Is the job market really as bad as the headlines say? How can researchers better understand and communicate their skillsets? And how can they manage the anxiety and uncertainty that comes with the current employment climate?

In this episode, host Taryn Bell talks with co-host Ruth Winden, as well as King’s College London's Laura Johnson and Anna Favalessa, hosts of the Careers in Your Ears podcast.

Together, they unpack:

• How misleading data and clickbait can amplify researcher anxiety, while the data might not actually be as bad as we think
• Researchers' misconceptions about the non-academic job market, including the common refrain that "I'm not qualified for anything other than research"
• The emotional work of career change, and the challenges and benefits of supporting researchers through tricky career transitions

If you're a researcher developer or careers consultant interested in how you can better support your researchers' career transitions, this is the episode for you!

Find out more:

Listen to the Careers in Your Ears podcast via Spotify, Apple or wherever you listen to podcasts. We particularly recommend the following episodes:

• S15 Ep2 | Q&A | Research is my only passion - what else can I do?
• S14 Ep3 | Q&A | I've applied for over 50 jobs: what am I doing wrong?

Learn more about the team behind the podcast:

• Laura's LinkedIn
• Anna's LinkedIn
• KCL Careers
• LinkedIn - Kings Careers Network for Researchers

If you've enjoyed listening to this episode, please consider leaving a review on your favourite podcast app, via Podchaser, or by submitting an online review form.

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Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here), @openresleeds.bsky.social, @researchcultureuol.bsky.social

Connect to us on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here too).

If you would like to contribute to a podcast episode get in touch: [email protected]

If you have enjoyed listening to this episode, please consider leaving a review on your favourite podcast app, via Podchaser, or by submitting an online review form.

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Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here), @openresleeds.bsky.social, @researchcultureuol.bsky.social

Connect to us on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here too).

If you would like to contribute to a podcast episode get in touch: [email protected]

Episode overview

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of the research landscape—from finding and making sense of literature to supporting academic writing and feedback. But how can researchers use AI productively without losing ownership of their ideas or compromising the critical thinking at the heart of research?

In this episode, Heledd speaks with Dr Marc-Oliver Gewaltig, co-founder and CEO of Thesify, about what a responsible relationship between researchers and AI might look like.

They discuss how AI can support different stages of academic writing, the importance of transparency about its contributions, and how it may change the skills researchers need. Marc-Oliver also explains why human judgement, intellectual ownership and subject expertise must remain central to good research.

In this episode

• Marc-Oliver’s journey from physics and computational neuroscience to robotics, AI and entrepreneurship
• The challenges researchers and supervisors face when reviewing and developing academic writing
• How AI can provide feedback on manuscripts and support researchers through the drafting process
• Using AI to encourage researchers to develop and communicate their own ideas rather than placing the writing process on “autopilot”
• How AI could support conversations and manage expectations between researchers and supervisors
• Why transparency, AI provenance and clear records of individual contributions matter
• How AI may change the skills researchers need and why deliberate experimentation is essential
• Intellectual ownership, plagiarism and the risks of allowing AI to generate ideas
• What AI cannot replace: human judgement, subject expertise and scientific communication

About Marc-Oliver

Dr Marc-Oliver Gewaltig is co-founder and CEO of Thesify, a startup developing responsible AI tools for scientists and students. He has worked at the intersection of neuroscience, robotics and artificial intelligence for almost three decades.

He was Principal Scientist at Honda Research Institute Europe and Senior Group Leader at EPFL, where he co-directed the Neurorobotics subproject of the Human Brain Project. Before founding Thesify, he was the founding CEO of HeyScience.

Find out more

• Thesify: https://www.thesify.ai/
• Marc-Oliver Gewaltig on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gewaltig/
• Thesify on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesify-ai
• Thesify Substack: https://thesify.substack.com/

Episode overview

Exploring a career beyond academia can bring excitement and possibility, but also uncertainty, questions about identity and a sense that moving on means leaving something behind.

In this episode, Heledd speaks with Dr Holly Prescott about the practical and emotional realities of career transition. They explore why researchers may struggle to recognise their skills, why leaving academia can feel like “giving up”, and how careers beyond academia can offer new ways to use your researcher experience.

Holly also challenges the idea that career development is about finding one perfect destination. Instead, it can begin with taking a next step, gathering information and learning more about what matters to you.

