Scholars Unbound

In this concluding episode of the year, I explain what I mean by academic reset and some of the practices I started doing to rethink, refocus, and restart my academic activities.

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After interviewing Prof. Yuji Uesugi in the previous episode, we continued our conversation with his students at Waseda University about publishing a book, writing practices, the difference between a dissertation and a book, and so much more.  

Relevant episodes:

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In this episode, I talked to Prof. Yuji Uesugi of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan about his book project with his students. He explained the value of publishing a book during graduate school and ways to facilitate collaboration between students and researchers.

Books mentioned by Prof. Uesugi: Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia (Springer, 2020) and Operationalisation of Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia (Palgrave, 2021)

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Writing a book is no easy feat. It takes time, effort, and a great deal of dedication. In this episode, I elaborate on some of the questions that I encourage you to think about before you embark on the often lengthy but rewarding journey of publishing an academic book.

Relevant episodes:

Episode 31: Your thesis is not the book

Episode 19: Strategies for managing academic and family lives

Episode 18: What's wrong with work-life balance?

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I talked to Dr Dhanasree Jayaram, Assistant Professor at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), about her book and some of her tips for future book authors. We also discussed the unique challenges faced by scholars who earned their degrees in universities in the Global South and what we can do as an academic community when it comes to supporting each other's research work. 

Get a copy of Dr Jayaram's book or suggest it to your librarian: Climate Diplomacy and Emerging Economies: India as a Case Study

You can also follow more of Dr Jayaram's research work on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Support this project by subscribing to our newsletter. Also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube. Music by Lava Koirala.

There are hidden (non-financial) costs in academia, and most of these are borne by scholars from the Global South. In this episode, I share some of the challenges I face that I know are not unique to me, hoping that as a community we can collectively demand solutions and address them in our own simple but powerful ways.

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Music by Lava Koirala

Why do we need to amplify our messages, and why is it important to look after our professional development? In this episode, five scholars from the Philippines share their reflections and key takeaways from a research and publication workshop that I participated in back in July 2022.

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Intro and outro music by Lava Koirala. Transition music is a trimmed version of tracks from Darkness and Light by Ketsa licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Are you struggling with time? Do you often find yourself uttering, “I just don’t have enough time!” In this episode, I share some questions for you to reflect on that may be helpful when you decide to assess your relationship with time.

Mentioned in this episode: Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

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Intro and outro music by Lava Koirala. Transition music is a trimmed version of "12 Dream-Teachers by Ketsa" licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Episode 36: I share in this episode the talking points for an invited talk I did about building up expertise. As an academic, I talked about four of the factors that helped me build up my knowledge and skills in academia and how I continue to develop them.

Mentioned in this episode: Paul J. Silvia's How to Write A Lot

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Music by Lava Koirala

Episode 35: After two months of silence here a hectic personal and work schedule, this episode is the perfect time to do a mid-year check-in. In this episode, I share my process halfway through the year when I review my schedule, re-align my goals, and check in with myself. How about you? What are your practices for reviewing your schedule, goals, and academic mission? And when was the last time you checked in with yourself?

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Also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

Music by Lava Koirala