Working Scientist

Mona Nemer tells Julie Gould about her role as Canada's chief scientific adviser and how she aims to strengthen science in the country. "We're bordered by three oceans," says Mona Nemer of Canada, where she has been chief scientific adviser since September 2017. "On one side we are close to Europe, on the other we are close to Asia. It's a great country to study the Arctic, climate research, ocean...

Simon Hettrick tells Julie Gould about the role of research software engineers, what they do and how you can become one. In the third episode of our six-part podcast series on workplace technology, we learn more about the importance of coding for scientists followed by an introduction to the work of research software engineers. Simon Hettrick, deputy director of the UK Software Sustainability Ins...

Learning how to coding brings career benefits and helps science by aiding reproducibility, Julie Gould discovers. Jessica Hedge tells Julie Gould about how she learned to code as a PhD student, and the freedom and flexibility it provides to manage large datasets. "I never saw myself as a coder and it took me a long time to realise I had to pick up the skills myself," she tells Julie Gould in the s...

Mark Dodgson and Lee Cronin discuss the revolutionary potential of artificial intelligence on university teaching, research, and scientific careers. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been hailed as the "fourth Industrial Revolution," a disruptive technology set to transform world economies and the traditional workplace. But how will AI and deep learning affect the future of universities, the very i...

China's investment in materials science makes it an attractive destination for young foreign researchers looking to relocate, with decent salaries and facilities that many western universities would envy. John Plummer, senior portfolio editor for Nature Research and a former senior editor for  Nature Materials , based in Shanghai, says this investment is driven by the Chinese government's des...

Many grant funding decisions are random, with luck playing a large part. How can the system be improved, particularly when funds are tight? In the final episode of our six-part series on funding, Feric Fang, a professor in the departments of laboratory medicine and microbiology at the University of Washington, Seattle, describes how a two-tier "modified lottery" could be a fairer process, with gra...

Julie Gould asks how early career researchers can develop their careers in the face of funding's "boom and bust" cycle and the short-termism it engenders. Governments are swayed by political uncertainty and technological developments, argues Michael Teitelbaum, author of  Falling Behind? Boom, Bust, and the Global Race for Scientific Talent. In the US, for example, space research funding dram...

In April 2018 the UK's funding environment was transformed with the launch of UK Research and Innovation, an umbrella agency which oversees more than £6 billion (US$7.4 billion) of research funding per year, led by Sir Mark Walport, formerly the UK government's chief scientific adviser. In episode four of this six-part series on funding, Julie Gould discusses the changes with James Wilsdon, profes...

Expert advice on how to get the details of a grant submission right, and planning for "curveball questions" if you are asked to deliver an oral presentation: Peter Gorsuch, Chief Editor at Nature Research Editing Services, tells Julie Gould about the all-important details to include in your grant application. Jernej Zupanc, who runs visual communication skills training for scientists, talks fonts,...

It's best to start planning for a grant application at least 9-12 months before the submission deadline, says Anne Marie Coriat, Head of UK and Europe Research Landscape at Wellcome Trust, London. She outlines the preparatory steps you need to take. Also in the second episode of this six-part podcast series on funding, Peter Gorsuch, Chief Editor at Nature Research Editing Services, highlights the...

In this first episode of a six-part weekly series about funding, Julie Gould outlines the US National Institutes of Health's (NIH) grant review process and the extent to which reviewers evaluating the same applications agree or disagree. Is the current system the best way, she asks Elizabeth Pier, lead author of a March 2018 paper published in  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...

Chris Woolston and Julie Gould discuss the findings of Nature's 2018 salary and job satisfaction survey, which found that despite some common concerns about pay, promotion prospects, bullying and discrimination, 75% are happy with their career choice and would recommend it to others. Also, ahead of the 2019 Nature Careers Events Guide publication later this month, Julie talks to Jamie Krueger abou...

Alexandra Olaya-Castro describes how she draws on experiences she faced earlier in her career to support women and colleagues from minority groups in her current role as professor of physics at University College London. "Like any stereotype you can only break it down by doing what you really think is right. But you also need a network of colleagues that you can trust. The advice I give to both me...

The Association of Hungarian Women in Science (NATE) has won Nature Research's inaugural Innovation in Science Award, one of two global prizes launched in partnership with The Estée Lauder Companies and presented at a ceremony in London held on 30 October 2018. In this podcast Julie Gould talks to NATE president Katalin Balázsi about the organisations's achievements and its success at inspiring wo...

Lego Grad Student is the alter ego of an early career researcher whose schadenfreude-laden Twitter posts "capture an adult's distress in adult education." He tells Jack Leeming how a childhood love of Lego was reignited after a painful dissertation catch-up with his supervisor. Jack asks about his anonymity, his advice to other graduate students, and if his 63,000 @legogradstudent followers need t...

UK careers consultant Sarah Blackford describes how a "SWOT analysis" of your skills can identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in your career roadmap. Sarah's sound advice might well have been followed by biotechnology engineer Samuel Juillot and materials engineer Arnold Oswald. In April 2018 the two friends opened Eurekafé in Toulouse, France. Their crowdfunded cafe of curios...

Career mobility is a fact of life in science and there are plenty of opportunities to study and work abroad. Andrew Spencer, a workplace trainer based in the UK, describes some of the cultural differences and hierarchies you may face when you move to another country, and how best to handle them. And Erna Karalija, a plant physiologist and assistant professor at the University of Sarajevo, talks ab...

The value of scientific careers outside academia needs to be acknowledged. Universities can help by publishing data on where their researchers end up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julie Gould discusses problem solving, research integrity, and the importance of feedback in PhD programmes at the 2018 ORPHEUS conference, held in Iceland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How two women showcase the achievements of India's female research community and the career challenges they face. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia Hubbard has Type 1 diabetes and lupus. Collin Diedrich has dyslexia. Listen to their top tips for juggling scientific careers alongside illness and disability. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alaina G Levine and Peter Fiske describe how networking can help you move between industry and academia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two scientists describe their career moves from academia to vintinculture and bread making Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lessons on a move from industry to academia from a mother-of-five. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recognising your skills and accomplishments boosts job satisfaction Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.