Jon Whittle is a full Professor in the School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University, England, and also a Chair of Software Engineering and Head of Department. He covers lots of themes including making career shifts, changing strategies when proposals get rejected, making multi disciplinary work work, creating balance, and leading by example. He lives work-life balance, describing himself as an artist and a scientist.
“You have to give yourself a break” ... “you can do very simple things” that make a difference.
He talks about (times approximate) …
01:15 His varied career path between Scotland, US, India and England
05:40 Changing fields and how to move into a new community/field
12:40 Experience in the US tenure system, difficulties getting grants, and changing strategies
15:20 Working in multi-disciplinary projects, lessons learnt and how to bootstrap multi-disciplinary team work
19:40 Work life balance (WLB) – living it as an artist and a scientist, researching it in the Digital Brain Switch Project
26:00 Being Head of Department, leading by example, structuring time, setting expectations, handling email, giving yourself a break
33:32 Three things to maintain a healthy balance – delegate, learn how to say no, be organised
End 36:40
Final notes:
‘Digital Brain Switch’ project
EPSRC Sandpits