Indigestible Committee Paperwork
Each summer it is standard for publications to produce lists of exam howlers to remind us just how woefully ignorant some of our students are at all levels. I have never seen a list of comparable...
View ArticleKidding Yourself (The Impact Saga Continues)
This weekend I was persuaded by a member of my family to enter a local Parkrun. If, like me, you haven’t come across these before, I should say they offer weekly timed 5k runs at local venues. You just...
View ArticleHow Hard Do You Work?
Career progression and promotion require that you tick all the right boxes when panels scrutinise your CV. If you are trying to optimise your chances of advancing up the greasy pole, this requires...
View ArticleApple(s), Tomatoes, Willetts and Public Engagement
It’s National Science and Engineering Week in the UK, or at least it is for most places. In Cambridge we celebrate it with a fortnight, and call it a Festival because there is just so much to squeeze...
View ArticleJust Say No (but How?)
One of those persistent stereotypes-by-gender is that women are less good at saying no than men. Whether or not you believe that to be true, there is no doubt that many of us – myself included – are...
View ArticleFailure in Real Life
Before my university term starts, I have two dates towards the end of September to talk to young women. One of these is directed at girls of school age, the other women at PhD level, to try to...
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