What’s your job title and how long have you been at Loughborough?

Primarily, I am a Doctoral Researcher in the School of Science, doing Computer Science.

On top of this, I am a Doctoral Leader at the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), as well as helping the University with teaching, content creation and as a Student Ambassador!

I have been at Loughborough for just over a year now.

Tell us what a typical day in your job looks like?

One of my favourite things about doing my PhD has been how inapplicable this question is. While certain days do require keeping my head down writing, the majority are hard to predict. I could be working on a video about study tips for undergraduate students, running computer labs on cybersecurity, or even in another city debating the ethical considerations of artificial intelligence.

I also recently started at the IAS, where I now help curate legacy and run events. I totally recommend to anyone reading this that they stop by for world-class research, networking opportunities and the free lunch!

What’s your favourite project you’ve worked on?

It has to be the Science Matters conference that I led on, which is our yearly PhD conference in the School of Science. Tasked with increasing attendance and engagement, we aimed to tackle two tenets of the doctoral community: meaning and memorability. PhD students often face a multitude of choices in how to channel their attention, so simultaneously piquing interest and convincing them that we were worth their time was the goal.

We decided to not overthink the theme, ‘Science Matters’ as a concept is both broad and unquestionable, why complicate it? This broadened the scope for people to be involved. We also fought for higher staff involvement and were successful in this. By building a programme with variety and value, we had tackled meaning.

Memorability came from a sponge. Advertising was varied, but the core poster and motif came from our handy kitchen tool. Alongside a motto to “soak up the viscous liquid of knowledge”, the sponge became an icon of the day, and attendees still reference it to me – a credit to its success. While the project had some bumps, watching it come together has to constitute as my favourite. I even ended up winning Lead Rep of the year, and the team won Team of the Year at the PhD awards for our work on this!

What is your proudest moment at Loughborough?

Honestly, my proudest moment was probably my year one review, which examined the work that I had done so far throughout the year. I’ve done a lot of work this year trying to understand the dynamics of young people and safety in cyberspace, particularly on Roblox, and the feedback from my supervisor and the independent reviewer was really meaningful to me. To not only understand and feel appreciated for my strengths, but also to be given the tools to become the person capable of the project was very meaningful. At the heart of it all really is the research!

Which University value do you most resonate with and why?

All of our values are important to me, but the strongest one is Authenticity. Through my work on the School of Science EDI Board, I’ve come to appreciate how important it is that people feel able to participate as themselves. Communication without barriers is very significant to me on a personal level, and I’ve seen first-hand how transformative it can be when people feel heard and included. When you can not only accept, but embrace the differences that make us who we are, the quality of life and community improves vastly.

Tell us something you do outside of work that we might not know about?

I love to travel and a huge part of that is forcing my friends and family to go out of their way to come with me to whatever eclectic attractions I find on the Atlas Obscura.

Some of my favourite spots: Britain’s Longest Bench in Littlehampton, the Fotografiska in Stockholm (where I swam in a pool of bananas), the Kugelmugel in Vienna, the Atomium in Brussels and the original Legoland in Billund.

There’s so much power and creativity in these alternative displays of culture which absolutely sweeps me up every time.

What is your favourite quote?

My favourite quote is one single word, and a song by global girl group Katseye, conceived by Chinese performance artist Alice Longyu Gao:

“Gnarly”

The beauty of ‘Gnarly’ lies in the maximalism of both the beats and the word itself. Applicable to the good, the bad and the mundane, ‘Gnarly’ is a bastion of the interdisciplinary approach, modelling the interconnectedness of the world before us, and summing up the irreverent approach which has brought me so far. Everything really is ‘Gnarly’, so don’t overthink it, have fun and be yourself.

If you would like to feature in ‘Five Minutes With’, or you work with someone who you think would be great to include, please email Martha Causier at m.causier@lboro.ac.uk.