-graz.at/de/angebote-fuer-postdocs/trainings/

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How will AI change funding selection processes? #86

How will selection for grants work if applications go through the roof due to AI support? 

* RCC Blog, 22.11.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

What’s new in evaluating funding applications? Let’s share what we know! 

On our part, we’re seeing use of AI in brainstorming / making a first draft for a proposal. We also know research management professionals use it (with consent by applicants) to give feedback on drafts.

What we also see is innovations on the part of funders – such as 

  • using the lottery principle to make the final selection after evaluating quality
  • asking for (narrative) more holistic information beyond „impact factor“
  • using other applicants to evaluate proposals (distributed peer review)

Nature Magazine 

What do you think? What are the innovations needed in the peer-review and funding systems to maintain good science and equal opportunity?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How to take intentional advantage of internal training offers #85

Do you create a training programme for yourself, or do you sign up to what lands in your inbox? 

* RCC Blog, Nov 21, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Here are some thoughts about how to best take advantage of internal (and other free!) training offers during your postdoctoral career phase.

You may consider creating your own "development track".

Focussing on one area and taking Trainings intentionally suited to that can be an asset in applications.
It shows you have a plan, are aware of your skills, and eager to deepen them and continuously develop.
Fellowships like the #MSCA PF ask for a well-thought out training and development plan for the funding duration.
If you're not yet in a role where you can hone certain skills through tasks of your job, taking trainings is a way to showcase this area of your profile in a CV. 

What could a development track be?

Imagine you're planning on going for a leadership role - that means selecting training accordingly: gender & diversity awareness, team leadership, excellent supervision, conflict resolution, negotiating workshops could fit into that track.
Say you're passionate about impact, and making science relevant. Take public engagement trainings, presentation trainings, practical workshops on all the media that interest you (video, podcasting, social media...), commercialisation and entrepreneurship bootcamps.
Or possibly you're aiming for a teaching-heavy role: there are offers in university didactics at all levels, you can learn to create your unique teaching portfolio, you can get facilitated peer-to-peer feedback, you can learn digital teaching skills, or workshops on public engagement projects with students.

Don’t try to do it all at once.

Obviously, career success doesn’t come from trainings alone, so be sure to also be intentional about leaving time for everything else in your life!
Trainings mean networking, leave yourself time to build on connections made.
New information needs to steep a bit in you - so leave space in your schedule for all the ideas it sparks.

You might notice, all of the „development tracks“ will have additional benefits - not just for developing one area, but for your research career overall - and for careers beyond! So it pays to reflect on what gives you the most joy, where you want to go next, and what skills you need to hone for that!

We list our own training offers here, and mention all of University of Graz training providers that could be relevant as well: https://postdoc.uni-graz.at/de/angebote-fuer-postdocs/trainings/

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What should you avoid when negotiating in academia? #84

"Let's talk about this again next year": What do you do when you are being fobbed off when asking for more resources at work? 

* RCC Blog, Nov 14, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

As you progress in your research career, negotiations become really important when you are being hired, promoted, or when you hit certain milestones during a contract.

This is our second post on "how to negotiate in academia" (find post 1 on our blog as #83). This is about Do's and Don'ts.

What should you not do?

  • Be unclear on local practices and the legal basis.
  • Let yourself be rushed.
  • Consent to informal agreements without noting them down anywhere.
  • Not taking into account what motivates your opposite person, and what they need in terms of a good outcome.

What should you do?

  •  Negotiate *before* you sign a contract.
  • Make them a good offer: Be clear on and communicate the value you bring.
  • Tie the requested resources and conditions to what you will deliver, and be flexible in what you can deliver with less resources.
  • Create a dream outcome and and outcome you can live with.
  • During, take extensive notes for yourself, and check the official transcript against those.
  • Ask for time to mull things over if you need it. Leave some space in the conversation for you to think.
  • If something will not work this year, make a written agreement you will get it next year or after you hit a milestone.
  • Assume good intent, and be aware that you have to reach an outcome that allows you to continue a productive relationship in the future.

What about your experiences? Do you agree with our suggestions?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you be a good negotiator? #83

Are you a good negotiator?

* RCC Blog, Nov 13, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Are you a good negotiator? From communicating with your manager to reaching tenure agreements, academia gives you plenty of opportunities to hone your negotiation skills. 

Here are some tips from us - since it's a big topic, we'd like to hear what your best practices are!

PREPARATION: Research what *can* be negotiated and in what scope; clarify what you want out of this and research what your negotiation partner will want; talk to trust persons who have recently negotiated similarly; determine your line of comfort that shouldn't be crossed. 

APPROACH: You might find the Harvard Principles (see references below) useful. They include: separating people from problems and interests from positions, exploring options for mutual gain, referring to objective criteria, and preparing a "best alternative to a negotiated agreement".

ATTITUDE: Be comfortable with leaving some silence in the conversation and with asking for time to mull things over. Know that you are there because you are contributing to your university's mission. Don't assume ill intent on the part of your opposite, but also: write stuff down!

SUPPORT: Raise your confidence and knowledge beforehand with a 1:1 coaching. For negotations on route to a leadership position, you can look at Austrian experts like Ute Riedler, international experts like Dr. Margarete Hubrath or Zita Küng, and for tenure negotations in Germany people often use Deutscher Hochschulverband (DHV).

Useful references: 

  • FISHER, Roger, William L. URY und Bill PATTON, 1991: Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. London: Penguin Books.
  • SHONK, Katie (Oct 10, 2024): Women and negotiation: Narrowing the gender gap, Daily Blog, Harvard Law School, lnkd.in/d7CzDMy
  • ENKE, Neela (2020): Verhandeln, In: HAMMERSCHMIDT, Annette und dies,, Neela: Forschen Lehren Führen, S. 228.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Can you win at the tenure game and have a moral compass at the same time? #82

Can you "win at the tenure game" and have a moral compass at the same time?

* RCC Blog, Nov 12, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

What's the most uncollegial "career hacks"-advice you have ever received? Does strategic thinking and prioritising mean you have to get your elbows out?

Inspired by Russel James' 2014 book Tenure Hacks: The 12 Secrets of Making Tenure, today we are giving Macchiavellian career advice!

But beware: Following this can have unintended side-effects!

Practice strategic incompetence.

  • Become proficient in avoiding unrewarding tasks by pretending to be unable to do them.

Suck at teaching.

  • Maintain a high publication output by doing only the bare minimum to educate the future researchers in your field, and limit your engagement with students.

Only collaborate with high achievers.

  • Agree to shared projects only with third-party-funding-heavy colleagues with strong publication lists and a track-record of high-profile jobs.

Push back on deadlines if they don't fit your currect priorities.

  • Let your own to-do-list dicate when you submit work on collaborative projects (like a book someone else edits).

At work events like conferences, focus your energy on networking with useful people, not on engaging with work presented.

  • Make the most effort to meet well-known scholars, and less effort to listen and feedback others' work.

These “hacks”, while comedically presented here, are practicesd by some in academia. Often, they have a gender-component to them. They sound like the opposite of what we at the PostDoc Office usually advise for a kind and collegial academia. 

But to an extent, they can be inspiring as well - to try to maintain boundaries and prioritize in your work, as well as take a strategic approach to your career.

What's your take on this?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Why should you let your mind wander? #81

When and where do you have your best ideas? How do you arrive at solutions to tricky research problems?

* RCC Blog, Nov 11, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

When we sit at our desks with tasks to finish and deadlines to meet there is no time to let our minds wander and thoughts meander. But for sure you have experienced that solutions arrive by themselves sometimes.

For example when you

  •  move yourself into another space
  • are out and about in nature
  • are going to work or going home from work
  • have heard someone else present their ideas or their work
  • wake up from a nap or sleep
  • write or talk through the idea to present it to a colleague

Productivity coach Kel Weinhold advises treating yourself like an artist and making space for ideation: theprofessorisin.com/2022/09/02/just-one-thing-claim-your-creativity/

What's your own hack to letting your mind do it’s thing? Where do you muse and ponder?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How does one write a narrative CV? #80

How does one write a narrative CV?

* RCC Blog, Nov 9, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

In the context of changes in research assessment many funding bodies have developed templates for so-called “narrative CVs”. There's lots of support available to create these. Here are our suggestions with where to start.

About:

  • The "NCV" is a structured written description of a person’s contributions and achievements that reflects a broad range of relevant skills and experiences.
  • Many funding bodies have developed templates for so-called "narrative CVs". The driving force for Europe was primarily the European Research Council (ERC), which introduced such a template in 2022.
  • Many other national research funders in European countries have already followed suit or were pioneers. Narrative CVs are also increasingly used for applications and promotions at universities.
  • The aim is that research achievements can be assessed more qualitatively by reviewers.
  • This move away from rankings has as its background the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and  Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) principles

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Are you strategically planning your career? #79

How did you get into your current role? Was it serendipity and talent, or did you map out requirements, define goals, plan strategically, and acquire more and more skills? Or a mixture of both?

* RCC Blog, Nov 8, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

In terms of securing tenure in academia, there are official requirements, and there is tacit knowledge that can inform your actions.

Some researchers successfully and easily move from contract to contract and hit all the requirements in the "required" time along the way. That can be because:

  •  they get given strategic advice from experienced scholars who wish for them to succeed, incl access to tacit knowledge
  •  they come from a background and have a network that provides them with resources and information necessary to move through and up
  •  they know which questions to ask and are resourceful in finding those who can answer them
  •  they started out in a structured environment which helped them develop and equipped them with access to well regarded scholars, good infrastructure, and reliable, up to date information
  •  and many other reasons...!

Then there are those who - despite skills and talents - experience dead ends and challenges more regularly,and are often puzzled by how the system works.

Both types of researchers can benefit from approaching their career with a strategic planning mentality.

If you want to develop into a strategic planner, get inspired here:

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What gives researchers on temporary contracts confidence? #78

What gives your fellow researchers-on-temporary-contracts confidence?

* RCC Blog, Nov 6, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Do you need a Plan B and Plan C while pursuing an academic career? How does one gain security in insecure conditions?

Each year in November, we talk with pre- and postdoctoral researchers about this in the "Should I stay or should I go" workshop.

Here is what this year's participants said about what makes them confident to be in academia:

  •  getting good feedback from beyond your work area, from international experts, at conferences
  • teaching at more and more advanced levels
  • getting immediate responses to your work from peers, during teaching, through science communication
  • talking to someone outside the academic field who is impressed by your achievements, and can put it into perspective
  • tracking your own achievements and progress (i.e. while doing a mandatory report for a funder, or keeping your own list)

We believe that becoming aware of your strengths, skills, and careers they translate to even beyond academia also gives a confidence boost.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Why is a PhD like a multiple-use drug? #77

"PhDs are like multiple-use drugs" says Holly Prescott. You can repurpose them to fit your developing career goals.

* RCC Blog, Oct 30, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

If you're exploring the realms beyond academia, creating narratives about your expertise and path that make sense for your future employer becomes imperative.

When we offer trainings on career transitions, our experts usually emphasise that:

  • you need a "pitch" that is tailored to your audience (i.e. the specific company, sector you want to get hired in)
  • there should be a clear thread in the story of your career that leads to this new role (only tell them the relevant bits!)
  • people with a research background are very versatile!


In a recent blog post, Holly describes "how to pick-and-mix the most relevant bits to pitch yourself in a way that you can help each company to solve their own unique set of problems":
Repackage your PhD: How to pitch your skills to any employer - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog

She offers reflective questions and tips to put into action in your next applications and interviews. Check it out!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Could you benefit from methods training? #76

"I'm going to do a survey!" - easier said than (well) done!

* RCC Blog, Oct 29, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Whether you're a life scientist dabbling in the social sciences, an anthropologist who loves ethnographic fieldwork, or a mathematician suddenly interested in attitudes towards STEM subjects: You can always benefit from methods training!

University of Graz has just the thing for you: The Graz Center for Empirical Research!

At the Graz Center for Empirical Research (GMZ), everything revolves around empirical research methods. They organize workshops, offer individual consultations and are a platform for networking among researchers. Learn more about their current offers here Workshops des Grazer Methodenkompetenzzentrums (GMZ) - Grazer Methodenkompetenzzentrum
P.S. If you're a methods afficionado, or just want some research tips, you can also follow the work of Petra Boynton, who is based in the UK and regularly offers advice on research methods on LinkedIn.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog.

Does more work lead to more success? #75

How much time off and breaks do postdoctoral researchers get?

* RCC Blog, Oct 28, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

What's the expectation with regards to weekly working hours? What time investment does it take to progress?

Biologist Elisa Granato says "there is no one way to success, do what works for you"*. She has conducted a small time-tracking experiment with two colleagues to see how their schedules and work styles changed as they moved from the early to more senior research roles.

From reading what they tracked and what the results where, it becomes clear that researchers often ask themselves:

  • What is enough work? When do I "deserve" to take time off?
  • What tasks should I prioritize?
  • Have I full autonomy over what tasks I focus on?
  • Have I missed the opportunity to streamline my work?
  • Are there more efficient ways to handle the stuff that doesn't directly lead to publication output?
  • How can I be a good leader and teacher but also be involved deeply in my research?

A wise academic coach might say: "The basis for time management is awareness of our own values, which motivate us: Why am I doing what I am doing?" (and indeed this is a quote from Cornelia Rahn in the UTB book Forschen. Lehren. Führen, p. 241). She suggests among other things protected time, the Pareto principle, being effective by reducing distractions, and confidently delegating.

In the biologists-experiments mentioned at the start, there's also wisdom:

  • different postdocs prioritize different tasks (which doesn't necessarily mean they will have career drawbacks)
  • the structure of your specific role largely determines how you must spend your time

How have you learned to find a balance that works for you?

Sources: 

Days in the Life of a Senior Postdoc - Elisa Granato

Cornelia Rahn (2020): Zeitmanagement, In: Hammerschmidt, Enke (Hg.): Forschen Lehren Führen Das ABC für die Hochschulkarriere, UTB, 241-244

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Is professional social media too much work? #74

Is professional social media too much work or can you actually benefit from it for your research career?

* RCC Blog, Oct 21, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Here are some quick notes on why maintaining a presence on LinkedIn can be good for researchers!

  • Even if you don't post regularly, you can use it as an address book of all your conference friends (i.e. connections you make as part of your work).
  • If you curate your followers by adding people who already know your specific field of research, you'll have an interested audience for any updates you share.
  • Commenting sincerely on people and organisations you admire, and showcasing their work in your posts, will be appreciated.
  • It's a very useful tool when you're tasked with "dissemination" for a larger third-party funded project. Be sure to tag funders, they have a large following already.
  • Reflect at the start what your goal is: Do you want to get hired in location X? Do you want society to see the benefit in funding chemistry research? Do you want to get paid to consult?
  • Stategically shape your activities, your following, your content on this goal. It can actually fulfil that goal.
  • Just writing "I was/am at this conference" is very boring. Give more context - and try to think what could make your post relevant for others who will never visit that conference.
  • If you want to reach a wider audience, showing how your research is made, how your team works together, what questions you puzzle over can work - things not only researchers experience, but everyone in the working world.
  • When you find an authentic voice and make meaningful content, you have the opportunity to shape and influence discourse - you can reach colleagues not yet known to you within your university, and those in your wider field.

Resources:

  • Sarah Blackford asks: Are you engaging with social media? Get Engaged! – BioScience Careers
  • Mike Young's "how to be kind on social media" guide gives great insights (just google)!

What's your experience and strategy?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What can researchers learn from leaders in other sectors? #73

We believe that research leaders can get a lot of inspiration from leaders of other sectors – and that there are benefits to exploring what lies beyond academia.

* RCC Blog, Oct 21, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Read our interview series with professionals with extensive leadership experience.

Interview 1: Oct 14, 2024: Axel Struss

  • Axel Struss is a consultant who supports pharmaceutical companies in bringing new products onto the market and in optimizing existing products. In 2023, he made the switch to being an entrepreneur. He looks back on 12 years of working with direct reports and has held previous strategic and operational roles in regulatory affairs with consumer healthcare companies.
  • Full text: How does leadership in academia compare to industry leadership? 

Interview 2: Nov 25: Marie Therese Stampfl

  • Head of the City Libraries, Marie Therese Stampfl, describes how the biggest living room of Graz enables exchange of ideas and people and does its part for democracy – and how she got on the leadership path.
  • Full text A leadership team sparks innovation 

Interview 3: Dec 9, 2024: Elli Scambor

Interview 4: Jan 13, 2025: Evelyn Walenta

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How recognized is the work of research support staff? #72

What professional identities are available when you‘re trained as a researcher, but now focus on enabling others to do research? How can staff categories shape interaction and collaboration at universities? 

