What makes someone a great collaborator?

In this episode of Small Talk with Myself, I share some practical—and occasionally painful—lessons about collaboration from academia and professional life. Inspired by a recent small talk I gave at the Australasian Transport Research Forum ECP/R forum, this episode explores the habits that make people genuinely enjoyable to work with… and the behaviours that quietly destroy collaborations.

Along the way, there’s also a lesson from The Godfather, a Nobel Prize breakup between Chen-Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee, and a reminder that academia is much smaller than it looks.

If you’re an early-career academic, researcher, or professional trying to build strong collaborations without losing your sanity, this episode is for you.

What does it take to build a truly distinguished academic career—and what advice really matters for those just starting out?

In this episode, Professor David Hensher shares the lessons, insights, and hard-earned wisdom from his remarkable journey—speaking candidly about what it means to grow, succeed, and make an impact in academia.

What struck me most in this conversation was his generosity—not just in sharing ideas, but in his genuine commitment to supporting early-career researchers.

This was one of those conversations that stays with you. Thought-provoking, honest, and incredibly inspiring.

And if you’re looking for practical takeaways—you’ll find plenty. In fact, I started applying one of his strategies immediately after we finished recording.

Curious what it was?

Make sure you listen all the way to the end.

This is Part 2 of how to become a good PhD supervisor.

I'll share 4 dos. 3 don’ts.

And one uncomfortable truth about PhD supervision most people avoid talking about.

In this new episode, I explore a question that many academics eventually face:

If you have ever wondered:

then you may find this episode useful.

In this episode, Professor Markos Papageorgiou reflects on his distinguished career and candidly shares his experiences, advice, and wisdom with PhD students and early-career academics.

To learn more about Professor Papageorgiou’s remarkable career and achievements, please see the recent feature on him in IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Magazine.

This episode — this conversation — comes from a personal place. My experience as someone who once sat on the international student side of the table… and now sits on the supervisor side.

I make this podcast in my free time, and everything is shared for free—in the true spirit of open science and reproducible research. If you suspect this isn’t a complete waste of my evenings and weekends, I’d love your support: share it with your network, leave a comment, and drop a rating. It might even help me convince my wife and kids. Thank you!

Habit 6: Self-care is self-improvement;

Habit 7: Build a thick skin for failure and embarrassment — and stop comparing, stop over-thinking.

Plus some embarrassing stories. 

This episode covers three habits:

Habit 3: Discipline executes. Consistency transforms.

Habit 4: Stay positive, stay confident, and don’t quit.

Habit 5: Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.

7 habits for achieving excellence in academia.

Part I: the first two habits.

The motivation behind this podcast.