UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, Day 1, 1st February, 2021…

…it’s roughly a year and a half since I actually started applying for the role. The surreal reflection in time is what took up most of my thinking space today.

It has taken a lot of failure, rejections, and battles with self-doubt to get here. The fact that the entire adventure is kicking off during lockdown is several places off the top spot for what is making this feel so surreal. In a way, I still can’t quite believe it. It’s worlds a way from a year ago when I was wondering how I might be putting food on the table after my last fellowship ended.

I’m going to record and write about this fellowship most days for the next 4 years…hopefully more if it gets extended for 3 additional years later on. I figure that it’ll be a good reflection for me, a way to clear my head, and a way to strip back the mystique of holding such a post. I’ve made no secret of the fact that imposter experiences have been with me for a long time, in and beyond academia, so that’s another driver for these unscripted writings and ramblings. It also follows the leadership blog I’ve shared over the past 3 years.

I want to share what’s going on in a way that keeps the edges rough and the perfectionism at bay.

This will be useful to some and probably useless to many, but I’ll be here.

See you soon.

If you have a question for Marc, upload an audio recording for it to be featured on a later Q&A episode!