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Tag: career

Investigating mega-event host cities after the spotlight

Investigating mega-event host cities after the spotlight

My Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione project has officially begun! I’m now at the ETH Zurich, working with the SPUR group – Spatial Development and Urban Policy. This is a great interdisciplinary team and I am thrilled to be here. The interdisciplinary nature of the group means that I’m returning to a beginner mind in some situations. It’s a great feeling – albeit a little destabilizing sometimes – to encounter entirely new debates in bodies of literature I’ve never even…

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Ambizione project: After the spotlight of hosting mega-events

Ambizione project: After the spotlight of hosting mega-events

As I wrote in my summary of 2022, I was fortunate enough to win a Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione grant last year. I am overjoyed, and deeply grateful that I’ve been entrusted to bring this project to life. It’s called “After the spotlight: Sustainable urban development and geopolitical legacies in former mega-event cities.” The problem is that mega-events like the Olympics and the Football World Cup have dramatic impacts on cities and societies. Typically, organizing authorities promise infrastructural, political,…

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A year in the life of an academic: 2022 summary

A year in the life of an academic: 2022 summary

It’s been a big year. Here’s a rundown of how it went for me. I started off 2022 with a nice interview on Deutsche Welle about the lack of sustainability at the Beijing Olympics. It was filmed from my living room office at home, still under lockdown from Covid-19. I remember being particularly grateful for them giving me a decent amount of space for nuanced discussion. This is not always the case with media interviews, unfortunately. DW one stood out…

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Not really a timely project anymore: intimate urban geopolitics in eastern Ukraine

Not really a timely project anymore: intimate urban geopolitics in eastern Ukraine

When I was finishing up my dissertation in early 2019, I wrote about laying the groundwork for the next phase of my academic career. I submitted two project ideas, one about mega-events in Paris and Los Angeles to be hosted at the University of Lausanne, and the other on urban geopolitics in eastern Ukraine at the University of St. Gallen. At the time, I wrote: There’s actually something interesting going on here and I think it’s worth unpacking for a…

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After the spotlight: Sustainable urban development and geopolitical legacies in former mega-event cities

After the spotlight: Sustainable urban development and geopolitical legacies in former mega-event cities

I submitted my Ambizione project to the Swiss National Science Foundation. Definitely a massive effort! My earlier investigation of submission and acceptance data means that I’m under no illusions about my odds, but I admit that I have hope and am excited about the potential here. Overall, the project is designed to take my existing experience in mega-events and investigate some important under-researched areas. At the same time, I’ve designed it to support and expand my knowledge and competencies in…

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Ambizione submission, rejection, and acceptance data: twelve years of great and tough news

Ambizione submission, rejection, and acceptance data: twelve years of great and tough news

I have a year and a half left of funding for my current project, so this means two things: 1) get busy publishing and 2) find a new gig. The Swiss National Science Foundation has a lot of generous offerings, and I’ve got some ideas that I think are important and would like to bring into the world. I’m going to apply for an Ambizione grant, which appears to be the appropriate funding instrument for my level. I’ve heard that…

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The give and take of virtual conferences

The give and take of virtual conferences

I finished a month of rather active conference participation, first at the American Association of Geographer’s annual meeting in virtual Seattle, and then the Dislocating Urban Studies workshop in virtual Malmö. I have mixed feelings about our new virtual world. One obvious benefit is the ability to participate in exciting discussions from around the globe, without paying for transit, dealing with jet-lag, or contributing to the destruction of the climate. Via Zoom, I’m able to be in Seattle on Tuesday…

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More advising advice: do you need a kind word or a kick in the pants?

More advising advice: do you need a kind word or a kick in the pants?

I’m not naive enough to pretend there are many readers here, but I’ve been keeping this public notebook of academic musings for awhile now, and every so often I get a letter in response. This one was from a PhD student who read my thoughts last month on mental health and the academy. It got me thinking about not-so-visible dividing lines. These plagued me when I made the decision to go to graduate school and embark on a PhD. It…

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4 points on the compass: a brief mental health orientation for PhD students (and others!)

4 points on the compass: a brief mental health orientation for PhD students (and others!)

Since I won’t be hosting a session on mental health and the academy at this year’s Swiss Geosciences Meeting, I thought I would sketch out here the ideas that I was planning to share. These are 4 basic principles that helped me when I was going through some emotional challenges during my PhD. Some of them are adapted from the University of Zurich’s excellent Stress Management course, and others were honed over time in conversation with other graduate students and…

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Thoughts on how to survive and savor the academic writing process.

Thoughts on how to survive and savor the academic writing process.

I’m writing these notes from a position of unstable privilege. I’m officially a junior lecturer, and I have the luxury of a work contract that gives me several years of predictability. I know how rare that is in the academy and I’m grateful for it. At the same time, this contract will expire in mid/late 2022, and if I don’t secure a suitable post before then, my family and I will have to leave our home in this country and…

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