Featured contributor

Dr Holly Prescott — Careers Adviser for Postgraduate Researchers at the University of Birmingham, freelance trainer and consultant, and founder of the PostGradual careers blog. Holly is the author of Navigating Careers Beyond Academia: A Practical Handbook for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Researchers (Routledge, 2026).

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-prescott/

🦋 Bluesky: @holby83.bsky.social

🌐 PostGradual: https://phd-careers.co.uk/

Key themes explored

• The emotional and practical challenges of career transition

• Recognising and communicating transferable skills

• Moving beyond the divide between “staying” and “leaving” academia

• Remaining connected to research in different ways

• Approaching your career as an iterative process

• How universities can help researchers see wider possibilities

Memorable ideas

• Your next job is a step in a journey, not a final destination: even those who have already moved beyond academia see their careers as ‘works in progress.’

• Researchers are not starting from zero when they move beyond academia

• Some of your most valuable skills develop when things do not go to plan

• Moving beyond academia may change how your researcher identity shows up, but it does not have to disappear completely.

Find out more

Find out more about Holly’s book

Holly’s online book launch takes place on 14 September 2026 at 16:00 BST/17:00 CET.

Register for the online book launch

Related episode

From Postdoc to Project Manager: How Do You Make the Leap?

Ruth Winden speaks with Dr Shirley-Anne Paul about moving from postdoctoral research into project management, transferable skills and the emotional experience of leaving research.

🔗 Listen to the episode

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Follow and connect

Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social; @openresleeds.bsky.social; @researchcultureuol.bsky.social

Connect with us on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here)

Want to contribute to a future episode?

We’d love to hear from you — especially if you have reflections on research culture from any career stage or role.

[email protected]

In an environment of low success rates, rising research costs, and shrinking opportunities, the research funding system appears to be at a crisis point. This isn't just a funding crisis but a culture crisis, intensifying workloads, stress, and precarity, especially for early career researchers seeking funding to stay employed.

A complete overhaul of the funding system is needed - but seems unlikely at present. In lieu of this, what can funders, institutions and researchers actually do to face up to these pressures?

In this episode, host Taryn Bell considers some doable - yet still meaningful - changes that we could make at varying points within the system, including:

• Increasing transparency from funders when communicating calls and outcomes
• More intentional career conversations - including making space for difficult conversations
• Preparing our researchers to get ready to apply much earlier than they think

We'd love to hear your suggestions for what needs to change in the funding landscape. Get in touch - and perhaps you'll be on a future episode of the podcast!

Find out more:

• Isaac Barbosa - BBSRC caps fellowship bids mid-call after surge in applications.
• Geraint Rees and James Wilsdon - Could agentic AI topple grant-funding systems?
• Kirsty Grainger - Too Fast to Think? Why UKRI Calls Are So Rushed, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It.
• Harriet Swain - Can ‘high-stress’ interviews for grants save a system under pressure?
• UKRI timeline of 2026 funding opportunities

If you have enjoyed listening to this episode, please consider leaving a review on your favourite podcast app, via Podchaser, or by submitting an online review form.

✍ Podchaser

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Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here), @openresleeds.bsky.social, @researchcultureuol.bsky.social

Connect to us on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here too).

If you would like to contribute to a podcast episode get in touch: [email protected]

🎙️In our latest episode, host Dr Ged Hall interviewed another of his #ResearchImpactHeroes Dr David Phipps, Assistant Vice President of Research Strategy and Impact at York University in Toronto and co-founder of Research Impact Canada! Discover how a 40-year journey from HIV research to knowledge mobilisation helped build one of the world's most influential impact networks.

🔹 Hear David's winding path from immunology research during the HIV/AIDS crisis to becoming a pioneer of "knowledge mobilisation" - years before the term even existed. 🔹 Learn why Canada thinks about impact as a "how", not a "what" - and why not having a REF has been a blessing, not a barrier.

🔹 Discover the origin story of Research Impact Canada, which began in 2006 with two universities and "no small amount of hubris."

🔹 Explore how a global community of impact networks - from the UK's UPEN to Chile's Vincula to New Zealand's IPEN - is learning from each other across borders.

🔹 Understand the toughest question David still grapples with: how do you build impact capacity in a resource-constrained system?

