Welcome to paying IT Forward, were we have nuanced conversations about the IT industry with industry insiders!!! For our second episode, I got the opportunity to speak to Karen Elliot who is a senior lecturer an associate professor at Newcastle University and she is who you can refer to as a 'pracademic'. She is someone who is conducting very revenant research work at university in collaboration with industry partners. We go into the essential role that can be taken up by academia in guiding the  innovative direction in industry; which is most time commercially driven and therefore ethically vulnerable; we also cover the disconnect that needs to be bridged between academia and industry to produce university graduates that would thrive in industry immediately. She is heavily involved in the fintech industry and around emerging technology, including Artificial intelligence and blockchain. What I love about Karen's approach is the focus on people, and the ability to look underneath the surface of problems in the industry; we explore the relevance of a diverse group in building solutions that affect a diverse user base; we also explore what it really means to be agile and why it is a relevant approach to building sustainable solution due to our human nature to constantly evolve; finally, we  covered the realities of a career in academia and opportunities for people interest in getting into it.

It’s a great listen and I hope you enjoy it!. Remember to like and comment with your feedback and remember to pay I.T. forward by sharing!