Monthly Archives: October 2017

Academic mobility

Here I am, on the road (in the air) again, delivering two workshops in Barcelona before flying off to Nice to do the same. Being mobile is a necessary part of my work, since it’s easier for me to run courses for PhD students and postdocs in their own institutes and universities than for them to have to come to me. Two weeks ago I was in Switzerland and in two weeks’ time I shall be in Vienna. My type of mobility is temporary with an anchor in the UK, but for many budding academics longer-term mobility is a necessity if you are to secure a permanent position. That’s not to say that you should move countries for the sheer sake of it, rather that academic research is an international endeavour and the likelihood is that research groups in your field of interest will be situated in another country or on a far-off continent. Developing relevant skills and experience, receiving valuable mentoring and training as well as networking with potential future collaborators and colleagues inevitably means some degree of commitment to mobility.

To help those who are contemplating the prospect of ‘academic mobility’, I have compiled a list of resources below to help you to research and prepare for your next move, whether it’s a short-term local transition or something more international. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it contains links to articles, videos, blogs and books that may help you to feel more confident about making your next career move:

RESEARCH ON ACADEMIC MOBILITY

Foreign-born scientists: mobility patterns for 16 countries http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v30/n12/full/nbt.2449.html

Study on mobility patterns and career paths of EU researchers https://cdn5.euraxess.org/sites/default/files/policy_library/more_extra_eu_mobility_report_final_version.pdf

Motivations of international academic mobility: the perspective of university students and professors http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0102-46982016000300217&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en

Time to go? (Inter) national mobility and appointment success of young academics https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41464-016-0010-y

Global mobility: science on the move http://www.nature.com/news/global-mobility-science-on-the-move-1.11602

GENERAL AND ACADEMIC ARTICLES

Mobility: A strategic move https://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7555-245a

Away from home: Why the postdoc phase is crucial http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2017/01/17/away-from-home-why-the-postdoc-phase-is-crucial/?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureJobs

How to break cultural and language barriers down in the lab http://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i20/break-down-cultural-language-barriers.html

Crossing continents for your research career: A personal journey https://www.mendeley.com/careers/article/crossing-continents-for-your-research-career-a-personal-journey/

International academic mobility: Towards a concentration of the minds in Europe https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277615566_International_Academic_Mobility_Towards_a_Concentration_of_the_Minds_in_Europe

Moving to the US (podcast) http://media.nature.com/download/nature/podcast/naturejobs/naturejobs-2011-10-20-2.mp3

Fewer invited talks by women in evolutionary biology symposia http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jeb.12198/full

PERSONAL STORIES

An American postdoc abroad http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2014/01/american-postdoc-abroad

Sacrifices for science (podcast) http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2017/08/10/naturejobs-podcast-sacrifices-for-science/

Putting down roots (personal story – Natasha Reikhel) http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/45111/title/Putting-Down-Roots/

DUAL CAREERS

Negotiating the dual academic career deal (video) https://youtu.be/VGzSjA6dxAk

Dual career academic couples http://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers-advice/working-in-higher-education/2083/dual-career-academic-couples

Dual-career couples (list of resources – USA) http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/?page=FamilyFriendly#Dual

Dual-career academics: the right start https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2012/07/27/getting-dual-career-academics-good-start-essay

Dual career academic couples: What universities need to know http://gender.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/DualCareerFinal_0.pdf

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Juggling the balls, having it all? Tips from a mother and part-time professor https://genderate.wordpress.com/2017/09/09/juggling-the-balls/

The price you will pay for work-life balance http://theprofessorisin.com/2013/06/07/the-price-you-will-pay-for-work-life-balance/

The life career rainbow (Super) https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_95.htm

OTHER INFORMATION

Euraxess: Researchers in Motion https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/

The European Charter for researchers. The code of conduct for the recruitment of researchers https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/am509774cee_en_e4.pdf

Flexible working: Solo scientist https://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7647-747a

Why building a start-up is probably your most sensible career path http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2016/09/05/why-building-a-start-up-is-probably-your-most-sensible-career-path/

The hidden costs of a career in scientific research http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2016/11/28/the-hidden-costs-of-a-career-in-scientific-research/?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureJobs

Retirement: Dollars and sense https://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7650-381a

Funding sources (scroll down list to find relevant information) http://biosciencecareers.org/career-links

Academic career paths worldwide https://www.eui.eu/ProgrammesAndFellowships/AcademicCareersObservatory/AcademicCareersbyCountry

Academic career maps in Europe http://www.leru.org/index.php/public/extra/careermapseurope

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Academic mobility, in Nina Maadad , Malcolm Tight (ed.) Academic Mobility (International Perspectives on Higher Education Research, Volume 11) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.i

Lean In, 2015, Sheryl Sandberg

Women Don’t Ask, 2007, Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever

Professor Mommy – finding work-family balance in academia, 2014, Kristen Ghodsee.

Bon Voyage!