Becoming an entrepreneur whilst an academic
With Dr Narine Hall
Experiencing the frustration of more limited interactions with her students during tutorials at the beginning of the pandemic, Dr Narine Hall used her entrepreneurial and computational skills to develop an interactive online platform that could replicate some of the key elements so critical when teaching face-to-face.
As an academic with teaching and research responsibilities, her move into setting up a start-up called InSpace and becoming a CEO in the middle of a pandemic was embedded in her core commitment as a professional to create products and solutions derived from research, that could make people’s lives easier.
About Narine
Dr Narine Hall is an Assistant Professor and Program Director in Data Science at Champlain College (USA) in Vermont. Her experience in industry and start-ups has been key in innovating tools for educators during the pandemic. She is now CEO of the start-up In Space which is transforming interactivity in online classrooms.
Get in touch with Narine via LinkedIn
Listening to our conversation will prompt your thinking about:
What kind of entrepreneurial experience is available to you that could fuel your interest for the world of start-ups and industry?
Have you considered “your value fit” to your current institution or to the positions you are applying for?
What are you doing to lift up those who are coming behind on the career path?
Who are you reaching out to, to be part of your “village”?
Some reflections and questions to ponder based on my discussion with Narine
Considering the fit between your core values and the values of your institution
When I asked Narine what it had been like to move back from industry into academia, she mentioned two elements that may have made her transition easier. She had only spent a short time in industry and moved back into academia relatively quickly as she had been missing her involvement in research. She had tried to maintain a publication track record for this period. Narine acknowledges that depending on the type of company you are working for, publishing your work may be something that is not possible depending on your professional context. What was interesting for me in her response was the mention of the types of institution that she decided to apply to for an academic role. It is possible that the institution she chose was her preferred choice because she already knew the institution and lived nearby. Sometimes, practical matters (e.g. partner working in a specific city, price of housing in a region, being prepared or not to commute long distance) are deciding factors about where we choose to apply.
Re-joining a university that we are already familiar with (e.g. somewhere we have studied before, done our PhD or a previous Postdoc contract), and where we already have a network of contacts from previous work, may be factors that motivate us in attempting applications in specific institutions.
What picked my attention from what Narine said was that she chose an institution that valued what she had to offer. She did not try to fit a mould that was not her mould. She was enriched from her experiences of working in industry and start-ups, and of her interest in applied research. The institution she applied to wanted that, valued that side of academic work. What she had to offer was part of the culture of the institution about how it perceived and valued the role of its academics.
Academics and researchers in search of their next position may feel that they have to fit a certain formula of what academics need to have achieved. Of course, I can’t deny this is the case in large parts, but I firmly believe in living your academic life on your own terms and in finding the right environment to live your research life in the way that you want. There are so many different types of research spaces, and one might be just the right one for you, for your next step. Not giving up on your research dreams and not abandoning your own values about how you want to live your research life takes exploration, reflection, resilience and a lot of courage.
Valuing what we have to bring to the research environment or other professional environments starts by being true to ourselves. Trying to make ourselves look different than what we really are, or trying to showcase values that we do not abide to can result in a lot of misery in the long term.
Where are you at in finding the right research space that will “fit” how you want to live your life as a researcher- research professional?
o Do you know what you bring as a researcher?
o What is your value proposition?
o Can you articulate your value proposition to a potential employer (academic and beyond)?
o Do you know the values and ethos of different organisations, and how do these match the way you want to contribute in the research environment?
Lifting others to the next stage in their career
It is so easy to dismiss our own achievements and to not want to make a big deal of our research journeys. Yes of course we have worked hard, we have sacrificed a lot to get to where we are in our research careers, we have failed at things and we have had some wins. Our paths may be messy, full of twists, turns, failures, regrets and mistakes. The minimum we can do to support others is to share with them our paths, not to tell them that this is the way they should navigate themselves their careers, but really to lighten up the path so that more junior colleagues are able to navigate with a bit less darkness the research environment.
For many researchers who are still on temporary research contracts, they may feel that they do not have much to share yet as they have not “made it”. This is far from the truth. You have plenty to share with more junior peers. Your experience are insights others need. Do not keep your wisdom hidden. Value your experiences even when they are challenging.
Over the years, I have invited many academics to come and share experiences during workshops, or even through the interviews of the Podcast. What has been interesting to me has been the reflections that people have had after the talk they have given or even after the interview for the Podcast. People have told me many times that giving the talk or doing the interview had been an insightful process of reflection. They had become aware of things that they had not taken the time to reflect on before. They had become more aware of how certain experiences had shaped their paths. They had more awareness of their own wisdom because they had been daring enough to share their experiences.
What are you doing yourself in your research community to share your own experience of your research life so that your understanding of the rules of the game in the world of research can support the journey of someone else?
o Could you volunteer a career seminar about your research journey to undergraduate students/ schools/ Postdoc or PhD events etc?
o Could you tell a younger colleague that you are happy to talk with them if they need any help in figuring things out about their research journey?
o Have you considered attending some training sessions about building your coaching and mentoring skills?
Creating your own village
Narine uses the metaphor of the “village” when talking about the support network that you may want to create around you at any point in your professional life. It is a valuable term as it conveys important ideas about building networks:
Villages are usually small communities. You don’t need to have a massive network to feel that you are well supported. Your village could be made of just a few people from your research team, department, institution, research community. Your village is broader than your role as a researcher, it is composed of all the various people you know (e.g. family, parents at the school gate, administrators in your department, tutors at your exercise class). All these individuals may have the potential to support you in your research journey in one way or another. Do not dismiss informal conversations and encounters, and the wisdom gained from sharing with others challenges in your professional life.
Randomness of encounters. In a village, you may take your dog for a walk, meet someone randomly and strike an interesting conversation that fuels you with ideas, joy and energy. What is the research equivalent of walking your dog in the village? What do you do to be part of research spaces where informal interactions/ discussions energise your research engine?
Is there a “handyman or woman” in this village? This is someone or multiple people who are there to bring multiples skills that you do not have, who can help you problem solve or who are prepared to give you a hand at revising a paper/ a grant.
Do you have an old lady or an old man sitting on a bench in your village? Someone who is very advanced in their research maturity and is prepared to take the time to listen. Could this be someone who feels a bit less the pressure and the endless time squeeze of early career academics, and can really be there for you, when you need to unpick your research challenges?
o Who do you have now in your research village?
o Who is missing?
o Who would you be excited to invite in this beautiful village you are creating for yourself?
“For me the solution is you really have to find your village, right. So these are people who support you, who are right there for you.”
