Quarterly summary: From startups to dropouts
After nearly 10 years, some issues have definitely moved on, but so many are still stuck in really dark and nasty places.
It’s been a long “quarter” – turns out we haven’t summarised our blogging activity since February. Apologies to our readers that rely on these summaries to do their catch-up; we’ll do better in future.
Since this has been such a long period of blogs, the themes are not quite so easy to extract. Jonathan blogged about his experience launching a startup company and on some interpersonal issues like 360 faculty review and researcher vulnerability. And I’ve been even more broad in topic selection, flitting from research-funding perceptions (and realities with NSERC-funding rate discussion) and exploring new ways of communicating academic science alongside understanding the way project proposals get evaluated in the first place. After nearly 10 years of writing articles on the Black Hole blog, some things have definitely moved on, but so many things are still stuck in really dark and nasty places – the fight goes on!
This quarter we’ve been delighted to have guest blogger Kevin Leland and always welcome our readers to submit their stories:
Jonathan and I have also continued to write regularly with our posts summarised below:
Jonathan
- Why labs should embrace 360-degree faculty reviews
- Lessons learned for hiring new staff at a startup
- Resiliency in science: We need to stop punishing vulnerability
- Limiting grants to well-funded labs
- The implication of the Hatch-Waxman Act for universities
- How the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984 protects startups
- What makes a great scientific advisory committee?
Dave
- Why some research areas appear relatively “over-funded”
- Retroactive pension as a postdoc? Apply now!
- Teaching and research roles – moving beyond the clinician scientist
- Who gets to see papers under review?
- Is NSERC turning the ship around?
- Experiments in peer review: Getting the decision right
- Meta-research: improving the way we communicate (and perform!) scientific research?
Thanks for your attention over the last 10 years. We appreciate all of the great discussions and hope that the next several years will be just as fruitful – we also hope that we can start tracking some real progress in how we educate and train scientists while identifying the best way to move their research out in practical ways in the spaces of medicine and business.
Featured Jobs
- Economics - Associate/Full Professor of TeachingThe University of British Columbia
- Fashion - Instructional Assistant/Associate Professor (Creative & Cultural Industries)Chapman University - Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
- Vice-President Research & Scientific EngagementMS Canada
- Indigenous Studies - Assistant Professor, 1-year termFirst Nations University of Canada
More from Opinion
-
The complex costs of Quebec’s international student policy reforms
International students have gone from being seen as the solution to many issues to the problem.
-
The silent epidemic of loneliness
Why Canada’s universities need to teach health care students to promote social connection.
-
Prof pas prof, j’y vais: conference anxiety
Shining a humorous light on some of the tasks that academics deal with on a regular basis.
-
The escalating challenges of university leadership
Why attracting talented and dedicated leaders is more important than ever.
More from Roundup
-
Provincial budget reports: Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon
Alberta is implementing a two per cent cap on domestic tuition increases while British Columbia is investing significantly in its postsecondary education sector.
-
2018: Canadian higher education in review
Welcome to 2019. As we turn a new page, here are the stories and issues that shaped the past year in Canadian higher education. This year is a special one for University Affairs as we mark our 60th anniversary. You will...
-
Six stories we’re thinking about at year’s end
Over the past year, the University Affairs team has read and reported, edited and produced, hundreds of stories. Here are six that stayed with us. I was sexually assaulted. I turned to my university for help. Here’s what...
-
7 teaching tips to consider for your classroom
We asked our readers: what is the one teaching tip, tool or technique you can’t live without?
More from The Black Hole
-
How to start a company from scratch
Establishing and leading a startup is hard, but it is also an opportunity to do something creative, fun and unique.
-
Yes to more evaluation, but a bigger yes to more action
A recent report on research culture shows that evaluation is key, but stops short of practical solutions to core problems.
-
Building a lab: 6 months of triumphs and trials
As head of a lab, you're the one-man band responsible for everything from marketing to finance to product development.
-
The art of grant writing: write, rewrite and write again
And don't forget the detailed budgeting and a looming submission deadline.
Post a comment
University Affairs moderates all comments according to the following guidelines. If approved, comments generally appear within one business day. We may republish particularly insightful remarks in our print edition or elsewhere.