Co-Chairs:
Fuli Li, Xi’an Jiaotong University，fuli@xjtu.edu.cn
Amy Y. Ou, Hong Kong Polytechnic University， amy-yi.ou@polyu.edu.hk
Jasmine Hu, Tsinghua University,  hujia@sem.tsinghua.edu.cn

Overview

Many junior faculty face institutional tenure-track demands for “publish or perish” (非升即走) and “both-and” (既要又要). They often struggle to balance personal wellbeing and career aspirations, feeling physically and mentally exhausted, and experiencing confusion and helplessness in their early career development.

In parallel, doctoral students face rising employment pressure, increasing academic publication requirements, and significant psychological challenges due to the relatively long research cycle.

As a community, we deeply care of the wellbeing of our junior faculty and Ph.D students. Whether they are men or women, the insurmountable mental anxiety, stress, or even illness can be unspeakable, hidden, and in their extreme forms, harmful to themselves or others. This workshop provides a developmental forum in the IACMR community to raise awareness about the importance of career planning, development, and mental health. It offers an opportunity to share experiences of overcoming psychological struggles and interact with colleagues about how to survive and thrive in their academic careers while maintaining a work-life balance.

Target audience:

This PDW is open to all junior academics, women or men, single or married. Senior academics are warmly welcomed. The PDW includes a combination of speaker presentations, questions & answers sections, roundtable discussions, as well as the opportunity to network with peers and leading global faculty alike. Through this PDW, we hope to offer emotional and cognitive resources to junior academics, and to nurture a climate of care, support, and confidence in the IACMR community. 

Format

A 2.5-hour session:

Part 1: Welcome and introductions (approximately 3 minutes)
Part 2: Presentations (approximately 75 minutes)
A total of five presentations will be given during our PDW by accomplished scholars with personal experiences on career planning and development as well as work-life issues.

The list of confirmed speakers:

• Ningyu Tang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University & Hainan University
• Kaifeng Jiang, Peking University
• Xin Wei, Renmin University of China
• Zhijun Chen, Fudan University
• Amy Ou, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

At the end of the five presentations, we will host a 15-min Q&A section for the audience to ask the speakers questions.

Part 3: Roundtable Discussions (approximately 60 minutes)

Female Facilitators:
Erica Xu, Hong Kong Baptist University
Jane Y. Jiang, Nanjing University
Yuntao Dong, Peking University
Song Wang, Zhejiang University
Hong Deng, University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Huiwen Lian, Texas A&M University

Male Facilitators:
Yanjun Guan, University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Yidong Tu, Wuhan University
Zhijun Chen, Fudan University
Kaifeng Jiang, Peking University
Xiangyu Gao, Tsinghua University
Jingzhou Pan, Tianjing University

Part 4: Debrief Section (approximately 12 minutes)

In the final section, participants from each table can voluntarily share what they learned from the round table discussions.

Language

English/Chinese. The presentations will be in English, but participants can speak Chinese in round table discussions and Q&A sections if they feel more comfortable to do so.