Talk Media to Me

This is the first of three special episodes that were recorded during the RMeS/NICA career event in June 2023. In this episode, Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) interviews Pepita Hesselberth, director of NICA and lecturer in Film and Digital Media at Leiden University.  Pepita shares her academic journey and which choices she has made to find funding for her research. How do you write just the right PhD proposal? How do you make sure that your research is appealing to NWO?  Pepita provides in this episode some tips, tricks, and practical suggestions for these questions.

Bartosz Zerebecki (EUR) interviews Lejo Siepe, a director of the Media Training Center Northern Netherlands. Lejo is a journalist for daily and weekly newspapers, radio and TV programs. He made several documentaries, wrote countless articles, and published four books. In this episode, Lejo gives advice to scholars about connecting media and making scientific research more available to the publics through media.

Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) interviews Mirko Tobias Schäfer (UU), Associate Professor at the Department for Media and Culture Studies, Utrecht University. His publications cover user participation in cultural production, datafication, politics of software design and communication in social media. In this episode, Mirko shares his experiences with the co-creation of knowledge with partners 'in the field'. As one of the co-founders of the Utrecht Data School, Mirko evaluates how you as a researcher build relationships with stakeholders in your research, and how you make sure that your research is also impactful. What are the best ways to find partnerships with institutions and organizations? How do you find the right balance between what your partners want and what you want as a researcher? Mirko provides some tips, tricks, and many practical suggestions in this interview.

Bartek Zerebecki (EUR) interviews Julia Kneer, an associate professor at the Department of Media and Communication at Erasmus University Rotterdam. As a scholar, Dr. Kneer researchers the effects of gaming on violence but she also boasts rich experience in mentoring younger scholars. In this episode, she talks about networking effectively and connecting with others during conferences. Dr. Kneer concludes with some anecdotes about why hats and towels might help you connect with other scholars better.

Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) interviews Vincent Crone (UU), Senior Fellow at  the Teaching Academy Utrecht University.  As a fellow, he studies and teaches about the development and training of starting teachers in the humanities and the possible differences in the development of teachers within different disciplines. In this episode, Vincent shares his experiences with the teaching positions that PhD's in Media Studies usually have to take.  How do you make sure that you are in charge of the content in your classroom? What are the ways to make students get more ownership over their education? How can you find the right balance between teaching and research? Vincent provides some practical suggestions in this interview.

Zheyu Shang (UL) interviews Hermen Visser (UL), the trainer of a course Blogging About Your Research. In this episode, Hermen shares tips for students to start academic blogs and improve blog writing skills. For more information about academic blogging, Hermen provides more practical suggestions in his blog: https://academicblogging.nl/. 

Season 2 of the podcast covers different skills that can help early career researcher. In the first episode, Bartosz Zerebecki (EUR) interviews Liesbeth Volbeda (RUG) and Anita Wagner (RUG) who lead a course My Future Career. This  episode bridges seasons 1 and 2 and revolves around skills that young researchers need to succeed in their job search. In particular, we explore the role and the meaning of introspection during a  PhD program. 

The RMeS PhD council will in the upcoming season of In Media Res interview expert in 'PhD soft skills'. As PhD's in Media Studies you often need to work on other skills beside deepening out your research. How do you make sure that you are being seen in the academic discourse or by popular media? How do you deal with media appearances? How do you keep the right balance between your research and your teaching? In season 2, we will go through all of these skills and learn from the best (non-)academic experts.

Bjorn Beijnon (UvA) interviews Patricia Pisters professor of Media Studies (with specialization in Film Studies) at the University of Amsterdam. As a professor, she has supervised many PhD students, but much has changed in the way people build a career in- or outside academia. In this interview, Patricia highlights her own career path and the specific skills that she had to acquire along the way. She elaborates on the value of teaching but also the importance of staying in contact with the work field that you are interested in. 

This is the final episode of season 1 of In Media Res. 

Bartosz Zerebecki (EUR) interviews Yosha Wijngaarden who obtained a PhD in Media and Communication Studies in 2019. Currently an assistant professor at the department of Media and Communication at Erasmus University, Yosha sheds a light on her past research as a PhD candidate and her current research as a postdoctoral researcher at the Arts and Culture Studies department in Rotterdam. In this interview, Yosha addresses what working in the creative industries is like - from the perspective of her research - while also examining how current self-employed academic researchers survive on the job market.