Advise for the young at heart – Human Robot Interaction

Completing a PhD is a major accomplishment but it is only the start of an academic career. A study by The Royal Society found that only 3.5% of students that complete a PhD secure a permanent research position at a university. Of those lucky few, only 12% (or 0.45% of the total) make it to professor level. Those lucky few that make it must surely have some wisdom to share. I asked academics in HRI what advice they would give their younger selves. While talking to Rob Sparrow, Alan Wagner, Mari Velonaki, Guy Hoffman, Kimmo Vanni, Amit Kumar Pandey, and Franziska Kirstein about their careers certain patterns emerged. Perseverance, focus, patience and luck are amongst the factors that influenced their academic careers.

ISSN 2703-4054

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Author: bartneck

Dr. Christoph Bartneck is an associate professor and director of postgraduate studies at the HIT Lab NZ of the University of Canterbury. He has a background in Industrial Design and Human-Computer Interaction, and his projects and studies have been published in leading journals, newspapers, and conferences. His interests lie in the fields of Human-Computer Interaction, Science and Technology Studies, and Visual Design. View all posts by bartneck