* RCC Blog, Oct 21, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Academic publication professionals, researcher developers, knowledge transfer managers, research managers, public engagement experts, and the like are roles in universities that are based on  in-depth unterstanding of the research environment. Often, these professional service jobs are filled by people who look back on a research career.

These non-academic staff members deliver activities in collaboration with researchers. This is important, because:

  • good research is a team effort
  • people have different strengths.

Some universities call such positions - who are doing university management tasks which have a particular proximity to research or the academic field - the "third space". The term was coined by Cecilia Whitchurch, see more here:

  • Whitchurch, C. (2010). Optimising the Potential of Third Space Professionals in Higher Education. Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung. doi.org/10.3217/zfhe-5-04/02 
  • Freeman, R.P.J. and Price, A.M. (2024) ‘Researcher developers: an emerging third space profession’. London Review of Education, 22 (1), 2)

Oftentimes, to researchers it can seem like staff in "support" roles have a better deal.  They are ostensibly less precariously employed than research staff, and academics believe that there isn't as much pressure on them. Whereas as a member of research staff, it can feel like you have to deliver outstanding performance in all domains (from „research output“ to teaching to committees to admin), making  it hard to know where to best focus efforts.

But how does it actually feel to be "support staff" in a university? Usually, stark hierarchical distinctions are part of the experience as non-academic staff. In those roles, every once in a while, you might get put in your place by:

  • visible surprise on the part of senior academics about the extent of your expertise
  • being categorized as part of the "pathologically enlarged admin sector"
  • or being called a "failed academic"

The pay scale and lack of promotion and career development pathways are also very distinct from those of academic employees.

As part of the "Recognition and Rewards" scheme, Dutch universities (like Utrecht University) have made steps to reduce the distinction between academic and support staff. This shows the belief that not only is good research (and teaching) a team effort, but care for the organisation should also be a team effort.

There are many ways of collaborating within universities that aren’t „create as many separate staff groups as possible" and "pitch people against each other by leveraging perceived privileges".

What's your take on this? How can we value and make visible all contribution to good research?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What can research teams do to be more failure-friendly? #71

Does your team culture allow open exchange on failed funding applications or rejected papers? If yes: Why not take this great environment for getting better and being supported to the next level - with our examples! ...and if no: How about you're the one to start a new thing?!

* RCC Blog, Oct 16, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Example No 1: The shared spreadsheet that logs rejections 

  • For: research teams or whole departments or faculties
  • What: Everyone who gets rejected for a grant (or anything else you determine party-worthy) logs it into the spreadsheet, and when you hit a certain number, you host a celebration.
  • Read more: Rhaina Cohen (Jan 21, 2022): A Toast to All the Rejects: What a shared rejection spreadsheet taught me about success

How do you handle rejected papers, or getting lots of reviewer comments? If the answer is: "not well!", why not try one of our examples for a failure-friendly research culture?

Example No 2: show-and-tell: from reviewer comments to published paper 

  • For: research groups within one discipline
  • What: one or two scholars present reviewer comments they got on a paper that was successfully published and explain how a) they were affected by the feedback, and b) how they engaged with the feedback

University of Graz offers also expert sessions which help understand the system:
Nov 27: Christian Kaier: Publishing journal articles and books - things to consider, traps to avoid
Dec 4: Victoria Babbit: Avoiding rejection: successfully navigating the publishing process

Credit for the idea above must go to a group of participants at the "Forum of failures and fiascos" workshop on Sept 23 at VitaeCon 2024 in Birmingham, during which ideas were brainstormed and examples collected in a shared pad: vHGOcpBje9iSTPTrTs91-keep | Riseup Pad
Who do you talk with when things go wrong in your career? If the answer is: "only my most trusted family members", then let us suggest some activities you could try with your professional peers!

Example No 3: share food and drink and one thing that went badly for you in the past month 

  • For: research teams or groups of "all those who would approach it in the right spirit"
  • What: Gather a small group of people monthly, share snacks, and go round in a circle to speak briefly about what happened, how you felt at the time, and how you feel now. Compare and contrast what happened to all of you, and how you reacted. Gather suggestions on handling these setbacks and reflect on them.
  • Read more on p. 18 of the Careers Service, University of Oxford's "Overcoming a Sense of Academic Failure workbook"

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you use a lab handbook to onboard colleagues? #70

How do research groups successfully onboard new members?

RCC Blog, Oct 10, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Some create a lab handbook (in other quarters also known as a team manual). Benjamin Tendler and Maddie Mitchell explained benefits of this at Researcher Education and Development Scholarship Conference recently.

Lab handbooks help those working in a research group have shared expectations, understandings, and information.

They can prevent misunderstandings about practices in the group. Misunderstandings can potentially arise around:

  • putting hours in vs getting stuff done
  • sharing ideas with colleagues
  • psychological safety to discuss errors and differing opinions
  • balancing work committments with personal health and care obligations
  • physical and equipment safe-keeping
  • data documentation
  • credit for work

Despite it's name, a lab handbook isn't only useful for the natural sciences.

It decribes how a research team operates, outlines a group’s ethos, can go into roles and expectations of researchers at different career stages, and provides a consistent message that serves as a reference of behaviour standards colleagues are accountable to.

Setting one up and keeping it current is a team building process in itself, and it functions as a way of distributed leadership. Find examples and suggestions on how to do it here:

Info pages Wellcome Centre of Integrative Neuroimaging

Section in "The Turing Way handbook to reproducible, ethical and collaborative data science"

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What impact have colleagues on your work? #69

Do you enjoy collaborating with peers? Where in your work life are good relationships with colleagues having the most impact?

* RCC Blog, Oct 7, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

One example of collaborating is co-facilitating (for presentations, in teaching, when holding trainings). It’s especially fun with people who are even more brilliant and creative than you.

Giving someone you value opportunities to shine (and have fun), bouncing ideas off each other, making their work better with your input, telling others what you think they are good at, having a reliable and safe working relationship - these are all examples of collegiality you can experience in academia.

Because the PostDoc Office Annual Event next year will focus on Collegiality, Good Leadership and Academic Kindness, we'd like to hear your opinion:

  • Where in academia have your personally witnessed collegality at play?
  • What do research groups do to foster collegiality?
  • Can an institution itself by way of organisational development "make" people be collegial?
  • What are your favourite blog posts, articles or podcasts on collegiality?

Come along on April 16, 2024 to discuss, or get in touch and give us your perspectives!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What are relevant goals for the career stage R3 compared to R2? #68

What are relevant goals for the career stage R3 compared to R2? And what do these categories mean anyway (and mean to you)?

* RCC Blog, Oct 6, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

The European Commission Directorate General for Research and Innovation offers four broad profiles. Postdoctoral researchers are slotted into the R2 and R3 profile:

  • Recognized Researcher (R2): Researchers with a PhD or equivalent level of competence and experience who have not yet established a significant level of independence in developing their own research, attracting funding, or leading a research group.
  • Established Researcher (R3): Researchers with a PhD (...) who are able to independently develop their own research, attract funding, and lead a research group.

(https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/policy_library/towards_a_european_framework_for_research_careers_final.pdf)

R3 researchers:

  • have an independent research programme
  • have their own budget
  • take on more leadership and managerial responsibility
  • are strongly involved in the preparation of funding proposals
  • are managing externally funded projects
  • have an established reputation in their field, based on research excellence
  • lead in executing collaborative research projects in cooperation with colleagues and project partners
  • publish as lead authors

Job titles will vary by country and by institution. EURAXESS offers examples of "occupations" for R3 researchers:

  • principal investigator, associate professor, research fellow, principal scientist, reader ...

Roles that take you on this path can also be called:

  • junior research group leader, junior professor with or without tenure track, senior postdoc, fixed-term appointment to the position of professor ...

Career goals center around:

  • consolidating your own research profile (possibly in a Habilitation)
  • getting the resources (time, funds, staff) to allow for a substantial contribution to your research field (and possibly beyond)
  • taking the final step towards securing an open-ended professorship
  • continuing professional development of leadership, collaboration, supervision, and mentoring skills
  • your unique approach to teaching and societal outreach

In Austria, Austrian Science Fund FWF offers a funding scheme for the career development of this group (Astra awards).

What does this mean for you? How do you identify, and what do you need for your next steps? Let us know!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Should you use AI translation tools when publishing your research? #67

As if by magic, translations for scholarly literature are now readily available via online tools. How do you handle this issue in your own work?
* RCC Blog, Sept 30, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer


Imagine:

  • You're responsible for the publishing budget for a large humanities grant in which many different countries are involved. Your boss tells you that instead of using a professional translator for a joint English speaking publication, you should use DeepL and have the original authors edit the resulting texts.
  • You‘ve written a text for an edited collection in Italian three years ago. Now the book's editors tell you the publishing house wants to translate the whole book into English. All the authors are tasked with editing the Google translate result of their own texts.


Has something like this happend to you? How did you proceed?

The financial benefits of AI translations are readily apparent, especially in light of publication and visibility pressure. But some might argue that there can be damage in relying on these tools. Such as:
1) loss of quality in science
2) endangerment of a profession (editors and translators)

Do you have a stance on this matter? How do issues of workload, pressure to publish, language expertise, and open access to academic research play a role here?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Is it time to reflect, map and plan your academic career? #66

Is it time to reflect, map and plan your career? Do you need some guidance for this but don't want to talk to someone? You can start with an online tool dedicated to postdoctoral researchers!

* RCC Blog, Sept 27, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Prosper was developed by a team at the University of Liverpool, and it's free: Reflect - Prosper (liverpool.ac.uk)

With Prosper you can:

  • Figure out what you want from your career
  • Create a personalised career action plan
  • Learn about opportunities beyond academia
  • Develop skills for your whole career, wherever it takes you
  • ...and much more!


It's built in three sections:

  • Reflect: ...tools to help you develop your self-awareness and identify your career goals, including articles, assessments, and exercises
  • Explore: ...resources to help you broaden your knowledge of possible careers and highlight desirable skillsets, like case studies from former postdocs, insights from employers and practical strategies
  • Act: ...practical resources to empower you to get where you want to go, with knowledge and advice from multiple stakeholders to guide you through the process of taking that next step

Enjoy!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What are challenges of mid-career researchers? #65

What makes the stage of ‘mid-career’ in academia special? And why should universities establish stronger support for researchers in this phase?

* RCC Blog, Sept 26, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Being mid-career presents it's own challenges.

  • One might be ‘thrown into’ leadership roles without sufficient training*
  • Time management is a struggle between research, committee participation, teaching, and leadership duties
  • Pathways to promotion are often not transparent
  • Often, a "patchwork" of contracts lies behind one that needs to be consolidated
  • Development support (by mentors, researcher developers, etc) might be less available than for younger researchers
  • Care for elders and children both need to be arranged around career requirements like mobility


Universities are investing into this staff group.

In the UK, universities increasingly devote themselves to the development of mid-career researchers. In Germany, GRADE - Goethe Research Academy for Early Career Researchers has just started up a "R3 Anlaufstelle". And from what we hear, the two Austrian PostDoc Offices are also both cooking something up! ????
Funding schemes, schemes to "buy back time", individual coaching, leadership training, peer groups, mentoring schemes, and family-work-support are among offers for mid-career academics.

Why does it matter?

  • Focussing on mid-career researchers that are well prepared for the variety of their roles is an investment into a positive leadership culture.
  • It can enable interdisciplinary, cross-departmental collaboration within a university.
  • It's also ensuring that the research output remains strong, and researchers have the resources to thrive in their area.


(*see more in Flinders, M. 2023: Strategic scaffolding: Supporting mid-career and senior research leaders in the social sciences ESRC-030823-StrategicScaffoldingReportJuly2023.pdf (ukri.org))

What's your take on this?

Additional perspectives & reading suggestions from our community on Linkedin:

  • From Sandrine Soubes:   good programmes and initiatives should get embedded as normal and established practices; a key lies in encouraging "real", open conversations and exchanges with colleagues, reducing isolation, which can be hard because departmental colleagues are your competitors; cross-departmental and cross institutional small group coaching;
  • Darcey Gillie: Hirsch's 2007 article for the Institute of Employment Studies on the value of organisations providing careers support for staff https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/system/files/resources/files/hrp1.pdf
  • Naomi Tyrell:  recognition of those especially challenged in the mid-career stage needs to be the starting point for support, according to this report this is „women returning from maternity leave, working class, disabled and migrant/international and racially marginalised academics“ https://easternarc.ac.uk/news/the-challenges-for-mid-career-researchers-new-earc-report-published/
  • Kelly Pickard-Smith: procedural training is important, not just „leadership“, i.e. how to manage people, budgets and resources

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How many Austrian postdocs will become professors? #64

How many Austrian postdocs will go on to take a professorship? What do we know about career trajectories of persons with a PhD? What tasks do Austrian researchers spend their time on?

* RCC Blog, Sept 20, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

At the PostDoc Office, we often look at local data on academic careers. If you’re also data-driven in your decisions, let us introduce these studies new and old-ish:

More data from our LinkedIn community:

From David Bogle: 2022 book "Towards a Global Core Value System in Doctoral Education", chapter on Labour Market Trends with data to DE, FR, UK, US and others for PhD graduates Towards a Global Core Value System in Doctoral Education - UCL Discovery

From Elena Hoffer: 2010 article, shows for the UK the percentage of PhDs who leave academia directly after their PhD: The Scientific Century: securing our future prosperity | Royal Society

From Yasmin Dolak-Struss: Gleichstellungsmonitor Wissenschaft und Forschung: 28. Datenfortschreibung (2022/2023) zu Frauen in Hochschulen und außerhochschulischen Forschungseinrichtungen

 

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Are you ready to supervise MA and PhD Candidates? #63

PhD supervision is a leadership skills, and it's one that can and should be trained and developed. 

* RCC Blog, September 19, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Good thesis supervision often includes

  • Being transparent with expectations on both sides, investing in establishing a structure for collaboration suitable for both your needs
  • Providing support up-front on good scientific practice, narrowing project focus, use of methods, resources available, and then allowing some time for the candidate to gain a more independent working style on their project
  • Knowing the framework regulations (or knowing where to ask!) and giving attention to the MA or PhD project timeline, with the aim of „getting it done“
  • Actively supporting candidates in their discovery of the „secrets“ of academia (i.e. assumptions not often spelled out, norms & behaviours accessible only to the initiated)

This is a great blog on the subject: A community blog, on doctoral supervision relationships and pedagogies – Edited by Dr Kay Guccione (wordpress.com)

 

Among the support available here in Graz:

  • Regular workshops on PhD and MA supervision (English-language in February, German-language planned for April or May)
  • A peer support group for those who supervise theses
  • Advice from the Doctoral Academy & PostDoc Office
  • 1:1 external coaching funded via PostDoc Office or the Staff Development Unit

Why is good PhD supervision important to you? And what are your strategies for effective supervision?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Need to get away from Austria for a short while? #62

Need to get away from Austria for a little bit? If you're looking to fund a research stay abroad, here are some options.

* RCC Blog, Sept 18, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Check the grants.at database by OeAD-GmbH – Agentur für Bildung und Internationalisierung

  • It lets you select career stage, destination, duration, discipline, etc. and gives you available funding options.

Check with the International Relations Office

  • They can connect you to Erasmus+ funding, as well as CEEPUS, ASEA and many other schemes for exchange between institutions.

intranet.uni-graz.at/einheiten/835/Pages/about.aspx

Contact your friendly local European University Alliance 

  • Alliances like our Arqus European University Alliance offer many activities which include networking with the partner universities and even visiting scholar schemes: arqus-alliance.eu/calls/

Check with your faculty/school to look for high-profile outgoing scholarships 

  • There are several faculties who invest in the international networking of their postdoctoral staff members. To learn about upcoming calls, contact the Dean's office (Fakultät).

See if your intended host institution offers short-term fellowships 

  • Universities want to attract international talent. They often fund short-term incoming researchers in the hopes that they will connect with local hosts (and write successful funding proposals with them!).

Look at ÖFG, Grazer Universitätsbund, Land Steiermark, and other organizations 

Consider going away for longer with an Erwin Schrödinger fellowship by Austrian Science Fund FWF 

  • It has a reasonable success quota for applications and a great track-record in shaping careers!

Happy travels!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you network authentically? #61

Do you feel awkward when you hear "researchers should network"? Do you love or hate conference smalltalk?

* RCC Blog, Sept 18, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Your unique style of "networking" develops depending on your personality structure. Different researchers will use different approaches to get in touch with people they want to collaborate with. There's also researchers who strategically plan their next career steps (including the contacts they need to get there) and those who are more the type for happy accidents and chance meetings.  