If you're passionate about making research matter, building professional communities, and creating real-world change, this episode is for you!

David shares his impact heroes too - shoutouts to Susan Renoe (ARIS, USA), Francisca Reyes (Vincula, Chile), and Wade Kelly (Deakin University) for the work they're doing to grow the global impact movement.

You can connect with David via LinkedIn and Bluesky.

Organisations, episodes, literature mentioned in the episode:

• York University Knowledge Mobilisation
• Research Impact Canada
• Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS)
• Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN)
• Vincula
• Impact Planning and Evaluation Network (IPEN)
• (Episode 117) Navigating the Academic and Professional staff boundary with Dr Wade Kelly
• The Co-produced Pathway to Impact Describes Knowledge Mobilization Processes journal article

All of our episodes can be accessed via the following playlists:

1. Research Impact with Ged Hall (follow Ged on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
2. Research Impact Heroes with Ged Hall
3. Open Research with Nick Sheppard (follow Nick on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
4. Research Careers with Ruth Winden (follow Ruth on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
5. Research talent management
6. Academic Failure with Taryn Bell (follow Taryn on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
7. Meet the Research Culturositists with Emma Spary (follow Emma on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
8. Research co-production
9. Research evaluation
10. Research leadership
11. Research professionals

Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here), @openresleeds.bsky.social, @researchcultureuol.bsky.social

Connect to us on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here)

Leeds Research Culture links:

1. Researcher Development and Culture Website
2. Our Concordat Implemention plans and progress
3. University of Leeds Research Culture Statement
4. University of Leeds Responsible Metrics Statement
5. University of Leeds Open Research Statement
6. University of Leeds Research Culture Strategy - launched September 2023
7. Public Engagement with Research

If you would like to contribute to a podcast episode get in touch: [email protected] [GH1]Note: this and the LinkedIn post are identical up to this point. If you make an edit in one I will copy it across to the other.

The #ResearchCultureUncovered podcast team is delighted to share a special episode featuring Dr. Jim Baxter, Academic Development Consultant at the University of Leeds, recorded ahead of his retirement after 36 remarkable years studying and employed at the institution.

Join host Ged Hall as he sits down with his long-time colleague and former manager to reflect on Jim's extraordinary career spanning mechanical engineering research, postdoctoral work, a role as a lecturer, and over two decades shaping researcher and academic development — all at the University of Leeds.

• Hear Jim reflect on changes in higher education since the early 1990s and what these have meant for how universities support their researchers.

• Discover Jim's proudest career moments, including influencing the university's strategic recognition of researchers as people, not just producers of outputs, and designing development programmes that put researcher needs at their centre.

• Learn what Jim believes still needs to change — from helping postdocs develop realistic awareness of their career options, to the sector's ongoing struggle to properly evaluate the impact of researcher development interventions.

• Explore Jim's advice for those still working in the field: develop your networks, be compassionately honest with the people you support, and help researchers navigate the "hidden curriculum" of academic life.

• Get a glimpse of what retirement looks like for someone who has been at the same major research university for 36 years.

Organisations, episodes, etc mentioned in the interview:

• Research Leadership Provision
• Vitae’s History of Researcher Development in the UK: mentions the first GRAD school in 1968. Jim and Ged didn’t go until the early 90s.
• Contributor Role Taxonomy (CRediT)
• (Episode 109) Tony Bromley Reflects on his Career, the Changes, and the Future in Research Development
• Vitae’s Rugby Team Impact Framework

All of our episodes can be accessed via the following playlists:

1. Research Impact with Ged Hall (follow Ged on Bluesky and LinkedIn) and Alix Brodie-Wray (follow Alix on LinkedIn)
2. Research Impact Heroes with Ged Hall
3. Open Research with Nick Sheppard (follow Nick on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
4. Research Careers with Ruth Winden (follow Ruth on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
5. Research talent management
6. Meet the Research Culturositists with Emma Spary (follow Emma on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
7. Research co-production
8. Research evaluation
9. Research leadership
10. Research professionals
11. Academic failure with Taryn Bell (follow Taryn on Bluesky and LinkedIn)

Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here), @openresleeds.bsky.social, @researchcultureuol.bsky.social

Connect to us on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here)

If you would like to contribute to a podcast episode get in touch: [email protected]

In this episode Nick speaks with Dr Eike Rinke, Lecturer in Politics and Media, Co-Director of the Social Research Methods Centre, and Local Network Lead for the UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN).

