Research Adjacent – Details, episodes & analysis

Ally is building partnerships across the life sciences research community

Ally Hughes is Project Manager for the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance, also known as SULSA. SULSA fosters research collaborations between different organisations, different disciplines and even different countries.

Sarah and Ally talk about:

• Her current role which keeps her connected to research with lots of variety and learning opportunities
• Brokering research collaborations between Scotland and Germany and tackling diversity in STEM
• How an industrial placement and being a student rep for SULSA opened her eyes to the job possibilities beyond academia
• Mental health challenges, especially during her PhD, and the professional and personal support that pulled her through
• Why greater cooperation and collaboration are key to tackling massive global challenges

Find out more

• Read the show notes and transcript on the podcast website 
• Connect with Ally on LinkedIn
• Find out about SULSA on their website, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram

About Research Adjacent

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• Email Sarah a comment, question or suggestion
• Leave Sarah a voice message

Sarah is on holiday so we are revisiting an episode from April 2023 all about boundaries and work-life balance. 

Sarah talks about

• Why setting and holding boundaries can be particularly challenging in the research-adjacent world
• Setting boundaries and taking leave as a form of quiet activism
• Managing expectations and managing our own behaviour
• Why we are all, always, a work in progress

Find out more

• Read the original show notes
• Follow the podcast on LinkedIn 
• Send Sarah an email
• Leave Sarah a voice message

Updates, guests and podcast recommendations with Sarah

Sarah shares

• An update on where you can listen to and follow Research Adjacent
• Upcoming guest appearance, special episodes and Sarah’s new project
• Your opportunity to suggest podcast guests via this form
• A podcast recommendation – check out The Academic Adventures Podcast
• What else she is up to

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Susan and Alice are cataloguing the past for the researchers of the future

Susan Shanks and Alice Millard are archivists working on the New Jerusalems new towns archive project. Susan is based at County Durham Records Office while Alice is based at West Sussex record Office.

Sarah, Alice and Susan talk about

• How they took different routes to the same job
• Finding satisfaction in uncovering forgotten stories and putting things in order
• Balancing access and preservation for archival materials
• The headaches caused by constant digital progress

Read the full show notes on the podcast webpage https://sarahmclusky.com/susan-shanks-alice-millard-archivists-episode-41  

• Connect with Susan on LinkedIn
• Connect with Alice on LinkedIn or via her website
• Find out about the New Jerusalems project

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Kath is growing connections in humanities publishing

Kath Burton works in humanities development at the academic publisher Routledge Taylor and Francis. She is also a community gardening enthusiast with Incredible Edible Reading.

Sarah and Kath talk about 

• Exploring new ways of sharing scholarly knowledge
• The surprisingly pragmatic reason for her move into academic publishing
• Why she feels privileged to be part of the research conversation
• Activism and launching the journal Porn Studies
• Her passion for connecting communities through gardening 

Read the full show notes on the podcast webpage https://sarahmclusky.com/kath-burton-publishing-professional-episode-40

• Connect with Kath on LinkedIn
• Find out about all of her projects including community gardening via her Linktr.ee

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Naomi has found freedom and fulfilment in an Alt Ac career

Naomi Tyrrell is director of research consultancy business Research Your Way and founder of the Alt Ac Careers Facebook group.

Sarah and Naomi talk about 

• How coaching and thinking like a researcher helped her step into self-employment
• Finding community on social media
• Why she values the freedom of freelance life
• The satisfaction she gets from helping charities and social enterprises

Read the full show notes on the podcast webpage https://sarahmclusky.com/naomi-tyrrell-research-consultant-episode-39

• Connect with Naomi on LinkedIn or visit the Research Your Way website
• Join the Alt Ac Careers Facebook Group

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Nick Sheppard is an Open Research Advisor at the University of Leeds and UK Wikimedian of the Year 2023.

Sarah and Nick talk about

• How the conversation, and his career, has moved from open access to open research
• Why Wikipedia is a great tool for sharing research and democratising knowledge
• The different challenges for open research in different disciplines
• Resources for anyone interested in a career in open research 

Read the full show notes on the podcast webpage

• Connect with Nick on LinkedIn, X or Wikipedia
• Read Nick's pet Wikipedia page about abolitionist Wilson Armistead
• Listen to Nick’s favourite episode of the Research Culture Uncovered Podcast

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Sam is at the cutting edge of the cultural conversation.

Sam Steele is Managing Director of the Centre for Creativity Enabled by AI at Bayes Business School.

Sarah and Sam talk about

• Sam’s meandering career from music journalist to research adjacent
• Why embracing our human weirdness is key to using AI effectively
• Differences between the worlds of music, catering, and academia
• The importance of encouraging creativity in schools

Read the full show notes on the podcast webpage

• Connect with Sam on LinkedIn
• Have a play with the Centre for Creativity Enabled by AI’s free AI creativity tools Business Sparks and Design Sparks

Follow the podcast on LinkedIn and Instagram

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Sarah is helping researchers reimagine their future

Sarah is a Researcher Developer at University of Manchester and an independent Careers Consultant.

Sarah and Sarah talk about

• the 'planned happenstance' that took her from microbiology to careers
• why every day is a learning day and how that has boosted her career
• how her own journey helps her support researchers struggling to make a career change

Read the full show notes on the podcast webpage

• Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
• Find out more about the University of Manchester’s Researcher Development service

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John is advocating for applied science

John Elvin is Industry Programme Manager at The Royal Society.

Sarah and John talk about 

• His career in the biotech industry
• The mechanical balance that led to an outreach project for 3500 children
• How much industry contributes to research and development
• Why every undergraduate student should do an industry placement 

Read the full show notes on the podcast webpage

• Connect with John on LinkedIn to find out about an event his team are running in Liverpool on 14 February
• Find out about some of the schemes John's team run including Entrepreneur in Residence, Industry Fellowships and Partnership Grants

Follow the podcast on LinkedIn and Instagram

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Theme music by Vitaliy Levkin from Pixabay