Each scientific publication has a very specific journey and faced numerous challenges before being published.
My third published paper from my PhD is probably one of my strongest stories of resilience. This is a paper that was included as the first chapter of my Phd but that I could only publish after submitting and defending. Started at the end of 2011, this paper was paused and restarted multiple times. I wrote this publication in different places of the world. For example, I worked on an earlier version of this paper in a writing course organised by my doctoral school in Scotland. I also worked on the paper in the bat lab of Gamboa (Panama) before doing fieldwork during the night. And I remember writing later versions of this paper after ending in my PhD, when my first daughter was having naps. I submitted the paper in July 2018 and it was finally accepted in October 2018. This publication is called „Information transfer as a reason for sociality in bats“ and there are many reasons why I like it. First of all, it is a literature review about my PhD with an evolutionary framework including a glossary. Writing a review is a challenge because of the number and diversity of topics but it helps you get a clearer idea oft he topic. Second, I am proud that I managed to publish in Mammal Review which is a guarantee of quality. Last but not least, this is my first peer-reviewed published as a single author. Importantly, this paper could not have reached its current state without the feebdack of all the people listed in the acknowledgments. This is a small „behind the scenes“ story about this publication like there are so many others. Next time you see a publication, ask yourself: „What is the story behind this paper?“. You can have a look at this publication on the website of Mammal Review. Glad to see that the paper was already cited 16 times.
0 Comments
Financial and spatial instability is what I experienced as the biggest challenges to combine professional and personal life in academia.
Before the end of my PhD, I found a great opportunity to do a post-doc. It proved unfortunately incompatible to similarly wrap up my PhD and write a funding proposal as I was expecting my first child. I had to leave academia with regrets because I wanted to become a bat professor. Years after, I can say that I am quite happy to be in the private sector because I can better juggle with my job and my private time. And I am still connected to many bat researchers that became mentors and friends. I am convinced that this is one of too many stories. Too bad that academia is not better at keeping their young researchers. But this is a win for the private sector which benefit from workers with a lot of experience in project management, critical thinking and many other topics. Feel free to share your thoughts in the replies! |
AuthorLittle blog about my bat research and conservation action |