Spend 40% of the time researching, 20% actually writing and 40% editing and rewriting.

Sometime back, I took part in a webinar about academic writing and the issues that lead to challenges when reporting or documenting research. The webinar was hosted by Daphney Grant. The points raised in the webinar are those I have often struggled with in my research and in projects, especially in the initial stages when there is a lack of clarity. A summary of the issues discussed in the webinar.

1. Failure to budget time effectively. Tell me about it!

2. Editing while writing, which is destructive because …

From mid-October to mid-November 2019, I was in the UK for a research visit. The opportunity to collaborate closely, exchange ideas, learn from another perspective while in a different work environment is always welcome. KAUTE, The Finnish Science Foundation for Technology and Economics, funded the research visit. While in the UK, I worked with Dr Rachel Burrows.

Digital Interventions for the Marginalised in Society

The aim of the visit was to investigate the use of digital interventions to address the needs of the marginalised in society, to understand the challenges in designing these interventions and the opportunities they avail.  The …

Two years ago, I registered for a pitching event in the week before mid-summer of 2016 in Turku. I arrived in Turku early in the morning, so I had time to review my presentation in peace. The hour spent at the park by the Aurajoki River practicing before the event venue opened helped calm my nerves. It was a calm, bright and warm summer morning with few people outside. The mind could drift away while watching the river flow and listening to birds,

My pitch went well and there were also interesting presentations from other participants. As I travelled over …

During my doctoral studies, I attended a few PhD defences. Sometimes I made notes of the important points/questions raised whenever I attended any defence. Some opponents concentrate on the methodological approach and the rationale for the overall study, whereas others focus on the definition of terms and the practical implications of the research or a bit of both. As our group’s research focuses on persuasive systems design and behaviour change, the opponent during one of my colleague’s defence, asked for an actual situation where an application could change behaviour. This was not about one particular system, rather …