Here are some helpful articles if you want to explore what networking means for you.

Let us know what works for you!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Does "assistant professor" mean the same in Graz and Boston? #60

What is a "senior postdoc"? How do academic titles and role profiles differ between countries and institutions? 

* RCC Blog, Sept 17, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

It can be hard to guess at the exact meaning and profile behind different academic job titles if you are often on the move. Here are some reading suggestions if you're interesting in international comparisons of academic systems and the current state of career development by institutions:

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you approach imposter syndrome? #59

Do you sometimes feel out of place in the hallowed halls of academia? That you're just play-acting at being a researcher? Or that everyone could do what you do? This feeling is quite common.

* RCC Blog, Sept 11, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Desiree Dickerson writes about it as a voice in her head asking "Who do you think you are?", to quote her:
"This voice can denounce us as ‘impostors’ in academia and demand that we work twice as hard. Gradually, every day begins to feel like the morning of an exam. New ideas are dismissed with negative thoughts such as: “If I thought it, then it must be obvious." (read on:How I overcame impostor syndrome after leaving academia (nature.com))

If they experience this, early-career researchers, especially female ones, might get told: "You need to work on your self-confidence." But the question is: Where does this voice originate? Is it enough to fix the early-career researchers?

Or does the system of academia need fixing? Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey hold that there are systemic reasons that lead to highly qualified individuals, especially professionals of color and women, questioning if they belong: "The answer to overcoming imposter syndrome is not to fix individuals but to create an environment that fosters a number of different leadership styles and where diversity of racial, ethnic, and gender identities is viewed as just as professional as the current model." (read more: Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome (hbr.org))

Until the system is fixed, what can you do if you sometimes feel inadequate?

  • Document and visualize your successes in a success diary
  • Raise you own awareness of all the stuff you are doing well, by getting feedback from trusted persons
  • Find allies who build you up and who you build up
  • Use professional support like coaching, mentoring, peer advice

(read more: Hochstapler-Syndrom by Monika Klinkhammer & Gunta Saul, in Forschen Lehren Führen by Dr. Anette Hammerschmidt et al, p82f).

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Who could be interested in your research and how do you engage them? #58

Who could be interested in your research and how do you engage them?

* RCC Blog, Sept 4, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Do you have a favourite audience in your #scicomm and public engagement activities? Let's share some tips on how to best get your research out there!

1: Academic communities on social media

  • Offer as many details as you can, suggests Mike Young: Sharing more than your results (e.g. how you got there, failures, and limitations) can invite collaboration, encourage replication, and help others build on your work
  • Offer value from your own work when engaging with other researchers, giving them constructive, considered feedback
  • Amplify others' work by reposting their research accomplishment, and sharing why you find it useful
  • (see more in Mike's guide: mikeyoungacademy.dk/how-to-be-kind-on-social-media-a-guide-for-scientists/)

2: Young people in schools

  • Connect research with arts, like Ariane Pessentheiner does - using comics, hands-on experiments and gamification (https://biophycom.uni-graz.at/de/)
  • Enjoy the dialogue and participatory nature: weird and uncomfortable questions you receive from young people can seriously move you forward in your scientific thinking
  • Raise trust in science by demostrating exactly how researchers arrive at results
  • Make use of current funding schemes that train you to use multimedia (e.g. video) tools, such as for projects funded by Austrian Science Fund FWF and Austrian Academy of Sciences

 

3: Journalists

  • Prepare by considering who the readers/listeners are - find out (from the journalist) about their values, interests and concerns
  • Think about the journalist themselves - what they might need from you and what their restraints are
  • Prepare your core messages and try to anticipate difficult or controversial questions and prep your answers
  • Consider these questions: (1) what is new, and (2) why should the audience be interested?

(Read more from American Association for the Advancement of Science: www.aaas.org/resources/communication-toolkit/working-journalists)

We'll leave it here and would love to hear from other audiences you reach and your strategies for this!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you manage your email inbox as a researcher? #57

Are you afraid of your email inbox when you return from a break? Or are you a pro at "zero inbox"-ing? Let's share our hacks for keeping track - as a person who does research!

* RCC Blog, Sept 3, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Liz Gloyn, scholar of Classics, has figured out a system that allows her to a) not lose things, and b) avoid congnitive overload by switching between tasks when going through the mails (e.g. between teaching and research).

She tags emails with categories when they come in, and later moves them on to an archive. Among these categories are:

  • "live, venomous snakes", i.e. urgent things
  •  materials she wants to watch/read when she has the time
  •  student communication
  •  research-related

She waits until she has hit the "right time" in her day/week to deal with the emails. Read more on her blog: Managing e-mail with categories and Ivan Vorpatril’s snakes | Classically Inclined (wordpress.com)

Zero Inbox is the principle of the empty email inbox. We at the PostDoc Office clear out our inbox by using folders, and anything not sorted into folders remains an open task.

What are other popular tips from productivity experts? What do people overwhelmed with emails when they come back from leave do?

They

  • set up "rules" to automatically file anything repetitive into folders you create
  • sort by recipient instead of date (allowing them to delete 20 newsletters at once)
  • start with deleting unimportant stuff & flagging the very important things
  • get the easy-to-answer out of the way quickly
  • don't read the low-priority stuff and rely on people reminding them if it's urgent for them
  • filter all emails where they are only cc’ed into a separate folder, assuming that someone else has the lead in this
  • set aside time in the day for emails, and stick to it; maybe communicate this as well in their signature


What works for you?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What are the best tips to handle rejections? #56

Failure is part of working life - do you agree?

* RCC Blog, August 30, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Negative feedback can feel very personal. Yet in academia, failing sometimes is just a matter of numbers. Be it in competition for jobs, grants, or when submitting papers - every researchers experiences rejection now and then.

In advance of our Fiasco Fest on November 4, let us give you suggestions from our favourite resources, intended to help you thrive despite setbacks.

  • Talk to senior staff about their experiences and how they deal with rejections.
  • Factor in the chance of rejection.

(from p. 18 of the hugely readable PDF Thriving in your Research Position by University of Edinburgh Institute for Academic Development)

  • Realize this: "I am like Ronaldinho."
  • Keep a visible record of your rejected applications and share it with others

(from Melanie Stefan's column A CV of Failures)

  • Do not be afraid to seek help from a counselor or therapist.
  • Take charge of what you can: Find places to take control of your response to rejection.
  • Create spaces in which your identities are represented and celebrated, as reminders of your belonging.

(from Table 1: Summary of Individual-Level Recommendations, in Common Academic Experiences No One Talks About: Repeated Rejection, Impostor Syndrome, and Burnout by Lisa Jaremka et al)

And our personal suggestion:

  • Join psychologist Sabine Bergner to get more insights into handling career misfortunes on Nov 4!

What are your best suggestions?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do postdocs represent their own interests and organize? #55

Do you feel your voice as an employee is heard in your institution?

* RCC Blog, August 29, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

As temporary staff members, postdocs are often not included in the governing structures of their institutions. In the words of Jana Lasser, Kerstin Lenk, Nicole Merkle and Mareen Czekalla in Laborjournal 04/2024: "Representing your own interests while working in a precarious position? That's a contradiction!", full article: Prekären Arbeitsbedingungen im Mittelbau (laborjournal.de)

Although it's challenging, there is self-representation and engagement for their institutions and academia as whole among postdocs. Postdoctoral researchers are elected members as part of the "Mittelbau" in internal bodies that shape universities. Examples are:

  • Senate
  • Curriculum Committees
  • Habilitation Commissions
  • Appointment/Tenure Committees
  • Faculty Boards
  • Working Groups for Equal Opportunities
  • Employees’ Councils for Academic Staff


Researchers in Austria are also involved in external groups that allow them to make their needs and views public. Examples are:

  • Eurodoc is an international non-profit organisation representing over one million of ECRs at the European level and brings current challenges they are faced with to the attention of European institutions.
  • Netzwerk Mutterschaft und Wissenschaft - in small local hubs, researchers who are mothers work towards bettering policities and structures
  • Marie Curie Alumni Association and its local chapters connect MSCA beneficiaries as a space where they can share experiences and interests
  • Netzwerk Unterbau Wissenschaft is a network of people committed to improving working conditions
  • Bundesvertretung 13 Universitätsgewerkschaft wissenschaftliches und künstlerisches Personal is the public service union section for researchers & artists
  • ULV Independent Scientists and Artists at Austrian Universities represents researchers and artists at Austrian universities and understands participation in a university as shared responsibility and, in particular, co-determination 
  • Grazer Universitätsbund (Society of Friends of the University of Graz) is an independent association that aims to contribute to the successful future of the University of Graz by supporting especially younger researchers, internationalisation, diversity, societal impact.

If this issue interests you, you can participate in our workshop next May:

What's your experience with representation of postdocs?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you effectively plan your teaching? #54

Will you teach in the upcoming semester? Then you might enjoy these suggestions and resources!

* RCC Blog, August 28, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

As a postdoc, it's often a challenge to find a balance between doing high-quality teaching that you enjoy, and leaving enough time for "research output".
Some ways to do this are:

  • closely connecting contents of taught courses with ongoing fieldwork, data collection, literature reviews
  • publishing about your teaching (like Lydia Maria Arantes here: The Craft of Teaching. Cultivating Uncertainty and Moving in Playfulness as Pedagogical Strategy | Teaching Anthropology )
  • drawing from previous courses already prepared, be it in terms of structure, assessment, didactical methods, or content
  • being smart about assessment tools, allowing both for learning on the parts of students and for efficient marking
  • negotiating for help, i.e. in the form of student assistents with big lectures, or for a re-distribution of other tasks you might be doing as part of your contract
  • making a repetitive schedule for the semester or academic year in which teaching- and research-related tasks are given specific times in the week, and sticking to it
  • seeking support from professional units at your uni that support lecturers
  • exchange with peers about their time-saving measures, what works best, exchange of materials, etc


Having a mission with your teaching, and knowing why you do things the way you do them is a central part of the profile of an academic. Taking a professional approach to it will help you.
Here are some resources University of Graz offers for your development:


Enjoy!
* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you practice open science in your field? #53

Open Science can mean: helping others understand how your research results were obtained, making it possible for them to repeat studies. It also relates to open education, citizen's involvement in science, science communication, diversity efforts and much more.

* RCC Blog, July 23, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Those who practice open science strive to make their methods, data, scientific publications, review processes, teaching materials, source code, and many other resources available for general accessibility.

What are international resources and networks to follow?

  • If you want to check out how that can be done in your specific field, UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) has created a handy overview: https://www.ukrn.org/disciplines/ - from archeology to veterinary sciences.
  • If you want to network around open science, ReproducibiliTea is the movement to follow.

And what happens at University of Graz?

Have fun exploring and sharing!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you cultivate productive mentoring relationships? #52

Who were the people who made the most impact on your career?

* RCC Blog, July 18, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

For postdoctoral researchers, these are often mentor-type figures. From what University of Graz postdocs tell us, you can clearly see what a difference supportive established reseachers can make to someone's career. 
So how do you cultivate such relationships for yourself? Here are some suggestions.

  • (Politely) approach external researchers you admire: outline why you're interested in engaging with them, ask if they'd be up for a chat (give a manageble duration!), concisely decribe yourself & where your work aligns with their interests. If they are up for an initial meeting, you might establish a rapport and shared passions that can develop into a longer relationship.
  • Be proactive with those who you already work with: Is there someone in your unit or group whose approach towards their career or work you find impressive? Tell them so, and ask them to share some advice for your current situation, or for anything you plan in the future.
  • Involve direct leadership, i.e. your PI or line-manager: read what guidelines are provided by your uni on yearly employee conversations, on what support you can expect from a superior, and what the structure for this is. Make sure you access this support - by asking for the appointment, by preparing an agenda, by making notes during it and by following up.
  • Build a network of peers - when you establish a good rapport while you are on the same level and in similar positions, you will create valuable connections that can last many decades, and through many roles.
  • Behaviors that have a high likelyhood of making mentors want to support you and have you as a long-term contact: being reliable, responsive, trying to provide value for them as well, appreciating their time and taking seriously their advice, letting them know if anything was especially helpful or changed for you, sharing your milestones, being understanding in your expectations from them. And of course, you are interesting anyway because you are a brilliant researcher with unique perspectives!

Do you agree? Disagree? What are your strategies?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What are impacts of researching emotionally challenging topics? #51

What are impacts of researching emotionally challenging topics?

* RCC Blog, July 5, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Which interventions help researchers for their wellbeing? While research on violence, mortality associated with climate change, or on war, on threats to democrazy, etc is very necessary, those carrying out this research (often on short-term project funding or in their early qualification phases) can suffer ill wellbeing as an "occupational hazard".

Tina Skinner from University of Bath Researcher Wellbeing Project, alongside colleagues, has developed and piloted a package of measures to help prevent and mitigate distress and secondary trauma in researchers.
Here are some sample questions from a risk assessment template they created:

  • What specific aspects of the research process (e.g., literature review, fieldwork, data coding, analysis, writing-up, impact activities) could potentially impact your/the researcher’s mental health?
  • What is the likelihood that the identified severity of the impact will occur if you/they have personal experiences linked to the research topic or if you have pre-existing mental health concerns?
  • How will adequate mental health support be funded/provided throughout the research process?

Many more great resources tailored for researchers, supervisors and institutions are here: The Researcher Wellbeing Project (RWP): addressing researcher distress, trauma and secondary trauma (bath.ac.uk)


* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What should you consider when deciding on a funding scheme? #50

One of the challenges (and joys, if it works out!) is securing funding. Here are things to reflect before you put a lot of effort into an application.

* RCC Blog, July 4, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer


1) Be clear in where you want to do your research and why.

  • Seek out a group, place, environment that genuinely fascinates you, and do a deep-dive into their publications, team culture, resources, infrastructure, larger environment. This enables you to make a convincing connection between your aims and the place in which you want to work towards reaching them.
  • What else has the university to offer that can support you? Will you get additional funding to go to conferences, to buy materials, to host foreign researchers? To support family needs? Are there good professional development opportunties? Good networks with stakeholders beyond?
  • Which (international) connections are there, will you be able to access an international network during and after your project there?


2) Get an overview of funding schemes for the specific location and research field and take a critical look at them.

  • Compare schemes from different funders for your career stage and discipline and understand that they have different goals.
  •  For research in Austria, postdoc-level project funding comes from Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austrian Science Fund FWF, European Research Council (ERC), European Commission, Land Steiermark and many more places - all with different intentions and possibilities for you.
  •  Your research and career goals should be in line with the scheme's aims to make a convincing proposal.


3) Understand what's present and what's missing in your career portfolio to date.

  • Check which eligiblity criteria there are and if you're meeting them currently. Make a plan on how to meet them if not.
  • Select the funding scheme that will allow you to develop skills and evidence experience of which you currently have only the basics - be it team leadership, international exchange, time & money for entensive field-work/data collection, opportunity for publishing a lot, access to infrastructure, ...
  • Think about what the next step after the intended project is, and how you can set yourself up to succeed in this step (i.e. do you want to remain abroad, do you want to be eligible for professorships, do you aim for a specific follow-up grant). The scheme should fit into your plan.

There's much more, but we give over to you now: How do you do it? Let us know!
* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What is a research-adjacent career? #49

Have you heard of the term "research-adjacent"? 

* RCC Blog, July 2, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

It's used to describe careers which build on in-depth knowledge of academia, research environments, and research skills.

Why might they be interesting for you?

  •  they are often more stable in terms of contracts, career progression, and work-life-balance
  •  the impact of your work can often be more immediate and applied
  •  they can be based more on team-work than on individual excellence
  •  you get to network with a wider array of professionals than just academics

What kind jobs are these?

  •  roles in funding bodies or in uni research management units
  •  knowledge transfer enablers who connect research to industry and back, based in companies, universities, municipalities, regional hubs
  •  academic skills development (be it related to careers, teaching, digitalisation, diversity competence, communication...)
  •  science communication - for a university, for disciplinary associations, for research start-ups, as an entrepreneur, for museums, NGOs, governmental agencies...
  •  jobs in European Research Infrastructures (ERICS) and other European research and innovation environments
  •  non-university research institutes and agencies - these are so research-adjacent as to be actually IN research, but not at universities

Where can you learn more?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you explore exciting roles beyond academia? #48

Do you want to explore exciting roles beyond academia?

* RCC Blog, July 1, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

If you have a good grasp of what's out there, you can be more confident in your decision to stay - on your own terms. Or you might make the decision to leave - maybe for a while, maybe for good. Here are our suggestions on where to start exploring!

