Panel

I was on a panel with some colleagues today talking about international careers in academia. In comparison to the other people on the panel, my career has been supersedate, at least in mobility terms. I guess I was also the oldest, by some distance, on the panel, which also means that my experience has been shaped by different factors. One thing that came out of the discussions across the panel and between the panel and the audience is just how family friendly Finnish academia is. Almost all my Finnish colleagues have children. Almost none of the international academics in the Collegium have children unless they are fully grown up, like mine. None of the younger ones do. The conditions of their careers thus far have militated against it.

Academic careers were very much on my mind today, as my striking colleagues (I stand in solidarity) in the UK rejected the offer made in relation to our rapidly diminishing pensions.

In other news, Mr A set off back to the UK to deal with the last bits of the kitchen build. We'll be reunited later in the week in a different country altogether.