On the grapevine
Of effective mentorships and problematic funding
Academic protégés should go off on their own paths, and rich individuals should not be allowed to determine research topics. Two recent snippets from the global academic scene.
Brian Uzzi of the Kellogg School of Management | Image: Eileen Molony
Brian Uzzi, an American specialist in ‘leadership’ and a professor at the Kellogg School of Management, recently wrote on his Institute’s website about his current research on mentorship. He came to the conclusion that protégés of future prize-winners enjoy especially successful careers, but that they surprisingly enjoy more success, the more their own research topics diverge from those of their mentors.
Naomi Oreskes, professor of history at the Harvard University | Image: Kayana Szymczak
Naomi Oreskes, a professor of history at the Harvard University, has spoken out in the research magazine Scientific American about how the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had given millions of dollars to support researchers at her university. But she criticises how the integrity of an institution can be undermined when individuals are allowed to choose research topics according to their personal taste, just because they can pay for them.
