23- Dr Briony Birdi- Holding on to your values as motivation booster

Briony is a senior lecturer in the Information School at The University of Sheffield.A commitment to doing research that contributes to giving voice to an area of public life often brushed aside, has fuelled her research motivation. Adapting her professional goals and work patterns to her family reality have been part of her academic resilience.It was her experience supporting researchers, when she worked in a university library in Oxford as a graduate, that got her the first taste for the research process. With a Master in Librarianship, she initially embarked on a career in the book trade, before starting a research contract in Birmingham. The richness of her professional experiences as a practitioner, contributed greatly to getting her first lectureship. Briony entered academic life having already gained a substantial experience as a researcher. The PhD came after, when she was already working as an academic. Undertaking her PhD whilst lecturing and becoming a mum have meant making hard choices and keeping resilient.Listening to our conversation will prompt your thinking about:How you may adapt your academic working patterns to suit different stages of your personal lifeThat part-time working does not mean stopping you from daring to apply for leadership rolesTaking a leadership role in your institution contributes to a rich academic lifeHow harsh criticism can fuel your motivation to do the research that you believe mattersFind out more details about Briony: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/people/academic/briony-birdiI write a blog post for each Podcast episode, inspired by the many themes discussed with my guests. The blog posts prompt you in your reflection journey.Read the blogpost inspired by the discussion: https://tesselledevelopment.com/research-lives-and-cultures/briony-birdiAccess all podcasts and blog posts inspired by the Podcast interviews from: https://tesselledevelopment.com/podcastRegister on the mailing list to receive Podcast updates: https://tesselledevelopment.activehosted.com/f/5Get in touch for questions, queries or to suggest a brilliant contributor: [email protected]