What does this award mean for you?
The NextGen Leadership Program award is an immense recognition of my research and an assurance of my prospects for an academic career. The self-defined program allows me to strengthen my research profile through publications and prepare better for academic job applications.
Which mentor did you choose and why?
I have chosen to work with Prof. Dr. Taina Bucher from the University of Oslo. Bucher is a digital media studies scholar whose work on algorithmic practices, software infrastructure, and society has been crucial to my research on cultures and infrastructures of computational design. Her work is internationally received in the critical studies of algorithms, digital media, and science and technology studies (my home field). I’m also interested in expanding my academic network in the Nordic countries. I recently had my first meeting with Prof. Bucher, and it was exciting and helpful to hear her opinion on my career track and plans.
What does this award mean for your career?
My goal as an academic is (one day) to become a professor in a field close to my research interests, i.e., science and technology studies with a focus on digital technologies and computation, critical digital studies/media studies, or within an interdisciplinary program on emerging technologies (design) and their social embedding.
What are your next plans?
My plans for the NextGen Leadership program in the next 1,5 years involve a few different but connected components critical to progress in my academic career: strengthening my publication record, developing new research projects (and proposals), and continuing to advance my teaching track and pedagogical skills. To achieve that, I am planning activities that will contribute to the completion of a few single- and first-authored journal publications, the development of new courses and lectures, and the composition of my application materials for research grants, a junior research group, and professor positions.
What does it mean to work in a Cluster of Excellence and what specific opportunities have been offered to you as an early career researcher?
Research work in a Cluster of Excellence is a remarkable opportunity—particularly for early career scholars—to experience and learn how to design and coordinate an interdisciplinary research project. These are fundamental aspects of academic careers, especially for those of us aiming for leadership roles. Moreover, participating in innovative research projects integrating advanced computational technologies, materials, processes, and social questions has provided an incredible learning opportunity for me. I am grateful to be part of such a research framework and community.
