Excellence is a term that is often used in academia. While we all probably have some idea of what this term means, it tends to remain superficial and generic. We therefore contend that to really understand and appreciate people, excellence should always be viewed in context. Without this, you often don’t see the complete picture, hampering appropriate judgement of someone's performance. Through this, talents can remain unrecognized and underappreciated. Failures, for instance, are rarely discussed, although they have a substantial effect on overall performance. Moreover, the contexts in which people operate can differ substantially, whether due to educational demands, caregiving responsibilities, or other factors. All the while, time is scarce, forcing us to make choices on where to focus our efforts and where not.

This raises the question: What does excellence mean for people in academia, and what does it take to foster and sustain this kind of excellence for the future?

In this podcast series, we aim to discuss and reflect upon ‘Excellence’ in context. Guests discuss how differences in opportunities, demands and constraints impact one's academic career, offering insights from different perspectives. We hope that these discussions will increase awareness, encourage reflections, and foster discussions on context-dependent opportunities and constraints to flourish in academia.

Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

How do we sustain excellence, both at a personal and university level? In this episode, two senior TU/e colleagues dive into these questions by reflecting on their career paths, how they view themselves within the context of excellence, and what they think is needed to sustain and foster it. We learn that success often depends on others as well as yourself, and that we need people who can recognize talent in others and take a backseat while helping them to thrive. Sustainable excellence should be addressed at the university level and a university that strives to be an excellent employer should not push everyone to become excellent in every area.

Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Is someone who obtained a personal grant excellent? And someone who didn't destined for failure? In this episode, two close colleagues at TU/e, one of whom obtained a personal grant, while the other didn't, engage in an open conversation about the differences in their career paths and the effects a personal grant (or the absence of it) can have on it. We learn that while personal grants can indeed open doors, they close others, and come with considerable pressures. The discussion nuances and questions the status of personal grants and concludes that they not only require a considerable dose of luck, but also a particular set of interests and motivations that not all (excellent) academics necessarily have.

Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com