Eike discusses his academic journey, and reflects on how his experiences as a social scientist led him to become involved in the open research movement. The conversation explores why transparency, rigour and inclusivity matter across all disciplines, and why open research should be considered a universal concern rather than something confined to particular fields.

Eike discusses a research paper he contributed to that examines what happens when multiple research teams choose their own methodology to analyse the same dataset. The findings reveal striking variation in results depending on the analytical decisions made by researchers, highlighting the importance of transparency and the need to better understand researcher decision-making.

Nick and Eike also discuss Eike's role as local network lead for the UK Reproducibility Network and how they continue to collaborate to build a community of practice around open research at the University of Leeds.

Episode links:

• Social Sciences success at the 2024 Research Culture Awards
• Observing many researchers using the same data and hypothesis reveals a hidden universe of uncertainty (2022)
• Many Analysts, One Data Set: Making Transparent How Variations in Analytic Choices Affect Results (2018)
• Preregistration and the architecture of open science
• Nature is expanding Registered Reports to all the fields in which we publish
• (S7E3) Changing Behaviour with Daryl O'Connor: A Psychology Professor's Journey through Open Research
• (S8E7) Improving Research Quality with the UK Reproducibility Network: A Conversation with Marcus Munafò
• General | Leeds UK Reproducibility Network and Open Research Community (University of Leeds only)

If you have enjoyed listening to this episode, please consider leaving a review on your favourite podcast app, via Podchaser, or by submitting an online review form.

✍ Podchaser

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All of our episodes can be accessed via the following playlists:

• Research Impact with Ged Hall (follow Ged on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
• Research Impact Heroes with Ged Hall
• Open Research with Nick Sheppard (follow Nick on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
• Research Careers with Ruth Winden (follow Ruth on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
• Research talent management
• Meet the Research Culturositists with Emma Spary (follow Emma on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
• Research co-production
• Research evaluation
• Research leadership
• Research professionals
• Academic failure with Taryn Bell (follow Taryn on Bluesky and LinkedIn)

Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here), @openresleeds.bsky.social, @researchcultureuol.bsky.social

Connect to us on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here too).

If you would like to contribute to a podcast episode get in touch: [email protected]

🎙️ Technicians at the heart of research culture: insights from Tech Exchange at Leeds

In this special episode of Research Culture Uncovered, Dr Emily Ennis hands over the mic to Lily Caprioli, a student ambassador at the University of Leeds, who interviews colleagues across the annual Tech Exchange Fair — a showcase of the people and skills powering research behind the scenes.

What you’ll hear:

Research is a team sport. From senior leadership to lab specialists, contributors emphasise that technicians are fundamental — the people who keep systems running, solve problems, and help teams think differently.

Visibility matters. Events like Tech Exchange create space to showcase expertise, connect across departments, and ensure technical contributions are recognised beyond individual labs or teams.

From “hidden roles” to recognised expertise. Conversations highlight ongoing work around fair attribution, technician profiles, and recognition — with real progress, but more still to do.

Collaboration within and beyond institutions. From cross-faculty working to initiatives like the White Rose Consortium and Yorkshire Technician Exchange Partnership (YoTEP), sharing knowledge strengthens both individuals and the wider research ecosystem.

Diverse careers, shared impact. Whether in labs, libraries, collections, or engineering workshops, technicians bring specialist expertise, creativity, and adaptability — often shaping research in ways that go unseen but are essential.

🎙️ People featured in this episode

• Professor Nick Plant (Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, University of Leeds)
• Claire Knowles (Acting Director of Library Services, University of Leeds)
• Lesley Neve (X-ray Technical Specialist)
• John Warwick (Technician Champion)

🏛️ Projects, initiatives & organisations referenced

• Technician Commitment
• White Rose University Consortium (Leeds, Sheffield, York)
• Yorkshire Technician Exchange Partnership (YoTEP)
• Fair Attribution Policy
• CREDIT taxonomy
• ORCID identifiers
• Institute of Technical Skills and Strategy (ITSS)

This episode is a celebration of the people, skills, and community that make research possible — and a reminder that strong research culture depends on recognising every contribution.

