Iresha Donmanige is a PhD candidate at the University of Wollongong.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm016

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Iresha Donmanige is a researcher, educator, and psychologist whose work focuses on identity, intersectionality, and career progression - particularly among women academics in STEM. With a background in organisational psychology, management, and education, her career spans academic teaching, programme coordination, and research. Iresha is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Wollongong in Australia, investigating the career progression of women academics in Australian STEM academia.

Previously, Iresha held academic and leadership roles at institutions such as the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology and the Colombo Institute of Research and Psychology. She has taught and coordinated programmes affiliated with Coventry University and Liverpool John Moores University - both in the UK - and has supervised theses at the undergraduate level and conducted corporate training workshops on mental health and stress management. Her research has been presented at global conferences, including the Association of Industrial Relations Academics in Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ), the British Academy of Management (BAM), the European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS), and the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM). Her publications focus on identity, diversity, and careers related to vocational psychology. Combining her research expertise with extensive teaching and leadership experience, Iresha brings a dynamic and interdisciplinary approach to her work.

The day Iresha and I met to record this episode was a scorcher - 40 degrees Celsius and humid. Consequently, we elected to record this episode outside. Over the hour that we spoke, the weather gradually turned from hot and humid to cool (read: not as hot) and rainy - a change which can be heard in the shifting wind that provides the audio backdrop of this episode. For anybody who has, as I have, watched a summer storm blow in, the sounds will be strangely familiar. It's an added dimension that could not have been scripted.

Charvi Hasmukh Shukla is a PhD candidate at the XLRI - Xavier School of Management.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm015

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Charvi’s journey reflects her values of Communication, Humanity, Academia, Research, Vision, and Innovation – as embodied in the spelling of her name: CHARVI. She is driven by a deep curiosity about human behavior and a desire to contribute meaningfully to society. Her journey began early on, nurtured by her experiences as a child artist. Performing arts instilled in her the importance of communication, empathy, and understanding human emotions and interactions, laying the foundation for her fascination with human behavior and its complexities.

This fascination ultimately led her to pursue a career in Human Resources Management, where she could explore the intersection of individuals and organizations. Driven by a desire to contribute to knowledge creation and make a lasting impact, Charvi is currently pursuing her doctoral degree at India’s oldest and leading human resource management business school, XLRI - Xavier School of Management. While her doctoral research focuses on the evolving landscape of HRM, with a particular emphasis on the impact of artificial intelligence technology, skill development, and wellbeing, her research interests also extend to diversity and inclusion, International HRM, digital transformation of HR practices, and others. Her thesis - entitled "AI and Human Interplay: Exploring the Impact of Technology on Skills and Well-being" - investigates the complex relationship between technology and the human experience in the workplace. This research, conducted under the guidance of esteemed faculty at XLRI, aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of this critical area within the field of HRM.

Charvi and I first connected via the 2024 Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, a.k.a. ANZAM. She was gracious enough to visit me in my office at UTS to record an episode but when I went to check the recording file, I discovered it was completely corrupted and made us both sound like unintelligible robots.

My worst nightmare had come to pass: the recording was completely unusable. Fortunately, Charvi was still in town and willing to try again. Because we’d had a ‘dry run’, our conversation flowed very naturally and, to our surprise, went in largely different directions than the first one. As she relays in this episode, her recent experience presenting research at the ANZAM conference provided her with valuable insights and further motivated her commitment to contributing to the academic community. Toward the end of our conversation, she lays out her idea for a ‘loop’ of theory and practice development that I think all listeners will find particularly compelling.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded in my office at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on December 23, 2024, following on from the 37th ANZAM Conference.

Alice Rickert is a PhD candidate at the University of St.Gallen.

Show Notes: https://bit.ly/tkm014

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This is a unique episode of The Knowledge Mill. On the sonic side of things, Alice was game for something I’ve always wanted to try: recording an episode outdoors. As you will hear, the cicadas on the University of Wollongong campus provide a very pleasant ambient backdrop. We also took an atypical approach to the conversation itself. Rather than focusing on Alice’s ongoing PhD research, we instead delved into the overall PhD experience in an effort to uncover and share insights and reflections on what many PhD students probably need to hear, but rarely do.

Consequently, you’ll hear Alice and I share personal lessons and reflect upon challenges, yes, but also the importance of fostering kindness and community in academia. We discuss common experiences in the hope that it will remind any PhD researchers listening that they are not alone in their journey, and that their community can be found along the way. Overall, this episode sees us reflecting on the vulnerabilities, triumphs, and personal growth that come with the PhD path.

Alice Rickert is a psychologist and head of the research project addressing the Impact of HR-Analytics on Responsible Leadership at the University of St. Gallen. As a psychologist, her earlier career included roles in organisational development, HR, and leadership training, particularly in the not-for-profit sector. Blending her expertise in organisational psychology and new technologies, her research focuses on the evolving dynamics of leadership in the age of AI.

Alice is also a speaker and lecturer at various universities, colleges, and foundations and has held several elected positions at the University of St. Gallen and the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, including serving as Vice President of the Doctoral Network Association (DocNet). Currently, she is a visiting researcher at the University of Queensland in Australia.

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This episode of The Knowledge Mill was recorded on December 5, 2024 on the campus of the University of Wollongong during the 37th Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, a.k.a. ANZAM.