(Episode 155) What Shapes a Researcher? Reflections from a Worldwide Universities Network Series

🎙️ In our latest episode of Research Culture Uncovered, host Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths explores a deceptively simple question: what actually shapes a researcher?

Drawing on reflections from a Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) series, this episode brings together voices from across global research development sessions — exploring research vision, impact, careers, culture, and identity.

🔹 Why research vision matters — and why it’s so hard to articulate

Hear insights from Dr Jim Baxter on developing long-term direction, and why the pressures of funding, publishing, and short-term goals can pull researchers away from the bigger picture.

🔹 What counts as “impact” — and who decides

Explore reflections from Ged Hall on how impact is shaped by discipline, national context, and institutional priorities — and whether researchers follow or challenge those systems.

🔹 Research culture beyond the buzzwords

Dr Marjorie Boissinot unpacks the complexity of research culture across global contexts, and why much of what shapes culture isn’t always labelled as such.

🔹 Creating space to think — even in busy, online environments

From Taryn Bell’s session, discover how meaningful reflection can happen even in large-scale virtual settings — and why researchers are more ready for these conversations than we might assume.

🔹 Visibility, identity, and showing up as a researcher

Through Ruth Winden’s work, explore how researchers navigate professional identity — balancing authenticity, visibility, and the expectations of academic and non-academic audiences.

🔹 The emotional side of research we don’t always talk about

From Heledd’s own session on rejection, this episode reflects on the shared emotional realities of research — and how creating space to acknowledge them can shift how we move forward.

💡 If you’re thinking about your own direction, identity, or place within research — this episode offers space to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what matters.

Links and resources

🔗 Worldwide Universities Network (WUN)

https://www.wun.ac.uk/

🔗 LinkedIn (contributors)

Jim Baxter – (follow Jim on LinkedIn)

Ged Hall – (follow Ged on Bluesky and LinkedIn)

Marjorie Boissinot – (follow Marjorie on LinkedIn)

Taryn Bell – (follow Taryn on Bluesky and LinkedIn)

Ruth Winden – (follow Ruth on Bluesky and LinkedIn)

Follow us on Bluesky:

@researcherdevleeds.bsky.social (new episodes are announced here)

@openresleeds.bsky.social

@researchcultureuol.bsky.social

Connect on LinkedIn:

@ResearchUncoveredPodcast (new episodes are announced here)

📩 If you would like to contribute to a podcast episode:

researcherdevelopment@leeds.ac.uk