On 15 May at 12:30 CEST, we are pleased to invite you to join our #emmaTalk “Academic Career Pathways: Support, Inclusion and Sustainability.”
The #emmaTalk will discuss challenges affecting early-career and mid-career researchers in the media management community, including short-term contracts and limited job security, as well as the cumulative pressures associated with publishing, securing funding, teaching, international mobility, and maintaining personal well-being in an increasingly competitive academic environment.
Together with Päivi Maijanen-Kyläheiko, Denise Voci, Katja Leifheit and David Simões, the #emmaTalk will reflect on the conditions, expectations and support structures that shape sustainable academic careers today. The discussion will consider the role of mentoring, peer networks, institutional support structures, and professional associations, as well as career pathways beyond the traditional route to a professorship.
The #emmaTalk will also open up questions of inequality and access, including the structural barriers that may affect women, LGBTQI+ researchers, researchers with migration backgrounds, first-generation academics, and others who remain underrepresented or structurally disadvantaged in academia. These questions connect to broader European and OECD reflections on the need to make academic and research careers more sustainable and inclusive.
About the speakers:
Päivi Maijanen-Kyläheiko is an associate professor at the LUT Business School. Her research interests are in strategic management and organizational renewal, focusing particularly on digital transformation, media responsibility, and sustainable business models in media organizations. Her current research explores how generative AI reshapes journalistic and organizational practices and strategies.
Denise Voci is a senior scientist at the University of Klagenfurt. She received her PhD in the field of media and communication studies with a focus on media economics and cross-border media management.
Katja Leifheit is an external doctoral candidate at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. She also works as a research associate at Stuttgart Media University. Alongside her research activities, she teaches courses such as “AI Literacy”, “Social Network Analysis”, and “Integrated Project in Business Studies” at Hochschule der Medien.
David Simões is a PhD candidate in Media Management at Bauhaus-University Weimar and a research assistant at Stuttgart Media University. His research focuses on revenue model design in digital entrepreneurship.
This #emmaTalk is moderated by Ivana Kostovska, senior researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and emma Board member.
We welcome everyone to listen to the panel and join the discussion online!
Registration is required to participate in the #emmaTalk. Please register using this link.