Read stories from former postdocs & try a job simulation tool:

Assess your skills with specific tools to see which are transferable and where to:

  • For those in Science Careers: My IDP 
  • For those in humanities, social sciences, arts: Imagine PhD 

Identify employers who hire people with a PhD:

What tips do you all have? What job boards do you use?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How does psychological safety play out in your work environment? #47

Can you and those around you freely admit to mistakes?

* RCC Blog, June 18, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Are you sharing ideas fearlessly? Is asking a stupid question also permitted? Then your team culture might be one that enables psychological safety! Amy Edmondson describes psychological safety as “felt permission for candor” in this 2023 article in Harvard Business Review: What Is Psychological Safety? (hbr.org)

We've come across the term when in Norway, visiting UiB Ferd - Career Center for early stage Researchers. The colleagues introduce the concept at the start of workshops, to encourage every researcher to get the most out of the training by freely asking questions, and supporting each other in a discursive, friendly atmosphere.

  • So it has to do with allowing learning, creating a feedback culture that allows growth, valuing individual ideas, good leadership. It's also a prerequisite for research integrity. 

We have observed that psychological safety is mentioned a lot when talking about efforts for a more positive research culture, for example here on LinkedIn by Petra Boynton. We'd love to hear your views on it - let us know if you have tools in your groups that create psychological safety!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How are peer reviews related to academic kindess? #46

How are peer reviews related to academic kindess?

* RCC Blog, 17.6.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer
Easy answer: We can thrive when we get useful feedback! But is the current process of review of journal articles useful for academic growth (and quality control)? What's your take?

Here are some considerations:

  • What's the version of professional language commonly used in this process? (is it, at minimum, polite?)
  • Is the feedback actionable and concrete or broad-strokes and general?
  • Does it show perspective, based on realistic expectations, and is laid out as more than an opinion?
  • Can it even motivate the author to joyfully improve the paper?


Where do you sit on this, do you like to review articles, and do you generally enjoy feedback received?

For your further reading & listening pleasure:

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How does a Habilitation work - and do I need one? #45

How does a habilitation work - and do I need one?

* RCC Blog, 16.6.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

A habilitation is proof of excellent academic qualification and is – depending on the discipline – common in Austria and some other European countries. How it works is regulated a) in federal law, b) in the statutes of the university, and c) in guidelines within the faculty. The habilitation procedure is regulated in federal law in University Act § 103. Through this, it is determined that an academic subject can be "represented in its entirety in research and teaching" by the habilitation candidate. The process at individual Austrian universities is decribed in the respective statutes (Satzung). Unofficial faculty and institute-specific regulations must also be observed.

What should you consider before you formally start the process?

  • Are you at a point where you can evidence the research and teaching excellence required in regulations, and specifically by reviewers and peers of your field who will be part of the process?
  • Do you currently have the capacity to organize the process & to put everything together in a way that makes sense?
  • Is there a network of willing people at the university where you intend to habilitate who will support you, be it as members of the committee, as informal mentors, or as helpful & knowledgeable peers?
  • Do you have a good sense of your profile, and how it relates to a Venia you want to apply for? How will this Venia set you up for upcoming opening professorships and for recognition within your field?
  • Who supports your work internationally?

Is it relevant for your career?

  • It depends on a) your long-term career goals and b) the practices in your field (and which country you want to eventually obtain a professorship in). 

Critical knowledge for successful decision-making, planning, and eventual completion of this academic rite of passage is a) available in legal documents and internal guidelines and b) available informally. You need both to succeed.

What can you get from us:

  • The PostDoc Office offers upon request a FAQ sheet prepared from a legal standpoint that gives you a first overview of how things at done at Uni Graz. 
  • We offer here some first information. 
  • We offer a yearly workshop where an expert shares informal and process knowledge to set you up for success (next: June 2024).

Extra tip: 

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What are benefits of collaboration beyond academia? #44

What are benefits of collaborations between academia and other sectors? Why does mobility between sectors make sense?

* RCC Blog, 7.6.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

It's increasingly becoming part of the mission of universities to facilitate "transfer" of their knowledge with possible users - be it the civil society or industry. Examples:

  • establishing technology transfer offices
  • efforts to create academic spin-offs
  • establishing expert internships for researchers
  •  taking science communication & public engagement seriously


“Intersectoral mobility” also means: knowledge and skills which originated outside academia are recognized as assets for persons in a research career. We're slowly getting there... here is why opening your personal horizon and engage beyond academia might benefit you:

(thanks for the inspiration, Christian C. Gruber!)

  •  You'll become a confident communicator who can make complex knowledge relevant for a variety of target groups.
  • Through new connections with industry stakeholders, you might find funding sources for your research you haven't thought about.
  •  Your research can potentially make a big impact if you bring companies or other organisations on board.
  •  You develop an good idea in which sectors your expertise might be valued professionally, and therefore become more confident.
  •  Your research might actually benefit by new ways of thinking about it.
  •  Your students will really benefit if you can explain from experience where they can work, which parts of society can (in the very distant to immediate future) benefit from your research results, and from your ability to break down complex matters into digestible chunks.
  •  You might develop as a person when you witness working norms and cultures in different organisations beyond a university.


What's your take on that?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you successfully faciliate a peer group? #43

* RCC Blog, 5.6.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

How do you keep a group going in a population that is often on the move? PostDocs make it work. Among local and international examples are networks Netzwerk Mutterschaft und Wissenschaft, MCAA Austria Chapter, Piscopia Initiative, ConnectingPostDocs, Graz Open Science Initiative, and many more.

Here are some suggestions for early-career researchers who want to build and maintain networks, based on what we observe, and what we learned that works. 

1 Use permanent staff as allies.

  • They can be your group memory and induct newcomers.
  • They can spread the word even after you are gone.
  • They might know networks that were there previously from which you can learn or to whom you want to connect.
  • They might have more insights into the university and can speak on your behalf there.
  • They might be insightful into how to voice your needs and aims to be heard by those who might support you.


2 Plan for sustainability.

  • Who will take over when I need to move, have to prioritize care for family, take a longer leave, have a busy season?
  • What's the communication infrastructure (mailing list, etc) and who stores the access information?
  • What is the meeting place and who has the key?
  • Where is permanent information about the existence of your group available?
  • How do we ensure ever new people find us and can start co-organizing?
     

3 Give yourself sustenance.

  • What does your group need to be able to regularly meet?
  • Where can you get that?
  • Can it be paid by university or department funds?
  • Is there a friendly research support person who can offer you assistence?
  • Is there free coaching available, to professionalize your leadership role?


4 Make it work for your CV.

  • Organizing a group is a leadership skill and demonstrates team work skills.
  • It shows you are able to think beyond your field of research.
  • It demonstrates committment to the academic community as a whole, and possibly an international outlook.
  • You can name your group to demonstrate this; you can give yourself a formal role & title.
  • You can be proud of this work and speak well of yourself and your co-organizers for doing it.


5 Keep it simple.

  • Put thought into the most time-saving way of finding dates, meeting places, making an agenda, writing and sharing notes.
  • Get help from graduate centers, postdoc offices, staff development units etc for room bookings.
  • Do things in batches (like setting dates & locations for a semester in advance).
  • Allocate roles & tasks and stick to them.

And of course: Have fun!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you create good communication as a group leader? #42

* RCC Blog, 4.6.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Making expectations and responsibilities transparent is key to good collaboration. If you are in a leadership role in your research group, you can set the tone for this. Kay Guccione and Rhoda Stefanatos explain why and how:

"Imagining that we all want to be trusted by our teams, a set of guidelines and expectations, as laid out in a manual, or charter, or [insert your preferred name] can inject some predictability and trust back into the precarious and uncertain experience."

Creating a research group ‘Charter’: Creating a research group ‘Charter’ – The Auditorium: a research culture and researcher development blog

The PostDoc Office is no stranger to Charters, or group ground rules. We suggest to each new peer mentoring team to establish some, and we also always like to draw attention to our university's PostDoc Charter: 69_2022_PostDocCharta_v4.indd (uni-graz.at)

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you spot a fake journal? #41

* RCC Blog, 3.6.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Have you heard of academic paper mills? Do you have a good awareness of how to spot a fake journal? Publishing in such journals can damage your academic reputation - so here are some trainings and helpful resources to navigate this terrain confidently!

Think. Check. Submit. offers tools and practical resources, aims to educate researchers, promote integrity, and build trust in credible research and publications.

University of Graz library can assist you with identifying and avoiding fake journals, for example:

Regular workshops:

  • Webinar: „Vorsicht, Falle! Fake journals, predatory conferences & Co“ by Uni Graz Publikationsservices
  • Webinar: Publication Ethics by LBG Career Center

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What can everyone do to prevent sexualized harassment in academia? #40

It's the common understanding in academia that our workplaces should be free of harassment and violence. They aren't always.

* RCC Blog, 27.05.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Today we're starting a series of suggestions on what every university member can do to create a culture of awareness and care.

Part 1: Make the topic visible in public spaces you have access to.

  • Distribute quality information on the topic, like broschures & leaflets.
  • Show willingness to be approached for a chat about this topic by showcasing certain aspects, like a poster with statistics.
  • Have print-outs of contact points, hotlines on your walls.
  • Place any existing guidelines of the university against harassment and for good conduct in visible spots.

Here's where to get some inspiration & information:


Part 2: Educate newcomers (new students, guests, new staff) about policies and options for dealing with sexualized discrimination and violence.

  • Tell them about great people or groups you know who are engaged in prevention work or knowlegeable on the subject.
  • Tell them about general info websites that list all kinds of important contact points for crisis situations.
  • Point them to ongoing campaigns and explain how they can get involved.
  • Let them know if you have completed any great trainings and where.
  • Share with them the guidelines and procedures that exist for persons in leadership roles.

Here's some Uni Graz-insider information for these actions:

Part 3: Educate yourself on helpful and harmful responses to disclosures.

Harassment is often still considered a taboo subject. So if someone gets up the courage to drop a hint to you, or mentions an experience they are unsure about, it's good to be sure how to respond.

Common UNHELPFUL responses are:

  • To not feel responsible/ competent & delegate responsibility quickly.
  • To justify intolerable acts.
  • To dwell on the intention of the named perpetrator (i.e. "how do we know that they intended it that way?").
  • To trivialize the experience of those affected.
  • To question their view of the situation.

Here's what you could do that might be HELPFUL:

  •  Remain calm and don't impose your own feelings on the person disclosing to you.
  •  Be appreciative that the person has the courage to tell you something; dont' push, let it rest, be avaible for more chats later.
  •  Do not immediately delegate all responsibility - make some concrete offers of support and explore whether the person would want them.
  •  E.g. Offer to find out about contact points within and outside the university and provide them to the person affected.
  •  Talk to a contact point yourself and, if wanted, pass the information on.
  •  If you feel it's necessary for your own wellbeing, take advantage of supervision or psychological counseling.
  •  Stay in touch with the affected person.

Here's the information by our university: Diskriminierungsschutz - Koordinationsstelle für Geschlechterstudien und Gleichstellung (uni-graz.at)
Here's a great website from TU Graz which has tips for helpful attitudes: Info Portal: Sexual Harassment and Gender-based Violence - TU Graz
Here are good suggestions from a German university's equality office: Support persons affected by sexualised discrimination | Leuphana

Let us know: What do you already do?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Which short-term fellowships for trying out Uni Graz exist? #39

Embarking on a short-term fellowship can create valuable connections at exciting research institutions - and enable you to try a future employer out for size. Do you know someone who would like to come to the University of Graz? Point them to these options!

* RCC Blog, 13.05.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer


Please note:

  • This is just a selection (and mix of internal and externally funded)!
  • Deadlines vary - it's best to ask directly if & when a next call is expected.
  • You can learn more about the research strenghts of our university here: Our Expertise - University of Graz (uni-graz.at)


Selected opportunities from our university's units and research fields:

REWI Uni Graz brings excellent members of the global law research community to Graz as fellows: REWI Fellowship Programme - Rechtswissenschaften (uni-graz.at) (last call was Dec 2023)

The Field of Excellence Climate Change Graz offers 3-months fellowships: Climate Change Graz Post Doc Fellowship Program 2024 - Climate Change (uni-graz.at) (last call was Apr 2024)

The Center for Jewish Studies offers €2500/mth, up to a 2mth stay, to present their research publicly, and engage in the research environment, Petra Ernst-Fellowship für Jüdische Studien Wintersemester 2024/25 - Centrum für Jüdische Studien (uni-graz.at)(call open until Jun 15)

The Centre for South-East European Studies hosts visiting fellows for 4 months and offers a vibrant environment: Visiting Fellowship Programme - Centre for Southeast European Studies (uni-graz.at)
 

The Field of Excellence Dimensions of Europe hosts fellows for one semester to conduct research and collaborate within the Field: Visiting Fellowships - Dimensions of Europe (uni-graz.at) (last call was March 2024)

External funding sources:

Austrian Academy of Sciences' Joint Excellence in Science and Humanities (JESH) programme for researchers from 61 different countries: JESH Information & Conditions (oeaw.ac.at)

Coimbra Group runs, among other options, a Scholarship Programme for Young Researchers from European Neighbouring Countries to come to a Coimbra member uni (like Uni Graz): European Neighbourhood | Coimbra (coimbra-group.eu)

OeAD-GmbH – Agentur für Bildung und Internationalisierung's database lets you select Austria to see research funding: https://grants.at/de/ (support is also available at EURAXESS Austria!). As a scholar at risk, you may be eligible for specific funding schemes to come to Austria.

Share with us if you know more options & if you have experience with a short-term fellowship!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What's a fair way to allocate research funding? #38

What's a fair way to allocate research grants?

* RCC Blog, 29.04.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Does using a lottery-system reduce expert biases, allow for truely innovative ideas to get funded, and reduce time wasted on convoluted application systems? We're interested in your stance on this issue!

Funders receive a great number of applications that pass the quality treshold - often double or more the amount than can be awarded grants. In that instance, some currently trial partial lotteries (for example through using a hat). Why?

  • VolkswagenStiftung argues that for applications whose differences in quality can no longer be further differentiated by experts, it relieves a burden
  • biases & group dynamics among reviewer panels could be reduced (such as a bias towards better-known institutions, male applicants, more senior researchers)
  • consensus finding often leads to preference for established topics and methods, while the "lucky draw" could increase diversity

Those funders who are trialling a randomization process are also evaluating it. What's their experiences?

  • applications to funds that use lottery systems tend to be shorter - saving valuable time for research
  • rejected applicants don’t feel as disappointed - they were good enough to get funded and take it as the luck of the draw
  • assessment panels dont need to agonize over which application needs to be placed slightly higher than another one, just agree that both are good enough to be placed in the hat
  • lottery systems encourage "risky", potentially innovative research
  • the scientific community responds well to the new systems

Read more about lottery systems and arguments for and against here:

VolkswagenStiftung (2020) 8 Thesen für ein Loselement in der Forschungsförderung | VolkswagenStiftung

David Adam (2019): Science funders gamble on grant lotteries (nature.com)

Nature Editorial (2022, 609, 653) The case for lotteries as a tiebreaker of quality in research funding (nature.com)

What's your take on this?


* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How is care for children compatible with an academic career? #37

How is care for children compatible with an academic career?

* RCC Blog, 26.04.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

If this question is relevant for you, you might find these studies (recent and older), contact points, and networks helpful. Please share what recent data you have come across as well!

Sigrid Metz-Göckel u.a. (2011)

  • Beschäftigungsbedingungen und generative Entscheidungen des wissenschaftlichen Personals an Hochschulen. Femina politica: Zeitschrift für feministische Politik-Wissenschaft 20, 1, 166–172

Isabella Buber-Ennser u.a. (2011)

  • Doing science, forgoing childbearing? Evidence from a sample of female scientists in Austria (Working Paper No. 1), 

Abteilung Gleichstellung und Diversität der Universität Wien (2022)

  • Eine Frage der Organisation? Daten und Analysen zur Vereinbarkeit von Beruf/Studium mit der Sorge um andere und sich selbst,

Andreas Baierl & Eva-Maria Schmidt (2024)

  • Väter in Unternehmen: Perspektiven von Führungskräften und Potenziale für Geschlechtergleichstellung

Netzwerk Mutterschaft und Wissenschaft

  • A mailing list for Austria connects mothers in academia, with nodes in Graz, Vienna, Innsbruck and other places!

unikid & unicare at Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz contact point

  • Die Anlaufstelle für Vereinbarkeit der Uni Graz: Studieren, lehren, forschen oder arbeiten Sie an der Uni Graz und vereinbaren Sie Ihre Tätigkeit mit Ihrem Familienleben mit minderjährigen und/oder pflegebedürftigen Angehörigen? Kontaktieren Sie uns gerne!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How does research integrity affect supervision and mentoring relationships? #36

How does research integrity play out in supervision and mentoring relationships? Who can contribute to a fair work climate in which honest scientific conduct is the norm?

