A bit more about dealing with rejections
In July, I wrote about the rejection of a large proposal that had taken me 340 hours (of my one, precious, unique life) to put together, and how I felt about it at the time. In the mean time, I've…
Juggling various proposals
If there’s one word that defined much of my academic work last year and this year, it’s proposals. As my main large research projects on bridge load testing are ending this year, I’ve been shifting my focus toward what’s next.…
My experience in setting up a COIL
For a long time, I had been thinking about teaching my class using a COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) module. I’d read about its potential to bring international experiences into the classroom and liked the ideas of reciprocity, cultural exchange,…
Using doom scenarios wisely
When things feel overwhelming in academia (or life in general) I tend to think of all the doomsday scenarios. At the end of my PhD, my supervisor was slow to read (and thus approve) my thesis, and I found myself…
What is a COIL and what purpose does it serve
If you’ve spent time in international education circles recently, chances are you’ve come across the acronym COIL — short for Collaborative Online International Learning. At first glance, it may sound like yet another virtual learning format, some residue from the…
PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: Writing academic books
This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands. These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those…
Practicing patience in academia
If there’s one trait I didn’t expect I’d need so in academia, it’s patience. Academia unfolds on a slow timeline. Experiments take months to set up. Papers can take a year or more to see the light of day. Proposals…
Expanding collaborations
When I think about how my academic journey has evolved over the years, one theme keeps resurfacing: collaboration. Not just as a buzzword, but as a deliberate way to grow, learn, and contribute meaningfully to my field. Expanding collaboration has…
What I do to keep motivated
When a heavy semester hits, it is tempting to feel overwhelmed and contemplate opening a patisserie. But, daydreams of meringues and cookies fresh from the oven aside, stuff needs to get done, classes need to be taught, and work needs…
What’s more important than being a top 2% scientist
As I'm in my fifth year of being ranked as a top 2% scientist, I am of course happy with the recognition, but also very aware of the limitations of these rankings. I find myself thinking more often about what…