Age is only a number, and a pretty arbitrary number at that. Recently I was humbled to be a judge of the European Forbes 30 Under 30 for the science section. It was the first time that I had paid such close attention to this list and especially to the nominees who were all very ...

Column by Wouter van der Wijngaart, Professor at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, about soul-searching to reduce the climate impact of academic travel.

Self-promotion doesn’t come easily to most of us. Even if we know that it’s important to get recognition for our work in science, there is often an overwhelming feeling that we shouldn’t be the ones to do it ourselves. It can be due to lack of confidence, embarrassment or a nagging feeling that the science ...

Science communication is virtuous. It’s the process of taking inaccessible research results from the locked vaults of the ivory tower and sharing them with the masses. It’s the obligation of every scientist to make sure that their research can be accessed by as many people as possible and to dedicate time and resources to scientific ...

Many years ago, a friend told me that I should use story telling in science communication, I rolled my eyes. This reaction is so common that it’s a cliché, but now I’ve more than come around to the idea of using stories in scicomm, in fact I think it’s essential. When you look at the ...

Two years ago, there was a debate, that led to a referendum, that led to a result, that led to households being split in two. When families realised that they stood on different sides of the Brexit chasm, daggers were drawn, and feuds were started. This made the holiday season after Brexit very challenging for ...

If a PhD is an island in our journey, I believe it is the mentors that illuminate the dark waters and guide the boat to the land. In my previous post, I talked about the importance of the mentoring practice and called out for more recognition for this non-research expertise. During the undergraduate years, and ...

Are you a beach person? Do you like the great outdoors or urban trips? Which culture do you find yourself more drawn into? Your career is the longest journey you will embark on. Most of us, PhD trainees, shoulder this challenge as if trying to find our direction in the middle of nowhere. Indeed, 60% ...