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Academic Career Pathway Transitions
Academic Career Pathway Transitions — From Academic Pathways to Diverse Futures.
This event is organised by the EDI Working Group of ABCP as part of its “每月一谈” (“EDI Monthly Talk”) series.
Speaker
Dr Vanissa Wanick, Senior Lecturer in Interaction Design, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton
Dr Vanissa’s academic career spans teaching, research, and industry practice. She progressed from Teaching Fellow to Senior Lecturer while actively engaging in Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) projects and co‑founding an industry company. Her research focuses on game design, human–computer interaction (HCI), and creative technologies, with particular attention to civic engagement, diversity, sustainability, and cross‑cultural design. In this talk, she will explore how to gradually build an integrated academic career pathway that weaves together teaching, research, and industry collaboration.
Dr Sara Zi Wang, Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham
Dr Sara’s research focuses on intelligent manufacturing and three‑dimensional layout optimisation, integrating digital twins, industrial robotics, and machine learning to support advanced manufacturing and the aerospace sector. She transitioned from a research‑focused academic pathway to a role that balances both teaching and research, and has developed deep collaborations with leading international companies such as GKN, Airbus, and Siemens. The ELCAT project she contributed to received the 2025 Project of the Year Award from the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI). In this talk, she will discuss how research can enrich teaching, and share her reflections and practical experiences on academic career transitions within engineering and manufacturing.
Facilitator
Dr Shan Wang, Senior Lecturer, University of Southampton
Abstract
In today’s higher education landscape, academic careers are becoming increasingly diverse. Transitions from teaching-focused roles to teaching-and-research profiles, and from research-only positions to pathways that integrate teaching, research, and industry engagement, are now increasingly common.
To support early-career academics and researchers navigating these changes, this session brings together two speakers from Arts & Humanities and Science & Engineering to share candid reflections on their career transitions — including motivations, challenges, decision points, and lessons learned.
Format and Audience
The format of the webinar is short talks + joint Q&A
The target audience is early-career academics/researchers (ECRs) and anyone interested in academic career development and pathway transitions.
We warmly welcome you to join the discussion — and please feel free to share with colleagues and friends who may find it helpful.
How to participate?
Meeting ID: 372 003 061 660 66
Passcode: dW7eL6py