* RCC Blog, 25.04.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

If you are eager to delve into these issues, check out these resources old and new.

Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad (VLIR) has just created Mind the GAP: an online training tool for researchers on Good Academic Research Practices (GAP), based on The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity.
Homepage - Mind the GAP (vlir.be)

UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO) regularly holds (and records) webinars on topics like

  • social media and research integrity
  • decolonised research culture and practice
  • open research for early career researchers

Find the webinar series and many other useful materials here: Webinar Series - UK Research Integrity Office (ukrio.org)

ENRIO European Network of Research Integrity Offices has published a Handbook on Whisteblower Protection in Research in 2023. It offers, among many other things:

  • sample curriculums
  • case studies
  • tools for teaching
  • educational movies

Find the materials listed here: Resources - ENRIO

Of course, University of Graz has many areas in which we actively engage in maintaining research integrity. This website provides a list of the main resources: Ressourcen - Gute Wissenschaftliche Praxis (uni-graz.at)

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you work out which new project ideas you want to pursue? #35

Maybe you're brimming with ideas for potential new projects - how do you work out which ones are feasible, interesting enough in the long term, and suited to your future goals?

* RCC Blog, 24.04.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Here are some approaches!

Laura Saetveit Miles describes what she does in her substack newsletter - here's some of Laura's "hacks", alongside what we think could work well.

  • approaching your trusted network for virtual coffees ("I’m exploring new ideas for my next project. Can I bounce some of them off you?")
  • writing every new insight on this idea down as soon as you can - be it critical questions, new angles, ideas for who to talk to,...
  • meeting some people who do related work - ideally you'll find your niche, and can tell if you can actually contribute some new angle
  • keeping in close contact with materials, sources related to your project idea - once a day, even when you are busy
  • taking breaks from the idea and letting it percolate - or seep - to see what gets distilled over time


Read more on how Laura did it:
Momentum through meetings - by Laura Saetveit Miles (substack.com)
And let us know what worked for you in the past!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Do you want to become more visible on social media? #34

Do you want to become more visible on social media but not quite convinced of benefits of engaging in science communication?

* RCC Blog, 24.04.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Let us recommend some blogs and videos: Inspiration for developing your online presence, as well as motivation for communicating your science on social media.

European Commission let's two project leaders answer the question "how social media can increase the impact and reach for your research" here 
Science Communication: how social media can effectively boost your research project - European Commission (europa.eu)

Elisabeth Wagner shares from her experience as a social media science communicator: Science Communication auf Social Media – ein Kampf gegen Windmühlen? Elisabeth Wagner: Science Communication auf Social Media - Brennpunkt WissKomm (youtube.com)

Science Buster Martin Moder talks Youtube as a medium:
Wissenschaft auf YouTube Martin Moder: Wissenschaft auf YouTube - Brennpunkt WissKomm

Hildrun Walter offers a thoughtful talk on the role of research communication in society:
Zuhören, Mitreden, Mitgestalten: Möglichkeiten der Wissenschaftskommunikation in Krisenzeiten
Hildrun Walter: Zuhören, Mitreden, Mitgestalten - Brennpunkt WissKomm (youtube.com)

Holly Prescott offers two blog posts on LinkedIn as a tool for establishing a effective online presence:
'Where The Magic Happens': How to raise your profile on LinkedIn (for PhDs) - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog (phd-careers.co.uk)
Exploring Career Options Beyond Academia: Essential LinkedIn ‘tricks’ for researchers

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you put up boundaries to reduce your workload? #33

Are you effective at managing what is put on your plate (or rather, desk)? Or do you feel you have little agency there?

* RCC Blog, 22.04.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Knowing when to put up resistance in the context of hierarchies is tricky. Maybe the following reading suggestions can help.

Dr. Neela Enke. 2020. DUZ-Kolumne „Unter vier Augen“ zur Frage „In der Flut der täglichen Anfragen habe ich das Gefühl, nicht zu dem zu kommen, was mir wichtig ist. Was kann ich tun?“ In: duz 01/2020, S. 75. DUZ_M0120_Unter4Augen_Enke.pdf (coachingnetz-wissenschaft.de)
What it contains:

  •  the wisdom "work goes where it gets done"
  •  the potential of gaining respect through considered and well-argued refusals
  •  the benefit of asking for time to deliberate
  •  the strategy to counter with a later time-window for taking on the task


Amanda E. Cravens, et al (25 August 2022): Why four scientists spent a year saying no. Nature career column. Why four scientists spent a year saying no (nature.com)
What it contains:

  • using a "tracking" approach to your workload, measuring in weeks and months, is helpful for deciding what you can take on and communicating that to others
  • empowering yourself to select and deepen relationships with collaborators who respect your boundaries
  • holding firm is the way that your NO sticks, and for that you need peer support


PD Dr. med. Anne Braczynski gives advice in the comments of this insightful LinkedIn posting about a superior individualising organisational problems that lead to overwork: Post | LinkedIn
We take from it:

  • assuming good-will on the part of the person assigning you too much work is helpful to maintain good communication
  • expressing your view that it's not solely your responsibility to handle the workload is allowed
  • actively drawing on collegial support to better manage tasks is an option


What is your perspective on this?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you make space for new ideas to come to you? #32

How do you make space for new ideas to come to you?

* RCC Blog, 16.04.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

In a day-to-day marked by tasks to finish and deadlines to meet, it is a challenge. And yet, researchers are always coming up with burning issues to investigate, and concepts for doing this effectively. Let's share how researchers (and artists) create space for ideation!

Laura Saetveit Miles has a corner in her office decicated to developing new projects.

  • Physically moving yourself into a create-space might also alert your brain to the fact that it's time to get creative.
  • Laura's substack newsletter is super inspiring for those who are seeking to develop their next big thing.

Kel Weinhold suggests definitely using your "sharp elbows to protect space for ideation".

Gerald Lind advises a mindset of "openness".

  • Up to a certain point, to be effective at creative exploration of possible new projects, you must desist from thinking of a specific outcome (and future reception of your brainchild).
  • That's a tip not only for researchers, but rooted in his experience with writing novels.

And we at the PostDoc Office suggest finding yourself a willing audience to listen to you talk yourself through new ideas (obviously offer the same to your peers as well!).

  • Hearing yourself talk in front of trusted colleagues can do wonders for coming up with new connections between topics, assessing ideas for feasibility, and convincing yourself they are worth pursuing.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you facilitate productive work meetings? #31

Do you have a knack for productive work meetings? Or do yours resemble involuntary therapy sessions?

* RCC Blog, 15.04.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Let's share some hacks for getting things done collaboratively. Below is what works for us!

Before the meeting: Advance preparation!

  • Determine if the meeting is necessary at all (or...could it be an email?)
  • Communicate a clear goal
  • Let everyone have the agenda
  • Give a deadline if input is needed on anything beforehand
  • Make sure everyone knows why they participate
  • Agree on roles: who facilitates, who takes minutes, who prepares what

At the start of the meeting:

  • Allow participants to settle in, but start on time
  • Facilitator welcomes, sets out goal again
  • Intro round if not everyone knows each other, explain roles
  • Explain note taking and what will happen with notes afterwards
  • Agree again on agenda topics, adding topics if necessary, denying addition of topic if not suitable
  • Make clear again when the meeting will end


During the meeting: The facilitator...

  • makes sure that everyone has chance to participate
  • watches the clock
  • politely cuts short long-winded speakers, involves silent ones if needed
  • guides through agenda items
  • summarizes important outcomes verbally to get consent on them, making it easier for the notetaker


End of meeting:

  • Summarize main results & give overview of what will happen next
  • Note down: Who does what until when?
  • What are open points for the next meeting?
  • Find another date if needed


What have we forgotten? What's your style? Do you love meetings?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you cope with challenging research topics? #30

Inquiry into effects of climate change, disease prevention, border politics, or family relationships: Doing research on these topics - and many more! - can be emotionally challenging.

* RCC Blog, 05.04.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

We want to highlight support options - and hear from you about what you build into your projects to maintain researcher wellbeing.

(1) TAKE UP TRAINING OPTIONS

Tina Skinner and Kristine Brance offer this workshop on May 15, 2024: "Addressing Secondary Trauma in Emotionally Challenging Research: impact, coping and proactive interventions". Check out the whole project on researcher wellbeing: (PDF) Researcher Wellbeing Project Report 11 12 23 (researchgate.net)
(Thanks to Stefanie Giljohann for your March posting on this important topic!)

(2) PLAN FOR RESEARCHER WELLBEING

Build provision for researcher wellbeing into project proposals. These questions need to be addressed before the project starts:

  • How can researchers access help in case of negative impact?
  • What's the budget set aside for this?
  • How will the workload allow for accessing support services?
  • Which experts will provide regular team supervision?
  • What sort of team culture can be helpful to maintain wellbeing?
  • Is this support available in every language and for every researcher?
  • Is there methodology specific to your field that is the gold standard? (such as Ethnopsychoanalytical Reflection Groups for qualitative inquiry*)

(3) ACCESS UNIVERSITY & EXTERNAL SUPPORT SERVICES

Gain familiarity with support services before it is needed. Signpost others to it. Contact providers proactively and ask them about what exactly they offer and how.

  • Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz has free employee counselling - find it via typing "Uni Help" into the intranet search bar
  • BVAEB - Versicherungsanstalt öffentlich Bediensteter, Eisenbahnen und Bergbau offers free psychological counselling
  • Psychotherapy can be accessed in Austria via a primary care doctor.

(4) TAKE YOURSELF SERIOUSLY

You don't have to do research on "extreme" subjects to be affected emotionally. If you feel you would like support, that's enough of a reason to access it. It's an investment into your development and future ability to handle challenging situations.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you make the most of starting a new job? #29

Are you taking up a new role soon?

* RCC Blog, 04.04.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Postdocs are often experts at managing transitions. Here are suggestions (1) on how to arrive successfully in a new job. Let us know what works for you!

"Being new" is a time with potential that you should use intentionally.
You might be more permitted to

  • ask „stupid“ questions and inquire into the status quo
  • try doing things in a new way, unique to you
  • make mistakes, since you don’t know the informal and formal rules yet


Get a feel for the social environment in which you are operating. Identify and actively approach your main „stakeholders“:

  • in your unit and related disciplines
  • from relevant research networks
  • from relevant administrative units
  • in university committees and leadership
  • among the student body
  • in the city and region


Reflect on each of these groups‘ expectations:

  • What influence do they hold related to your goals?
  • What are their interests in your work?
  • Are they neutral, critical or positive towards what you want to achieve?
  • How do they prefer to communicate and collaborate?
  • What and who do they not like?


After you have "gathered data" by actively seeking chats and asking questions, think about how you want to fit into this environment:

  • Is there wiggle room that you can actively use?
  • What expectations can you fulfil and where are your boundaries?
  • Who can be supportive persons?
  • Which patterns do you want to establish now to create an environment in which you can do a good job?


We have a useful guideline for your first talks with a new supervisor here: Wie kooperiere ich gut mit Vorgesetzten und in der Organisation? - Information und Service für PostDocs (uni-graz.at)

(1) Read more in this text by Dr. Anette Hammerschmidt: "Anfang gestalten", in a book co-edited by her called "Forschen Lehren Führen Das ABC für die Hochschulkarriere".

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Why should you celebrate professional fiascos? #28

Do you celebrate things you tried that didn't work out? Do you acknowledge work put into rejected proposals, conference talks, job applications? Sharing professional fiascos (in a fun and community-minded manner) can put them into perspective.

* RCC Blog, 27.03.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Below we offer:

  1. suggestions on what to do with your team, in your group, across your school/faculty.
  2. inspiration on improving your teaching and research praxis
  3. notes on how to establish an error-friendly culture

 

1) Things to try with your team. group or school


Rejection Party: Create a Rejection Spreadsheet and Host A Party 

  • This piece outlines the idea and positive effects: Let's Celebrate Our Failures - The Atlantic
  • Everyone who gets rejected for a grant (or anything else you determine party-worthy) logs it into the speadsheet, and when you hit a certain number, you host a celebration.


Rejection CV: Compile a CV of things tried and failed and give a public dramatic reading 

Rhaina Cohen's text linked above imparts the following wisdom:

  • by making rejection experiences visible we can show that it is an ordinary part of a career
  • rejection stings less when it’s reframed as progress and handled as a community
  • letting go of fear of failure can lead us to take bigger risks and be more confident

2) How to improve your teaching and research praxis

Further development is not about finding an error-free solution, but rather about practicing, teamwork, trying things out and communicating.
An essential part of the learning process is making mistakes:

  1. Assess what happened.
  2. Integrate learnings into a new way of doing things.
  3. Move on.


Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz has devoted their teaching excellence award this year to the topic of failures. It will nominate those lecturers who create a space in which

  • Students learn how to deal with errors productively
  • Students receive constructive feedback
  • an error-friendly culture is established

On Apr 26, you can take a training on "failure as opportunity" in your teaching praxis:Misslingen als Chance (uni-graz.at)

What about research?
In a current Research Culture Uncovered episode, the discussants call for acknowledging research failures:

  • away from a blind focus on reward
  • to ensure that failures are properly reflected upon
  • and an awareness of how to avoid negative impact of research in the future


Listen to Exploring Grimpact: The Other Side of Research Impact with Gemma Derrick, (Bonus) Exploring Grimpact: The Other Side of Research Impact with Gemma Derrick - Research Culture Uncovered (captivate.fm)
 

3) How to establish an error-friendly culture

Not everything you go for professionally will work out  That doesn‘t reflect on your abilities. We’re suggesting: Celebrate your professional fiascos!  What does an error-friendly approach to your work encompass? What might be benefits of an error-fiendly team culture? 

In the postdoctoral career stage, failure to achieve milestones can mean the end of funding. Monitoring and reporting are widespread. Even without external pressure, academics often hold themselves and their work to high standards (which is good, since the world needs high-quality research!).

On a personal level, this can mean fear of mistakes and being negatively assessed is ever-present, while obvious achievements being taken for granted (which is bad, since it makes for unhappy researchers).

An error-friendly approach can help: Reflect on the standards you hold yourself and your team to:

  • When is error-free work necessary and shows professionalism?
  • Where does more effort not lead improvement of the outcome?
  • Where can you allow errors (and therefore learning experiences) to happen, because you can handle repercussions?
  • How much monitoring and control can you do without realistically?
  • What systems are in place for open discussing of mistakes and learning from each other?
  • Can you bring in some outside help to explore what "trial and error" can look like in your field and team?
  • What does joyful, creative and brave exploration look like, and does your culture allow for it?
  • What support do you need to manage critical feedback well?


On November 4, 2024, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz will again be the host for the Fiasco Fest. Postdoctoral researchers from all the Graz universities will be guided through joyfully facing and integrating their mishaps by Sabine Bergner, and learn from each other.

Read on:

  • EILLES-MATTHIESSEN, Claudia und POHL, Carsten, 2015. Perfektionismus als Thema im Coaching. Ideen für ein wertschätzendes Navigieren zwischen Leistungsmotivation und Optimierungszwang. In. Coaching-Magazin 1/2015,
  • S. 34–38.
  • Petra Boynton (2020): Being Well in Academia: Ways to Feel Stronger, Safer and More Connected, Routledge.


* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What are benefits of taking your lunch break? #27

Do you regenerate best when you are with others? Or do you enjoy a nice quiet walk between one part of the workday and another? In either case, we suggest you take a lunch break!

* RCC Blog, 26.03.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

What are the benefits?

  • Getting up from your desk relieves back and neck pain.
  • Stepping away from tasks supports regaining focus.
  • Eating well and regularly maintains your energy levels.
  • Going outdoors during the workday gives access to vital daylight.
  • Taking a social lunch means you stay connected.
  • A brisk walk reduces stress levels.

And here are some options for how to spend it.

1: If you are social (but maybe don't currently have lunch buddies):

  •  You can join Personal- und Organisationsentwicklung's Tuesday Lunch Exercise. No charge, no registration, just come to the garden of the Personalressort at 12:05.
  •  You can come to the PostDoc social lunch at Cafe Global, every semester at the last Wednesday at 12.

