Travel, Internationalism, and Academia Blog
12.12.2021
Back to conferencing
Attending international conferences is one of the perks of academic life. Academic meetings are held all around the world, often in tourist-friendly locations (e.g., Hawaii, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Paris). Some of these can be quite small and friendly, and low cost, particularly if organised by small, national organisations. [Read More…]
Admin - 11:59:31 | Add a comment
20.05.2021
How well-traveled are you? Introducing the t-index
It’s a common game, particularly among backpackers, to compare how many countries they have visited. Of course, it’s all a bit silly, as the traveling shouldn’t be about totting up numbers of places, but enhancing one’s life with experiences. Nevertheless, it is a good exercise to keep record of the travels. [Read More…]
Admin - 04:26:51 | Add a comment
16.03.2021
In, and out of, quarantine
I’m in Thailand to take up my new academic position at Chulalongkorn University. As this is all happening during the COVID pandemic, the experience has been reversed: what should be exiting is now dull. My move to Bangkok, one of the most vibrant cities in the world, starts with a fortnight in the 3-star Hotel Quarantine. [Read More…]
Admin - 15:25:38 | Add a comment
07.03.2021
Academic travel, pandemic class
Back in those last few months of late 2019, before Coronavirus, I travelled frequently between South and North America, Europe and Asia, knocking up over 45,000 miles: the equivalent of flying between London and New York 13 times. I was giving seminars in Quito, Ecuador and Nur-sultan, Kazakhstan, with an apartment in each country, I was presenting at conferences in the USA, visiting family in the UK, and even spending a weekend break in Poland. With the arrival of SARS-CoV-2 my jet-set lifestyle skidded off the runway, and to an abrupt halt. [Read More…]
Admin - 06:57:45 | 1 comment
27.01.2021
At Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan
Recently I’ve been working at Nazarbayev University. This is an ambitious, internationally-focused and well-funded academic project in Kazakhstan. Opened and expanding since 2010, the university comprises impressive facilities on a single campus (plus a nearby medical school) in the capital city, Nursultan. [Read More…]
Admin - 08:58:54 | Add a comment