Category: Academic Encounters

• People at the Heart of Climate Action: My Journey with the ACCESS Leadership College

  What is ACCESS? ACCESS stands for Advancing Capacity for Climate and Environmental Social Science. It is a five‑year programme of work that champions the vital role of social science in addressing climate change and environmental challenges. Jointly led by the University of Exeter and the University of Surrey, ACCESS is funded by the Economic and…

  Susann Power

  April 29, 2026

  Academic Encounters, Academic Reflections

  ACCESS Network, capacity building, climate action, climate-change, Dartington Hall, education, environment, environmental social science, leadership, professional development, sustainability

• Women in Academia: Getting Unstuck and Rethinking Resilience

  Let me begin with a caveat: I do not feel disadvantaged as a woman in academia. I am acutely aware of my privilege, and my academic career has been shaped, sometimes gently, other times firmly, by the circumstances of my life. To me, being an academic has never been simply a job. It is a…

  Susann Power

  March 10, 2026

  Academic Encounters, Academic Reflections

  Advance HE, AURORA, female academic, female leadership, getting unstuck, growth, resilience, women in academia

• Becoming a Human Book: Reflections From Rathlin Island’s Human Library

  Sometimes, as academics, our work takes us into unexpected spaces, both intellectually and geographically. One such moment arrived when I agreed to become a Human Book at a Human Library event on Rathlin Island. The gathering was hosted by the Rathlin Development and Community Association and the Ulster University Rathlin-Research Forum as part of the Northern Ireland…

  Susann Power

  February 22, 2026

  Academic Encounters, Academic Reflections, Beach

  adventure, Beach, community activism, enviro-leisure activism, Future Island-Island, Human Book, Human Library, Knowledge Exchange, marine litter, nature, Rathlin, solastalgia, travel, writing

• Shaping Tomorrow: Reflections from THRIC 2026

  The 2026 Tourism and Hospitality Research in Ireland Conference (THRIC) served as a timely reminder of the collective agency embedded within our academic and professional community. Since its inaugural gathering in Portrush in 2005 and following a Covid-19-induced hiatus, its revitalisation at MTU Dingle, Co. Kerry in 2024, THRIC has evolved into far more than…

  Susann Power

  February 2, 2026

  Academic Encounters, Academic Reflections

  academic agency, academic conference, conference review, education, events, hospitality, learning, research, shaping tomorrow, Special Interest Groups, teaching, THRIC2026, tourism