2: If you are not social:

  • Why not check out these green spaces next to the main campus: Hilmteich, Botanic Gardens, Rosenhain
  •  Or come and sit quietly in our PostDoc space in Heinrichstrasse 22, 2nd floor. Let us know when you need the room and we won't disturb you.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Does mobility improve your research? #26

Here is a list of reading recommendations on the topic of the 2024 PostDoc Office Annual Event: the mobility requirement for academic careers.

* RCC Blog, 21.03.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Substantial international working experience and networks across the globe are understood to be a pre-requisite for a professorship. Academic mobility can, however, be at odds with care obligations and intimate relationships. Furthermore, Homophily mechanisms in hiring, varying language proficiency, and local traditions in assessing research performance might even disadvantage scholars who move often.

Make up your own mind by diving into these recent publications:

Sautier, M. (2021): Move or perish? Sticky mobilities in the Swiss academic context. High Educ 82, 799–822

  • The article asks: How do institutional definitions of "research mobility" compare to the lived practice of academics? Should you "feign a long stay abroad" to satisfy assessment criteria? It uses qualitative analysis of over 60 interviews with early-career researchers, as well as case studies, and goes into: why mobility is a gendered precarity issue, how researchers experience both career development benefits as well as added insecurities when changing places, how costs of mobility can be different according to gender, how postdoc researchers who are unwilling or unable to relocate may build similar competencies easily via other means, the many different practices of being "on the move", such as commuting ...and more!

Vera Axyonova, PhD / Florian Kohstall / Carola Richter (eds., 2022): Academics in Exile: Networks, Knowledge Exchange and New Forms of Internationalization, transcript Verlag

  • What the book does: it unpacks the paradoxes of exile and provides insights from the lived experiences of displaced academics, it argues that the involuntary academic mobility of #displaced and at-risk scholars can significantly impact and shape transnational knowledge production, transfer, and exchange, it critically explores what academic freedom means in the context of scholars’ precarity and subjectivities.

 

Simone Kauffeld et al. (2019). Auf dem Weg zur Professur? Laufbahnen im wissenschaftlichen Kontext. In: Kauffeld, S., Spurk, D. (eds) Handbuch Karriere und Laufbahnmanagement. Springer Reference Psychologie

  • Why is it not expected for an academic to remain at the same institution from graduate school to tenure? What does career research tell us about how academic paths work? What are the historical conditions in which certain policies have made sense for universities? The article goes into what the background to the "Hausberufungsverbot" in Germany is, employment and career development conditions at German universities, evidence-based key predictors for successful academic careers, data on the German academic system (such as age of first professorship) ...and more!

 

Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (2024): Gewinnung und Berufung internationaler Professor:innen, here.

  • Topics: The complex issue of attracting talent and creating a thriving, diverse, and multi-lingual research community. How successful are universities in German-speaking countries in recruiting international professors? And how do they ensure that the researchers will have the best experience once appointed? The Handreichung shows existing challenges many will know from personal experience, such as monolingual buerocratic systems, implicit bias in selection committees, lack of welcome culture or dual career support - and makes concrete suggestions on how to change this.

 

 

Helene Schiffbaenker, Florian Holzinger and Marita Haas (2022): The gendered nature of independence in the context of research funding and excellence. SN Social Sciences 2(12)

  • What does the notion of „independence“ mean when you are evaluated by funding panels, and how is it connected to mobility and gender?  The authors looked into how reviewers for a large grants understand the idea of a researcher's independence. What do they draw upon when they assess the independence of an early career researcher? The authors identified five dimensions that are related to relationships with influential figures (supervisors, managers) as well as to originality, networks and mobility. They make the point that these constructions of independence are gendered.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What does committee work do for your career? #25

What power can you wield as a member of an internal committee?

* RCC Blog, 20.03.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

How might it serve your academic career? We’ll explore this question with expert Renate Dworczak again in May 2024 - and here are some thoughts to get you in the mood.

What are potentials of serving on a committee within your university?

  • You understand how your institution (and similar ones) works and is governed
  • You establish your professional network within the university
  • You get proficient in building coalitions across units to reach goals
  • You can have an impact on long-term strategic directions of your unit or the whole university
  • You are in the know on current developments
  • You can get things done and get a reputation for getting things done


What are critical perspectives on committee work?

  • It can take time away from scholarly work that has a higher likelyhood of getting rewarded by funders and hiring committees
  • If you are a temporary employee or an international scholar, sometimes you have to fight for a seat at the table
  • If you happen to fall into an underrepresented category, you might end up fighting off constant invitations to serve in committees
  • There might be a culture of decision making and hidden interests that appear impenetrable to an „outsider“


For the Austrian context, this is an insightful article:

  • Enzenhofer, B, Elisabeth Anna Guenther, Brigitte Ratzer (2021). „Unangenehm ist normaler Alltag“ – Quote und Macht in universitären Gremien am Beispiel von Technischen Fakultäten in Österreich. In: Wroblewski, A., Schmidt, A. (eds) Gleichstellungspolitiken revisted. Springer VS, Wiesbaden

You can register for our expert talk on May 15 (go to kurse.uni-graz.at/postdocs) to discuss this topic further!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can we handle university buerocracy effectively? #24

Why do I have to fill out yet another form? And why are there so many ways of filling it out incorrectly?

* RCC Blog, 12.03.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Handling university buerocratic processes is a heated issue. So much so that we like to use it as an ice-breaker topic for our PostDoc Pizza nights.

 

The PostDoc Office is a third-space unit. We have a research background, but we’re part of the Verwaltung - and we are passionate about collaboration. So allow us to aid your efficient handling of necessary (and unnecessary) admin with these suggestions:

 

How to actually get things done: Be as proactive as you can.

 

  • Identify colleagues who have experience and can guide you.
  • Be aware that a friendly phone call can achieve results if written communication can't.
  • Be as concise and short as you can in your requests, lead with the important stuff!
  • Once you have identified supportive persons, maintain a good relationship.
  • Follow up if you haven't heard anything - but allow a reasonable time frame.
  • Understand that usually, if someone says they can't help you, it's not because they don't want to. But they might still advise you how to get a solution.
  • Explain your context and constraints to achieve understanding.

 

How to be less frustrated: Understand it like an anthropologist.

 

  • The roles of research staff and admin staff follow different contraints.
  • To achieve excellent research results, you are required to innovate, be creative, self-organize, be flexible and pivot.
  • To support the running of a university, one must adhere to regulations and laws, which should apply equally to all.
  • The work of admin staff is usually subject to directives and placed within strong hierarchies. Their professional practice includes getting others to follow processes and further developing them.
  • Compensation and job flexiblity also differs quite a bit.

 

So have fun collaborating! Do you have top tips to share?

 

Thanks for the inspiration & wisdom to:

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you handle rejected funding applications? #23

You know how to write a compelling grant proposal and where to get expert support. But do you know how to cope when it doesn’t work out? 

* RCC Blog, 11.03.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Join us in exploring how to handle failed grant applications. Let us know what your strategies are! And find some inspiring reads on this below.


PUT IT IN CONTEXT AND DE-PERSONALIZE IT

  • Since most grants do not have a 100% funding rate (more 1% to 20%), competition and high rejection rates are a feature of the system.
  • Your unsuccessful proposal is part of the majority.
  • Every researcher will have more rejections than funded projects.
  • That your project wasn’t funded doesn’t mean it wasn’t fundable.
  • Excellent proposals can be rejected because the funder’s budget was exceeded.


ALLOW TIME BEFORE YOU CONSIDER NEXT STEPS

  • Put the proposal to the side for some days.
  • Allowing associated emotions enough space can help with regaining clarity of mind.


IF COMMISERATION HELPS YOU, KNOW WHERE TO GET IT

  • It’s good to mark submission of a proposal with a small celebration, and it’s good to mark also the decision – positive or negative.
  • Make an occasion of it by seeking the sympathetic ear of someone who has been through it.
  • Your peers might be most helpful, since they know the stakes involved maybe better than a long-time tenured professor can.

IF YOU HAVE TAKEN AMPLE TIME AND MADE SPACE TO CELEBRATE THIS GRANT FIASCO: WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?

Suggestion 1: Connect to peers, mentors and research management professionals.

Why? Because they might...

  • help provide context for the rejection, if they know the scheme in question or the research area deeply.
  • point you to suitable funding opportunities to bridge a gap.
  • connect you to a larger group that you could join in a new bid.
  • help assess if resubmission is allowed and likely to lead to a better outcome.
  • help you assess feedback you received from the funding body.

Suggestion 2: Seek alternative ways to get your idea out into the world – and do it justice.

How? By considering if...

  • your current circumstances allow submitting a quality proposal – or if you need more time, additional resources, or support. If necessary, advocate for these.
  • it makes sense to break down the project you proposed, aiming for different sources of funding to cover specific aspects of the work.
  • you want to re-purpose work to create another form of visibility for your innovative idea and thereby prepare the ground for future funding (e.g. write a literature review, organize a lecture series, or conferene panel?)
  • it makes sense to maintain the relationships established in the process. Maybe a creative collaborative endeavor can come of it – or maybe you part ways for the time being.

Suggestion 3: Continue to give yourself credit.

Why? Because the work you did

  • in establishing collaborations,
  • setting up an argument and a narrative,
  • researching funding schemes & getting familiar with requirements,
  • laying the empirical ground work,
  • checking the feasibility of your idea,
  • project planning your writing time,
  • editing,
  • getting expert support

-> all of this is valuable and should be acknowledged - regardless of the outcome.


* Fiasco Fest is what we call it here in Graz when postdoctoral researchers get together and celebrate each other as the excellent researchers they are. It happens every autumn guided by Sabine Bergner.

Read more here:

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Would you like a wealth of brilliant female researchers around you? #22

Suggestions for recruiting female researchers for professorships

* RCC Blog, 27.02.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Would you like to have a wealth of brilliant female researchers around you? Do you suspect that a mixed, diverse team might be more productive? Are you concerned that open positions at your unit often have more male applicants? Here’s some tips on how to recruit female research talents for top positions.

Your unit will have a professorship coming up in a couple of years‘ time. Become visible internationally & increase your female candidate pool by:

  • creating semester programmes of female-researcher-led guest lectures
  • creating or advertising existing short-term fellowship opportunities for female researchers 
  • selecting a majority of women for your unit’s edited editions & conferences

Use an ongoing process of scouting „out of the box“ to become more aware of brilliant women in your field. That can mean:

  • going beyond who everyone at your department knows, and beyond who comes to mind first
  • making it a task in your regular department meetings to present one female researcher that wasn’t previously known to you
  • checking female-only expert databases for your field or blogs devoted to raising visibilty of "women in [field]"
  • creating a „pipeline“ by intentionally giving female students, doctoral and postdoctoral researchers transparent information on academic career paths & and the profile that is needed to develop into a desirable candidate

What could a professorship look like to attract a large number of female applicants? Try:

  • having a wider denomination
  • leaving it open in terms of seniority until you have an overview of candidates (open-rank)
  • a top-sharing professorship
  • being very transparent with expectations & framework conditions

For all three segments: Make sure you and those around you:

  • receive your unit's female visisting researchers enthusiastically
  • have fun with brainstorming outside the box
  • are aware of personal and systemic biases when serving in hiring committees!

Resources:

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What does a professor look and sound like? #21

How and why should we reflect about the academic habitus and increase diversity?

* RCC Blog, Feb 28, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Ever been mistaken for cleaning staff when setting up for a lecture? Or wondered what to change about yourself so you fit in better? Academia regularly loses talents by making those who might not fit the dominant image of academics feel out of place. Let’s talk about how we can make our universities and research teams a more diverse place.

Maynooth University psychologist Katriona O'Sullivan has managed several large grants, and makes a significant impact on policy. Her bestselling memoir describes that when she started her career, she was made to feel out of place at university. Flowery dresses, gold hoops, fake tan, and speech patterns figure in her vivid description of how (not) to pass as "professorial". O'Sullivan didn’t leave academia, but switched to a more diverse institution.

Feeling like an outsider or imposter isn’t something people make up in their mind, or a lack of self-confidence. It’s often the result of repeatedly experiencing systemic bias and exclusion (to quote Ruchika Tulshyan & Jodi-Ann Burey).

If we want to keep potentially brilliant researchers from leaving, academia needs to be more accessible and permeable. In a leadership role, you have the power to make it easier for everyone. How?

  • Focus on potential rather than background when making decisions (like taking on a PhD candidate or hiring someone for your team).
  • Think: Could communication in your team or your hiring processes benefit from an external coaching to reduce bias and exclusion of great perspectives or candidates?
  • Check your citations, reading assignments, choice of visiting lecturers: Is there a theme that could be traced back to a bias?
  • Reflect: Can students from all walks of life find role models in your department? Can they ask questions and are their ideas acknowledged?
  • Think twice before you tell someone to be more confident or resilient, and instead reflect on if you can change your environment to require this less.

What else do you do to attract and retain the brightest researchers?

Read on:

  • Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey (2021): Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome, Harvard Business Review, 
  • Katriona O’Sullivan (2023): Poor, Sandicove.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What does conference organization give to your career? #20

What does conference organization give to your career?

* RCC Blog, 26.02.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

We're sharing these insights to inspire you to apply for a PostDoc Event Grant! Here's our evidence-based answer from evaluating the impact of the grants:

Organizing academic events is valuable for your career because:

  • It gives visibility to your specific field of research and your unique contributions to it.
  • It allows you to make sustainable connections with fellow researchers.
  • It makes your CV more competitive, as it is an essential requirement to become eligible for large grants.
  • You can hone your programming and facilitating skills by drafting an exciting call and putting together an engaging agenda.
  • You can invite those keynote speakers who you find most intriguing.
  • It shows you are able to create a budget and obtain funding from different sources.
  • It puts your working group and the university as a whole on the map of places where innovative research is taking place, and it might just attract inspiring future co-workers.
  • It demonstrates your project management skills to future employers inside and beyond academia.
  • It sets you up with a network of helpful people in and out of the university (i.e. technical staff, billing department, catering companies, room booking…) from which you can let your collegues benefit in the future.


There’s a lot more – feel free to send us your view on the subject!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can peer networks and mentoring enrich your career? #19

How could you benefit from peer mentoring?

* RCC Blog, 07.02.2024, Petra Hamer & Johanna Stadlbauer

We've asked Petra Hamer, anthropologist & member of the 2nd cohort of our programme, to share her insights with us! Read about her surprises, and what's happening for her in 2024. 

Tell us a little about yourself and why you decided to take part in the programme.

My name is Petra Hamer and I come from Slovenia. I am an ethnologist and cultural anthropologist and I finished my PhD studies at the Centre for Southeast European Studies. During the long (and Covid-related) phase of writing the thesis, I realised how lonely the process is/was. After getting an Austrian Academy of Sciences scholarship for my future book, I knew I needed more contact with my peers in the process of writing. The Peer Mentoring programme seemed like a perfect place for it.

What surprised you the most about the programme?

The first surprise was actually realising how different and diverse Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz is. In a sense, I have spent most of my time with fellow anthropologists, ethnologists, historians… and here, there were a geographer, a chemist, an economist, psychologists…. And they all have similar interests as I have.

Why would you recommend it to other researchers?

The Peer Mentoring programme is a great place to meet new people, to exchange ideas, questions, dilemmas, fears, gossips. It is a safe environment where you can freely talk about different topics, you get professional trainers and specialist to help you and support you along the way. I learned many new methods, started to cherish and acknowledge my academic career even more. I became more familiar with the possible funding organisations, and I learned to be more goal oriented.

What's next for you in 2024?

2024 will be a busy year. Next to writing a book about musical landscape in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the war, I am a postdoc researcher at an European Research Council (ERC)-funded project at the University of Ljubljana, and I will conduct ethnographical fieldwork in several Bosnian-Herzegovinian cities. Additionally I have couple of conferences to organise and/or attend, articles to write, and I will spend my free time with my family and friends doing things I like.  

We thank Petra Hamer for agreeing to this interview - and congratulate all former members of the programme on their achivements and your dedication to collaboration!
 

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Is theoretical physics too difficult for public engagement? #18

What are merits, dangers and tools of public engagement?

* RCC Blog, Feb 5, 2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Takeaways from an expert talk with cultural historian and heavy metal researcher Peter Pichler:

What can make you hesitate to engage in science communication?

  • Traditions in your discipline (like a lack of strong networks with schools, museums, policy makers..) or practices in your research group influence how „doable“ scicomm & public engagement feel to early-career researchers.
  • It might appear that you produce nothing of relevance for a „broad“ audience because a widely impactful result of your research is some decades down the line.
  • Or your research might be „too relevant“ (such as exploitation of local communities for globalized food production, or migration issues), making you fear that you can create misunderstandings.
  • As a female researcher, you mightn't want to risk reactions such as "she's shamelessly self-promoting..." or getting hate online when talking about complex issues.
  • It takes time and creates a workload next to what you "actually should be doing".


