Academia Spotlight

Petia's Journey

Could you give us a snapshot of your research background and how you got to your current position? What lead you to pursuing a position/career in academia?

I studied for an engineering undergraduate degree here at the University of Cambridge, specialising in structural engineering. I then worked for a short time as a structural engineer in the construction industry. The work mainly involved following industry design codes.
Because of this, there wasn’t much creativity or technical depth to the work I was doing.

I felt like I wanted to include more creativity and pursue projects with more technical depth. So I returned to Cambridge to pursue a PhD, which I completed in 2020.
I’m currently a Research Fellow at Newnham College. I combine my own research with supervising undergraduates at Newnham and also at Emmanuel College. I’m also an Affiliated Assistant Professor at the Department of Engineering where I teach undergraduate students. I am an accredited Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

For my own independent research, I use computer modelling to optimise the design of buildings and structures – thereby reducing material used to build structures in the built environment, leading to lower embodied carbon. I collaborate with industry partners who apply these research outputs to real building design projects.

I'm halfway through my 3 year College Fellowship. I have applied for a few academic positions at Cambridge University, but so far, I have not been successful. As well as my research, I really enjoy the teaching and supervision parts of my role. I am looking out for potential upcoming opportunities on the Teaching and Scholarship academic track at the University of Cambridge.

What do you think is the mindset of an innovator? Are there similarities between innovators in industry, entrepreneurs & academics?

I’m thinking of people that come up with new ideas and new ways of doing things and pursue these. Mostly ways of solving a current known problem. This is more applicable to practical problems but also to innovative research. You can see innovative people in industry and academia. I think that more recently, postdoctoral researchers and Academics have to be more entrepreneurial. University departments are looking to hire Academics that can secure funding for collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects, and/or attract diverse funding sources by working collaboratively with industry.

What motivated you to participate in the p2i online course?

I had participated in an entrepreneurship programme during my PhD (E-Tech), and I initially thought, “`Why do they make us do this? I’m not interested in starting a company.” But that is now a while ago and I wanted to revisit the topic “entrepreneurship”, learning new skills to get better at my job and open up more opportunities.

The p2i online course: Researcher to Innovator and Entrepreneur caught my attention because I liked that the focus of the course was not only on skills to start a business, but took a wider view on the relevance of how to be entrepreneurial in different career contexts, also in Academia. The fact that it was online, and that I could do it in my own time alongside my other time commitments appealed to me.

What do you consider as key messages or takeaways from the p2i online course that have stuck with you?

The course reinforced to me that being an academic or being an entrepreneur are not entirely different – there are similarities in what they both do and there is overlap of competencies required to be successful as an Academic and as an Entrepreneur.

And the importance of being able to communicate with different stakeholders. Knowing “business language” and navigating specialised vocabulary differences between disciplines is key to be able to conduct industry collaborations or interdisciplinary projects. Because I have been working in and with industry, I am able to adapt what and how I communicate to different stakeholders.
I was not interested in starting a company and never considered it – but now that I have participated in a few programmes and am better informed about what it entails, my mindset has changed and I can imagine myself – when the right idea/opportunity comes along – going for it.

Many researchers, like me, do not see themselves as entrepreneurs nor do they want to start a company. Participating in one single programme does not make a huge change in that belief, but may start a spark. It requires participation in multiple programmes with different emphases/angles on entrepreneurship to remind you of the skills you already have and new ones you can learn on the programme. The end point of developing these skills is not immediately to start a company – but give researchers confidence that maybe it is a possibility and that when the right opportunity comes along, they would know how to do it.

Are there any frameworks or tools that you learnt on the programme that you are still using as part of your role?

I remember the Research Canvas framework to develop and refine research ideas. I perhaps don’t use it explicitly, but I do remember that it helps to take a holistic view of the research, taking into account the various aspects of developing a research project and not only focus on the research (what and how you do the research). I think of what I should consider related to the topics of the Research Canvas (problem and context, stakeholders, impact, collaborators, risks, finances, resources).

Did you participate in any other programmes after the online course?

Yes, I’m currently participating in the RisingWISE programme, a women only professional development programme for Cambridge and Oxford postdoctoral researchers. The focus of the programme is empowering women researchers to pursue a range of careers, weaving entrepreneurial mindset/skills into the programme. The programme runs on Saturdays, so fits around my working schedule. I knew about the programme for a couple of years and I thought that this year, I would apply for it.

Can you give an example where either you or a colleague have taken an entrepreneurial approach?

One personal example is I achieved being appointed as a Bye-Fellow at Emmanual College as recognition for the supervisions I had been doing in the College. I used my prior connection to one of the College’s fellows, who then supported my ask for a more official recognition for the work I did in the college.
I will also start exploring a number of opportunities for roles after my Fellowship ends, either in College or at the University.

Another example is an Academic I work closely with approached a prominent structural engineer who worked in a company and subsequently set up a research group collaboration. This resulted in a long-term collaboration between the Department and the structural engineer who is also teaching undergraduate students – which brings a practitioner lens to the topics being taught.

What would you say to postdocs who want to pursue an academic career and perceive entrepreneurial activities as a shift away from their academic goals?

I guess I might say something like “these are skills that you'll need as an academic, especially when applying for grants and working with others on projects.”

What are the top skills would you encourage an entrepreneurial postdoc to develop, regardless of their career path?

Communication is probably the main skill to develop that people need in all jobs. All types of communication – writing for different audiences (publication, poster, blog about research, grant applications, reports) and speaking (group meetings, conferences, teaching, supervision, pitching).

And networking. Many postdocs are very focused on their research only and they don't really tend to do a lot of other things, not necessarily related to entrepreneurship, but any other things. This may be a time thing or that they don’t realise the value networking and building networks can bring to them.
It's through networking that you create that larger group of people where opportunities arise. Even for Academics that may not be interested in industry collaborations, the value of networking at conferences is that this can lead to opportunities where you can collaborate through, for example, jointly applying for a research grant.

How can a postdoc assure their PI that participating in networking and entrepreneurship programmes in a good spend of their time not only for their own professional development but also for the team?

I guess it depends how much the PI values their postdoc’s skills development. Arguably, by widening their horizons and developing networks outside Academia, postdocs can attract potential industry collaborators to the team, which also benefits the PI through securing potential funds for collaborative research.

Is the department supportive of researchers who are pursuing research commercialisation and participate in programmes?

Yes, entrepreneurship is being celebrated in the Department of Engineering. There are quite a few spin outs/start-ups from the department where postdocs are founders/co-founders and news of these are regularly highlighted in the department’s newsletters.

What is one of your current challenges and how are you trying to overcome this?

One of the things I find challenging is knowing when to say no to opportunities that I think would be fun and/or interesting. I’m good at time management – but there are many interesting and fun opportunities coming my way- I find it hard to so no, which can lead to over commitment. I think I’ve been putting priority on what I'm doing currently and probably not as much on alignment with my long-term goals. Programmes such as RisingWISE can help me to identify these goals and how to align/triage opportunities accordingly – what to say yes to, what to say no to and what to postpone. I also talk to different people in my network to help me navigate the various opportunities.

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