Please note

This episode was recorded live at a busy event — you may hear background noise, but we hope it captures the energy and enthusiasm of the Tech Exchange Fair!

🎙️ The #ResearchCultureUncovered podcast team is excited to share our latest episode featuring Dr. Rob ter Horst — postdoctoral researcher and the creator behind the popular YouTube channel The Quantified Scientist!

Join host Ged Hall as he chats with Rob about his fascinating dual life as a researcher and YouTuber, exploring what it means to treat yourself as an experimental subject, running a YouTube channel at the same time as a demanding postdoc and the benefits and challenges of both.

🔹 Discover how Rob's self-tracking journey with weekly brain MRIs, EEG sleep recordings and testing wearables grew from his scientific curiosity and how that has benefitted both his research and his YouTube identities.

🔹 Learn how Rob used wearable technology data and rigorous testing methods to communicate complex data analysis concepts to a broad public audience, and in his university teaching.

🔹 Hear reflections on the realities of balancing a demanding postdoctoral position with running a growing YouTube channel and podcast — and the honest conversations Rob is having with himself about the long-term sustainability of doing both.

🔹 Explore the cultural challenges researchers face when engaging publicly online, from navigating negative comments and Reddit threads to maintaining scientific integrity while building a content business.

To connect with Rob:

• The Quantified Scientist YouTube channel
• Check out his LinkedIn profile
• His Fit for Science podcast that he co-hosts with Stephan Reichl
• His website https://www.robterhorst.com/

All of our episodes can be accessed via the following playlists:

1. Research Impact with Ged Hall (follow Ged on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
2. Research Impact Heroes with Ged Hall
3. Open Research with Nick Sheppard (follow Nick on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
4. Research Careers with Ruth Winden (follow Ruth on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
5. Research talent management
6. Academic Failure with Taryn Bell (follow Taryn on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
7. Meet the Research Culturositists with Emma Spary (follow Emma on Bluesky and LinkedIn)
8. Research co-production
9. Research evaluation
10. Research leadership
11. Research professionals

Follow us on Bluesky: @researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here), @openresleeds.bsky.social, @researchcultureuol.bsky.social

Connect to us on LinkedIn: @ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here)

Leeds Research Culture links:

1. Researcher Development and Culture Website
2. Our Concordat Implemention plans and progress
3. University of Leeds Research Culture Statement
4. University of Leeds Responsible Metrics Statement
5. University of Leeds Open Research Statement
6. University of Leeds Research Culture Strategy - launched September 2023
7. Public Engagement with Research

If you would like to contribute to a podcast episode get in touch: [email protected]

In this thought‑provoking episode, host Dr Emily Goodall speaks with Dr Jack Wilkinson, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Trial Statistics at the University of Manchester. Together, they explore the growing challenge of problematic and fraudulent research polluting the published literature, what it means for trust in evidence, and how the research community can respond.

From “paper mills” to AI‑generated publications, this episode shines a light on how research integrity is being challenged—and what researchers, reviewers, and institutions can do to protect it.

Key themes

• The scale of problematic research is growing: Fraudulent and low‑quality studies, driven by paper mills, AI and pressured research environments, are increasingly entering the literature.
• Quality checks don’t guarantee authenticity: Peer review and standard appraisals focus on quality, but often miss whether research is authentic.
• Structured tools can help spot issues: Tools like INSPECT‑SR guide peer reviewers to identify inconsistencies, implausibility, and red flags.
• Culture and incentives drive the problem: Publish‑or‑perish pressures and limited transparency make problematic studies more likely and harder to detect.

Final reflections

This episode raises an important challenge: if publications are the currency of academia, what happens when we can’t fully trust them?

Dr Wilkinson’s work shows that while the problem is complex, there are practical steps we can take, from better tools and reviewer support to systemic cultural change, to strengthen trust in research.

Find out more:

• INSPECT-SR PrePrint: a tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled trials, medRxiv 2025.
• INSPECT-SR: Resources for users.
• A recording of the Introduction to INSPECT-SR workshop is available on YouTube.
• Dr Jack Wilkinson on Bluesky.
• Our open research playlist.

If you have enjoyed listening to this episode, please consider leaving a review on your favourite podcast app, via Podchaser, or by submitting an online review form.

Podchaser: https://lnkd.in/eQYbzZ65

Online Review Form: https://lnkd.in/eeXFE249