What are ways to approach this activity productively?

  • Be strategic in who you want to reach and why and choose your media & tools accordingly.
  • Use metaphors, comparisons, connections to your audiences' lifeworlds to "hook" them in and interest them.
  • See how you can combine public engagement with the rest of your work to make it reap more benefits (with teaching, with data collection, ...)
  • It is an ongoing process - if you feel you were misunderstood, you have another chance with a new act of communication, as in everyday communication.
  • Try out different tools, let yourself be mentored, and select those you can do authentically.


Peter Pichler encouraged that you should reflect

  • is this for me
  • what is in it for me (for my research)
  • who is your most important audience
  • what can I connect to that is currently of general interest
  • when is it good to reach out
  • ...and then BE PROACTIVE!


We thank the participants of this international and interdisciplinary group, who posed honest, critical questions and described their practices freely. 

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you calm down after a busy workday? #17

How do you get into a calm frame of mind after a stimulating work day?

* RCC Blog, 05.02.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Here's a suggestion from our collection of practices intended to make you feel good about yourself.

Explore what allows you to release tension built up during a work day. 

There are evidence-based strategies for moving from stressed to calm. Identifying the strategies which work for you and using them regularly can help you rest and recharge better.

Things to try after a work day:

  • exerting your body (from punching a pillow for a minute to going for a run)
  • creative explorations (paint, scribble, sing, dance...)
  •  physical affection (from humans or animals close to you)
  • deep breathing, laughing

Where to learn more:

  • Amelia Nagoski and Emily Nagoski talk about the theory behind this in their book "Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle".
  • More things to try can be found in this great book: Petra Boynton (2020): Being Well in Academia: Ways to Feel Stronger, Safer and More Connected, Routledge.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Is there a perfect way of designing a CV? #16

Is there a perfect way of designing a CV & application documents to get hired at a university?

* RCC Blog, 30.01.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

What are the country-specific conventions? Here are suggestions for those currently jobhunting in European academia!

  • Disciplinary culture, preferences & prior international experiences of hiring committee members, and regulations at universities may all influence how your documents are perceived. So you might have to customize and adapt.
  • Go for "reader-friendly" (i.e. easy for hiring committee to create synopsis of your candidacy, well-structured into thematic sections, clearly highlighting professional path, education, strengths, research focus, and additional qualifications).
  • Get inspiration for styles & structure from other researchers who were already hired where you want to work - often they will have a PDF of their CV online. (Discuss with a trusted colleague if some elements strike you as very unusal!)
  • Research the unit you are applying at to see how you fit into their set-up: who can you collaborate with, what skills do you bring that are missing, how will you meet their current needs. Make it easy for those assessing your documents to see how your profile fits the role description.


For German-speaking countries:

  • Conventions & guidelines can be found in "Bewerben auf Juniorprofessuren und Professuren. Strategien für die ersten Berufungsverfahren" by Mirjam Müller as well as in "Blackbox Berufung. Strategien auf dem Weg zur Professur" by Christine Färber and Ute Riedler (both in our uni library!).
  • If you work at Uni Graz, use our yearly workshop with expert Dr. Margarete Hubrath or access our coaching offers! And talk to us obviously!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What is a sustainable work pace? #15

What's a work pace you are comfortable with?

* RCC Blog, 24.01.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

And where are the guidelines for this? Here comes another suggestion from our collection on "recharging your research batteries"!

Use yourself as a measure to find a sustainable work pace. 
When planning your work, ask yourself:

  • What is realistic to achieve in a day so I can also do it tomorrow and the day after tomorrow?

It can be a more useful question than asking yourself what is expected of you. The answer will be unique to you and your current circumstances.

The question is taken from participant discussions in workshops about handling work stress and self-care. Related tips from the participating researchers were:

  • be realistic with your to do lists: create achievable steps; adjust when you realize that a task is bigger than expected
  • set alarms for breaks
  • don't use perfection as a measure to count a task as done
  • visualize your achieved results/completed tasks
  • create a ritual to mark the end of a workday

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How could you use a Saying-No-Committee? #14

A key to good time management is saying no.

* RCC Blog, 18.01.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

We're bringing you this suggestion from our collection of practices to feel good about yourself:

Avail yourself of a Saying-No-Committee and become a specialist in saying no. 

Being aware of your priorities and resources when evaluating tasks for which you take responsibility can make you a better researcher.

Questions you can ask yourself to assess opportunities and tasks:

  • Does this fit my research agenda and identity?
  • Do I have time to do a good job on it without sacrificing my other committments?
  • Does this leave space for my personal life?


It's hard emotional work, so you might need a group of peers to help you assess opportunities and practice declining them. The questions above and lots of learnings from this experiment in intentional yes-saying come from this article: Why four scientists spent a year saying no (nature.com)

In it, four mid-career environmental social scientists describe how this helped preserve energy and creative capacity to do a better job. Give it a read and be inspired for your own praxis!

How do you handle saying no?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Where are we at with accessibility and academic careers? #13

Where are we at with accessibility and academic careers?

* RCC Blog, 16.01.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

What are spoonie researchers? And how is academia equipped to let them thrive and do their work? Let's share some resources.

What's with the spoons?

 
How are these experiences recognized in academia ?

  • Research funders show increasingly more awareness that timelines for achivements can be influenced by this. They try to design their selection processes accordingly. Austrian Science Fund FWF for example states „career breaks or interruptions due to disabilities, chronic illnesses, or other reasons can be detailed when submitting a proposal.“, see Inclusion — FWF
  • Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz explicitly states on our careers page that we welcome applications from researchers (and all other professions) with disabilities. According to research by journalists from Dossier and Andererseits, our current initiatives and support structures work quite well, but of course there’s always room for improvement.


If you want to deep-dive into the data on this topic, we recommend:

Verena Bauer and Theresa-Marie Stütz wrote a great article on the current state of support for students and PhD researchers at Austrian universities: DOSSIER · Lernblockade

A 130-page report from the Austrian Rechnungshof (2022) details career provision for early-career researchers at universities, such as the ProMoLi programme for PhDs, accessiblity of buildings, existence (or lack of) contact points, inclusive didactics and more: Bericht des Rechnungshofes: Barrierefreies Arbeiten und Studieren an Universitäten (uniability.org)

2023 also saw the publication of a special issue of Forum Neue Medien in der Lehre Austria titled 'Inclusive Design of Universities – Innovation and Accessibility in Teaching', with contributions by the Zentrum für digitales Lehren und Lernen team & fascinating insights into AI and accessiblity: fnma Magazin | Forum Neue Medien

DISTA (disability studies austria) provides a useful link list related to academia and disability here: Partner und Links - DISTA (uniability.org)

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do I plan my next career move and where do I look for jobs? #12

How do I plan my next career move? And where do I look for jobs?

* RCC Blog, 10.01.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Here are some platforms that list vacancies for people with a research background - in Austria, Europe and beyond! These platforms not only come in useful if you currently need a job. Researching on them can also be great if you want to:

  • see requirements for certain job types and work on your skills accordingly
  • check typical documents and steps required in an application process
  • compare salaries and benefits in different countries
  • gain an idea of how frequently vacancies come up in your discipline and if there are any current "trendy topics"
  • compare academia with other sectors which employ researchers


EURAXESS lists vacancies and fellowships from more than 40 European countries and other regions in the world: Jobs & Funding | EURAXESS (europa.eu)

The Job-Börse of Austrian Science Fund FWF is a service for anyone interested in getting involved in a FWF project: Research-related job openings — FWF

German Scholars Organization e.V. (GSO) Top Picks – Jobs für Wissenschaftler*innen presents selected opportunities for researchers in academia and beyond: Top Picks Jobangebote - German Scholars Organization (gsonet.org)

ERIC FORUM lists jobs at European Research Infrastructures such as BBMRI-ERIC, DARIAH ERIC, CESSDA ERIC, European Social Survey, SHARE-ERIC and more: Job Opportunities - (eric-forum.eu)

For the UK, a suggestion from social psychologist and author Petra Boynton: 

  • jobs.ac.uk have listings and free resources to help with job seeking, applications etc. Also I always recommend searching different university websites in places you'd like to work as jobs are listed there. So much also happens through networks so professional organisations and informal groups (particularly online) can be really beneficial.

And of course:

  • join mailing lists for your discipline / field of research and look up the websites of relevant professional organisations!

More help for career planning can be found on our website: Wie plane ich meinen nächsten Karriereschritt? 

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What can academic kindness look like? #11

We would like to draw your attention to six dimensions of kindness in everyday interactions in academia. 

* RCC Blog, 04.01.2024, Johanna Stadlbauer

Introduction

Giving one's time and attention to aid someone else’s work: that's an example of kindness in academia. Can kindness go beyond the interpersonal, to the organisational dimension?

As a researcher, you might have experienced academic kindness when:

  • a more experienced scholar mentors you
  • peers take time to edit your work, gift their phrases and subject matter expertise
  • information is shared freely, so all have the same access to opportunities
  • colleagues participate in a greater cause that doesn't serve an immediate purpose for them personally
  • people you meet encourage you and highlight your strengths, also to others

You might also have had opposite experiences:

  •  witnessing game of thrones-like wars between research approaches,
  •  inappropriately harsh public criticism,
  • carelessness in the duty towards early-career colleagues,
  •  glorification of over-work, etc.

These instances can make one question if one should stay in this sector. To make academia a good workplace for all those who have something to contribute to research and education, it's worthwile to focus on the concept of academic kindness. 

There are current examples for kindness as a mode of organisational development, e.g. from Scotland and the Netherlands, heavily centered around teamspirit and collegiality:

These exciting initatives are inspired by and will inspire the many ongoing changes in the higher education sector (research assessment, the validity of distinct staff categories, job security, leadership skills, ...). 

Organisations have to have rules in place to encourage good professional conduct and fair, healthy working environments. It can't be on individuals only to negotiate gaps in the system, to be "kind to one another". Therefore, we'll take a lot of note of initiatives like those above for our work at the Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz!

Example No 1: the work of persons who support junior colleagues and act as mentors and supervisors.

Many researchers thrive when they receive mentorship that is empowering, makes visible opportunities, shows an understanding of their specific circumstances, and encourages professional development. To quote the academic kindness tumblr blog:

Providing mentorship can be joyful and fulfilling. It’s satisfying to have a part in someone else’s success. Especially for those who haven’t had the most easy path in academia themselves. In that sense, support for junior colleagues is essential for a more diverse and equal academia.

But it must be stressed: Mentoring and supervision are academic care work. They require time, skills, and emotional stamina. They need to be recognized in tenure, hiring, funding decisions. 

Rayne et al (2023) call for the science system as whole to enhance reciprocal relationships of care. If you are interested in how they describe the care for the community, read this paper:  

  • Rayne A., Arahanga-Doyle H., Cox B., Cox MP., Febria CM., Galla SJ., Hendy SC., Locke K., Matheson A. and Pawlik A. (2023) Collective action is needed to build a more just science system. Nature Human Behaviour 7(7): 1034-1037.

Example No 2: Acknowledging workload limits – your own and those of others.

Give each other respite from the „theatrical performance of productivity“ in academia. Sometimes, we can get a sneaky feeling that everyone else is working longer and better than we are. It can feel impossible to communicate that your productivity has limits.

These quotes (real-life examples, but anonymized) evidence the balancing act required:

  • "Hearing university leadership say publicly that working through the weekends is normal for a successful researcher made me feel really inadequate."
  • "I am so glad to have found a team in which I can freely voice that I will not work more hours than I am paid for in my contract."
  • "Due to a previous illness, I have to be careful not to overwork myself. My supervisor let me know at the start of my contract that my contributions are very valuable and are enough, even if I don’t always work full-time."

Professor Megan MacKenzie reminds us that it’s especially hard for early-career researchers. She cautions against toxic career advice:

Since overwork doesn't equal job success, how about this experiment in academic kindness:

We reward each other and ourselves for being conscious of our boundaries and energy limits. What could that look like?

  • If you feel you have done enough, be vocal about it. The Better Science Initiative emphasises that when you are satisfied with your own performance, you have a positive effect on your working environment.
  • Have open conversations about where your work must be excellent and where "good" is good enough.
  • Appreciate the colleague who leaves on time, who always takes a lunch/exercise break, who is really committed to her weekly board-game night, who spends long weekends at cosplay conventions or on hikes with his family.
  • Treat sick-leave, early nights, unavailablity because of care responsibilities as matter-of-factly as possible.
  • Encourage an atmosphere in the team that allows everyone to say "no" to tasks if they would be overwhelming, and try together to find fair ways to distribute work.

This has the potential to make academia a more accessible workplace.

Example No 3: Thanking authors of publications you use in research or teaching; letting them know how their work has made a positive impact.

Philipp Schulz, researcher at University of Bremen writes:

Giving and receiving feedback is a practice academics are very used to. Through peer reviews, after conference presentations, or in funding or hiring decisions, assessments are made.

Often, there is constructive criticsm meant to inspire improvements. Sometimes, feedback is less constructive and more hostile; an act of gate-keeping, targetting women and other underrepresented groups much more frequently.

To counteract this on an individual level, we can be generous with our praise, if we find a work of research useful or inspiring. It can make someone's day or even week to learn that their work gets noticed!

Schulz shares from his teaching practice, that he and his students:

Why not try this out - yourself, with your students, or encourage it among your team, and see what you get back!

  • Read on: Philipp Schulz (2020): Practicing Academic Kindness in the Classroom: Toolbox Blog: Gender- und Diversitykompetenz für die Lehre

Example No 4: Using your power and voice for others‘ benefit.

Are individual acts of kindness futile in an unjust system? Personal experiences and research show academia is not a level playing field. To name but a few examples:

  • those who take time out to care for elders or children can be negatively assessed because of “gaps” in their CVs
  • faculty of color can be targets of biased teaching evaluations
  • graduates who do not have financially secure backgrounds cannot even afford to pursue a career that starts with a long series of short-term contracts

So what does it matter if you write someone a random email of praise or take a training to use less ableist or sexist language? Are you in fact masking discrimination if you engage in everyday "wellbeing" efforts?

 Sociologist Kris De Welde writes:

What could that look like in practice?

  • Collective efforts, aimed at changing institutional processes and policies
  • Using the power you might hold for those with less power, with no need for personal gain or expectation of reciprocity
  • Persons in leadership roles who recognize injustices and take opportunities to advocate on behalf of others

So a wider understanding of kindness can be: Recognizing unjust systems and processes as the backdrop to our everyday interactions, and embracing our responsibility to actively support change.

What instances of „academic solidarity“ have you witnessed or been part of?

  • Read on: Kris De Welde (2022). Minding and Mending the Gap between Academic Kindness and Academic Justice. Queer STS Forum, 7, 54-65

Example No 5: Talk well about each other & amplify others' accomplishments.

Is someone you know doing a good job? Tell others about it & be specific!

  • What's their name and current location / position?
  • In what context have you witnessed their good work?
  • What specifically impressed you about them?
  • How might this be relevant to the person you are talking to currently?
  • How has your own research, daily practice, overall work been impacted by this person?
  • Where can one find examples of the good work of this person?

This can be done without a specific goal in mind. But it can also serve the purpose of bringing attention to the accomplishments of persons who are part of a minority in academia. In that case, keep in mind to do it when:

  • a job opening is coming up at your department
  • someone seeks a co-organizer for a panel
  • collaborators in a funding proposal are needed
  • keynote speakers are wanted

Suddenly, it might seem that there are so many talented people who could be approached!

The practice of talking well about others has been developed into a leadership tool by Zita Küng from Switzerland. The goal is to aid organisations in recruiting the best women for leadership positions. It is called Die Gute Nachrede ® . The PostDoc Office can fund coaching sessions with Zita Küng.

Example No 6: Sustainable research practices.

How can researchers reduce negative impact on the environment?

Among the critical areas are travel by you or your research participants, computing, lab equipment, waste generated, impact on field sites - and many more. Here are some suggestions you could try:

  • Assess energy use of research-related travel and modify where possible (consortium meetings, conference presentations, field work...); use the Carbon Tracer: CarbonTracer (uni-graz.at)
  • Open access publishing is a way to avoid wasted resources from duplicating research
  • When designing your research, map out how to make openly accessibly any materials, data, software that could be of value to others in academia or industry
  • Be alert in your working area and report it if equipment isn't working efficiently; turn off equipment if not in use; do your part for recycling
  • Estimate the carbon footprint of your computation with Green Algorithms:Green Algorithms | Green Algorithms (green-algorithms.org)

Educating yourself, sharing useful tools, advocating with leadership, accessing specific sustainability funding schemes are also ways to be kind to the environment as a researcher. 

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you handle career transitions? #10

Are you good at handling transitions?

* RCC Blog, 13.12.2023, Johanna Stadlbauer

What major career transitions did you manage so far? What advice would you give your former self? Here are some attitudes and actions that have helped other researchers:

  • Awareness and regular reflection about your larger purpose and the goals connected to your professional life can aid in weighing opportunities.
  • An appreciative and kind attitude towards yourself - especially when something doesn't work out as planned - can be relieving.
  • Accessing your trusted network can help with that appreciative attitude and can help you adapt your course if necessary.
  • Being confident in advocating for the best circumstances in which *you specifically* can thrive will often pay off.
  • Marking transitions (from one role to the next, from one project to the next, from one career stage to the next) can be very useful - that can include finishing up "old stuff", celebrations, public announcements, other rituals.


Strategies and attitudes to successfully handle career transitions are very personal. Ww would be very interested in what you found helpful.

(The idea for this posting comes from one of the reflective exercises on the Prosper portal and resulting discussions with researchers here in Graz!).

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you find out with LinkedIn where former postdocs now work? #9

How can you find fascinating insights about where former Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz postdocs now work?

* RCC Blog, Nov 28, 2023, Johanna Stadlbauer

Follow Holly Precott's instructions in Exploring Career Options Beyond Academia: Essential LinkedIn 'tricks' for researchers - PostGradual: The PhD Careers Blog (phd-careers.co.uk) and select research services as the current industry of our "postdoc alumni". This allowes you to see which research roles are available beyond academia, and in which research-adjacent roles our former employees currently shine. 

The results:

  • a great number of former Uni Graz researchers are now hashtag#entrepreneurs 
  • many now work (like me!) in research support roles (what we call in German Wissenschaftsmanagement); the variety of universities in Graz (and the whole of Austria) is definitely a plus if you want to move into that field
  • an even larger segment works in R & I, so contributes their research expertise to the success of companies and research organisations

Just a short selection of  findings intended to showcase the variety of employers:

  • Innophore
  • acib GmbH
  • Enzyan Biocatalysis GmbH
  • BBMRI-ERIC
  • KNAPP
  • JOANNEUM RESEARCH
  • Lactosan GmbH & Co. KG
  • QPS Austria GmbH
  • Fresenius Kabi
  • Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark
  • BNN - BioNanoNet
  • Universalmuseum Joanneum Careers
  • Anton Paar Know Center

What can we deduce from this? 

  • skills developed during a research career equip you for a variety of different careers and leadership roles
  • Graz and Styria have quite a fascinating array of employers, also English-speaking ones
  • there's a community of "postdoc alumni" out there, ready to be delved into as future collaborators, mentors, and advice givers (If that is you, get in touch, we'd love to talk to you!)
  • and it's definitly a good idea to keep the research talent we currently have at our university happy and invest in their development

Further learning:

  • The goal of the yearly PostDoc Office "should I stay or should I go"-workshop is to explore together how to handle career uncertainty. It ties in well with our mission to keep as many researchers as possible from self-selecting out of academia because they think they don’t fit and to encourage as many as possible to experience how appreciated they are beyond academia, so that they can hopefully return if they choose with their confidence built up. Next workshop in Graz happens in November 2024.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What is a culture of awareness against sexualized harassment in academia? #8

A culture of care and awareness in relation to sexualized discriminations and violence in academia: What does it look like?

* RCC Blog, 09.11.2023, Johanna Stadlbauer

  • Everyone at the institution feels responsible for protection against discrimination and violence.
  • When members of the institution witness inappropriate actions, they do not look away but take a position.
  • No apologetic explanations for inappropriate actions will be tolerated.
  • Members of the institution seek advice from contact points to clarify their options for action and responsibilities.
  • If those affected seek help, they are taken seriously.


Do you want to learn more? Try these events at Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz:

  • Sensibilisierungsworkshop: Umgang mit Diskriminierungssituationen im Kontext Hochschule
  • Sexualisierte Belästigung und Gewalt: Handlungsmöglichkeiten, Verantwortung und Prävention
  • Privilege Awareness: Selbstreflexion für ein besseres Miteinander an der Universität - über Identität, "blinde Flecken" und unbewusste Machtverhältnisse

Current dates here: Veranstaltungskalender - Koordinationsstelle für Geschlechterstudien und Gleichstellung (uni-graz.at)

Sexualized discrimination and violence does not begin to exist only when it is recognized as such by employers, a court or in the media. It begins to exist at the moment when perpetrators violate the boundaries of those who they are harassing or against whom they use violence.

If you want to read more, try this:


What's the context for this text? From November 25 to Dec 10, the yearly 16 days against violence campaign happen in Austria and in other countries, look out for the  interesting events!

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do you collaborate in competitive environments? #7

Flamingos already have it down. How do you make it work as a postdoctoral researcher?

* RCC Blog, 16.10.2023, Johanna Stadlbauer

Open exchange of ideas, collaboration & mutual support are key to good research and workplace wellbeing. But in competitive environments, it can be challenging to prioritize community.

There’s stuff that makes it hard:

  • You might change employers frequently, move internationally, handle a high workload, have family & friendship committments in other parts of the world.
  • Maybe you’ve also been taught to be careful about being too transparent in a professional context.
  • Self-organizing can be challenging when people drop out of contact due to health issues or contract changes.
  • Different life experiences and personalities might result in mismatched expectations.


So it's really impressive that there is still so much community-building and maintaining of relationships going on! Our researchers in Graz create and maintain communities that are interdisciplinary, mixed-gender, and span languages and backgrounds. Such as:

  • The Friday writing group – a self-organized, often changing group of researchers who share their current tasks, goals and accomplishments.
  • Lunch groups – created after getting to know each other at the writing retreat, the fiasco fest or the peer mentoring programme.
  • Networks around shared research interests and shared characteristics, such as creating change in academia, parenthood or being a female mathematician or early-career historian.


It is a joy to see the impact of peer networks on careers and on our research culture here in Graz.

Look at our events to see the next chances to connect.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What works when planning to submit a funding proposal? #6

Is it time to set your own research agenda? Are you ready to develop an independent project? Do you want to lead a team?

* RCC Blog, Oct 23, 2023, Johanna Stadlbauer

Here are some considerations when planning to submit a funding proposal:

  • Seed funding: Travelling to important collaborators or sites for data collection, professional language editing, short-term student support might all be fundable via the right seed-funding channels.
  • Advice from professional research managers: Your goals, career stage, background and circumstances are unique to you. The university‘s research managers know the regional, European and even global funding landscape intimately and will help you find a match.
  • Advice from mentors: Get the opinion of trusted established researchers on what your next career step should look like and which schemes are well regarded in your discipline (though you of course make the choice yourself!). They might also connect you to researchers who have succeeded before you.
  • Info directly from the funders: Attend their webinars for schemes that appeal to you. Don’t hesitate to pose your questions directly to their representatives.
  • Clarity on your unique research profile: You have made contributions to specific fields, you want to expand a certain area, gain new skills, and eventually you want to be recognised as an expert. Where are you now and where do you want to be in ten years?
  • Clarity about who benefits from your research: Think about impact beyond your immediate discipline and beyond the scientific community. Be as specific as possible about who could be affected by your findings. Also reflect on your motivation for research - what mark you want to leave with your work?


There‘s a lot more to consider, and there is support:

  • Book a session with the FMS Team at Uni Graz. The research management and service experts will guide you on your way to funding.
  • Participate in Yasmin Dolak-Struss‘ Kickstart Workshop on Proposal Preparation (Nov 30).
  • Take a session with an academic coach to lay out your goals in a structured way or map out your unique profile.
  • A really inspiring and informative read (from the UK) is Anna Pilz' A Comprehensive Guide to Fellowship Applications (IAD, Edinburgh, available online if you google it).

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

Do you have buddies who feedback your work, and how do you organize this? #5

Tandems, triads, trusted collaborators: Do you have buddies who feedback your work, and how do you organize this? 

* RCC Blog, Oct 15, 2023, Johanna Stadlbauer

Talent, creative spirit, and skills aren’t the only things that lead us to do great work – of utmost importance are also the circumstances which we create for our work. 

Many researchers greatly benefit from peer-exchange formats. And, seeing as academia is characterised by competition and multiple dependencies, it's fascinating to explore ways of sharing, solidarity, giving of your time, and open exchange of raw ideas. 

There are ways to tie this in to research methods or topics: An example is a network for peer exchange on qualitative methods. Just by having a space in which to yourself talk through issues you grapple with is helpful, and there is benefit in receiving kind outside advice, maybe even from strangers who just happen to be there at a monthly open meeting.

Other researchers have tandems with one colleague - in an agreed-upon frequency they feedback each other’s products. This is similar to what successful authors do: As a writer who is in it for the long haul, you should be on the look-out early for peers who understand your genre and are in a similar stage of their career, and possibly form a „triad“ with them. They are the ones who read your drafts, whose feedback you will take seriously, and who maybe will keep you accountable or help you through difficult times.

We'd be fascinated to hear how all of you practice this kind of collaboration! How do you set it up? What are your experiences with the openness and vulnerability, the time committment, the giving of time it requires? What does it give to your work?

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What is an ERIC is and what you can do with them? #4

Have you ever considered working at an ERIC?

* RCC Blog, Sept 14, 2023, Johanna Stadlbauer

European research infrastructures foster collaboration by providing resources and services for research communities. Their work can stretch to education or public services & they may be single-sited, distributed, or virtual.

ERICs include

  • major scientific equipment or sets of instruments
  • collections, archives or scientific data
  • computing systems and communication networks
  • any other research and innovation infrastructure of a unique nature which is open to external users.

They’re also really exciting places to work, offering an international environment at the forefront of research innovation. ERICs have headquarters and nodes - for example, BBMRI-ERIC's headquarter is in Graz.

ERIC Forum has listed job vacancies here: Job Opportunities - (eric-forum.eu)

Here's a selection of ERICs for different disciplines or foci:

  • BBMRI-ERIC
  • CERIC ERIC
  • CESSDA ERIC
  • CLARIN ERIC
  • DARIAH ERIC
  • EATRIS Finland
  • ECRIN (European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network)
  • ECCSEL ERIC
  • EMSO ERIC
  • European Social Survey
  • Euro-Argo ERIC
  • European Spallation Source ERIC
  • EU-OPENSCREEN
  • EMBRC - European Marine Biological Resource Centre
  • INFRAFRONTIER
  • SHARE-ERIC
  • LifeWatch ERIC
  • Instruct-ERIC

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How can you be inspired by professional fiascos? #3

Embrace your professional fiascos. There are ways to find joy in perceived failures, to learn from them, and to calmly (or very dramatically!) let them go.

* RCC Blog, Aug 14, 2023, Johanna Stadlbauer


From our collection of practices intended to make you feel good about yourself as a person, and as a researcher: 

  • One of the ways is do to it as a community: Celebrate fiascos with your peers, who have surely also experienced them, since they are a normal part of academic life. Work out together ways of dealing with these experiences; learning from them, integrating them, letting them go, moving on. Psychology researcher Sabine Bergner hosted a Fiasco Fest in Graz, and there are also the so-called "fuckup nights". Or you could create your own celebration!
  • Or try designing a CV-of-failures, which serves to highlight how motivated, productive and resilient you are: This Princeton Professor's CV of Failures Is Something We Should All Learn From : ScienceAlert

More inspiration:

  • Glass, R.L. (2000): A letter from the frustrated author of a journal paper, In: Journal of Systems and Software, volume 54, issue 1, p.1.
  • "Dealing With Rejection", Podcast by Karen L. Kelsky PhD (The Professor is In).
  • Jaremka, Lisa M. et al. (2020): Common Academic Experiences No One Talks About: Repeated Rejection, Impostor Syndrome, and Burnout, In: Perspectives on Psychological Science Volume15, 3, 519-543.

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

What can you learn from other postdoctoral researchers' experiences? #2

Postdocs can tell great stories!

* RCC Blog, Jul 26, 2023, Johanna Stadlbauer

For your enjoyment, here is a list of PostDoc Office content featuring fascinating insights into researcher's work and lives:

  • Let physicist Lisa Kapper tell you how peer mentoring enhances professional development: PostDoc: How Peer Mentoring Enhance Professional Development (aircampus-graz.at)
  • Listen to religious studies scholar Lisa Kienzl & cultural historian Peter Pichler discuss niche subjects and interdisciplinary research: alumni post.talks: Postdoctoral researchers from Graz interview international alumni (youtube.com). Two researchers who share a passion for niche subjects and interdisciplinary perspectives talk about:
    • E-Sports, gaming communities, metal music studies, historical identity constructions, and the TV show Supernatural
    • Why you sometimes just really need an anthropologist
    • Managing distance and proximity when researching fan cultures
    • How unconventional research topics might open funding opportunities
    • Interdisciplinary collaboration, finding your research allies
    • German and Austrian academia
    • How to “time-manage” a career in times of Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz and Kettenvertragsregelungen
    • Committee work and engaging with university policy
    • Who benefits if researchers think about the purpose and impact of their research
  • Hear mathematician Federica Caforio & biophysicist Florian Müller discuss what makes a good mentor & how to collaborate effectively in interdisciplinary teams: alumni post.talks: Postdoctoral researchers from Graz interview international alumni (youtube.com). The two researchers who both have a strong interdisciplinary and international background have a conversation about:
    • what makes a good mentor
    • how to collaborate effectively in interdisciplinary teams and how to make the most of each team member’s skills
    • the role lasting and supportive networks with your peers can play in your career
    • how to lead teams, how to support younger researchers on their path
    • strategies for dualcareercouples combining family and work life
    • how to achieve gender balance in hard science fields
    • how international moves can open your eyes & spark personal development
    • …and much more!
  • If careers in academia are built on teaching or on research success is explored by Gerhard Kristandl, Associate Professor of Accounting and Technology Enhanced Learning & educational scientist Markus Meschik: alumni post.talks: Postdoctoral researchers from Graz interview international alumni (youtube.com) The two researchers and passionate university lecturers discuss:
    • How do Austrian and UK academic systems compare to each other?
    • How to get your passion for your subject across to your students
    • How to use digital tools to create a community & a good learning environment
    • What can we learn from the technological advancements of the pandemic?
    • How can universities handle the widespread use of #AI?
    • Are careers in academia built on teaching or on research success?
    • What are “bread and butter papers”?
    • What is the value of networking and collaboration for good research?
       
  • Baker's yeast and how industry work and university work compares for molecular biologists is discussed by Barbara Koch and Katharina Kainz: alumni post.talks: International Research Careers I (youtube.com)
  • Legal studies scholars Luisa Scarcella and Anna-Maria Anderwald discuss international mobility, funding and careers in the area of tax law: alumni post.talks: International Research Careers III (youtube.com)
  • Learn about the material turn in the humanities and how to schlepp books on international moves from Helga Müllneritsch, Isabella Managò and Amelia Kennedy: alumni post.talks: International Research Careers II (youtube.com)

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.

How do I know when I am ready to submit my Habilitation? #1

How do I know when I am ready to submit my habilitation?

* RCC Blog, Jul 4, 2023, Johanna Stadlbauer

Takeaways from a PostDoc Office expert session for postdoctoral researchers about all questions related to this academic ritual that's still very widespread in Austria, Germany and some other countries in Europe. 

Expert Stefan Zehetmeier, an Associate Professor at the Universität Klagenfurt, has a background in mathematics, physics, pedagogy and teacher training. He managed to create an interactive space & was very empowering and encouraging. After going through participants' questions related to procedures and strategic considerations, and describing his own experiences, he also shared some personal advice:

  • be aware that you are always growing as a researcher, throughout the work on your habilitiation
  • really reflect about what you want to be known for in your field, and use the habilitation to strategically position yourself and your speciality
  • make a plan for developing your profile (people to connect to, journals to publish in, conferences to attend) which allows time for both your work as well as for the important people & other responsibilities in your life
  • use critical friends and mentors to help you develop and assess your progress
  • when building your academic network, allow space for humor, kindness and enjoyment of the people you meet along your path

We very much enjoyed the session with Stefan Zehetmeier, who really modelled academic kindness. We'll do it again next year.

Here are some links to the relevant regulations, contact points as well as networking opportunities, such as the Habilforum Fachdidaktik, who kindly introduced us to Stefan Zehetmeier: Wie funktioniert eine Habilitation? - Information und Service für PostDocs (uni-graz.at)

* This text is part of our Research Careers Community Graz researcher development blog, reflecting about academic culture and working conditions.