In the United Kingdom (UK), the vision is to further develop the pharmacy workforce through career development pathways aligning to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's post-registration foundation, advanced, and consultant practice curricula, which align with the four pillars of advanced practice recognized across multiple healthcare professionals-clinical practice, leadership and management, education, and research. However, it has been recognized that research capacity, competency, and confidence within the pharmacy profession require development. It has been noted that it is this 'pillar' that most frequently impedes successful credentialing at both 'Core advanced' and 'Consultant levels'. A report presenting the findings of a UK-wide call for evidence on clinical academic careers in pharmacy outlines recommendations to embed a research culture in pharmacy careers, develop a clinical academic pathway for pharmacy, and provide a pipeline of pharmacy research leaders. The establishment of such pathways would provide opportunities for building capacity within the profession. The Scottish Pharmacist Clinical Academic Fellowship (SPCAF) programme was created to develop a network of Clinical Academic Pharmacist posts; a collaborative initiative between National Health Service Education for Scotland and the two Pharmacy Higher Education Institutions in Scotland is aimed at developing pharmacists as researchers to advance pharmaceutical care within the National Health Service in Scotland. This commentary presents a summary of an archival review completed as part of a wider research programme that adopted a case study approach with the purpose of evaluating the SPCAF programme cohort 1 (2021-23). The scope is to support others looking to develop similar practice-based research programmes aiming to build research capacity, competence, and confidence in the pharmacy workforce.

Abstract Background The college student population is in a critical stage of development where academic pressure, interpersonal relationships, and career uncertainty are intertwined, and the incidence of anxiety symptoms is continuously increasing. Anxiety not only affects learning efficiency and social functioning, but may also increase the risk of emotional disorders through long-term accumulation. Music therapy, as a non-pharmacological intervention that uses auditory stimuli to regulate emotions and physiological arousal levels, has shown promising prospects in clinical psychological and psychiatric disorders. Methods To explore the alleviating effect of music therapy on anxiety symptoms among college students and its practical application value, this study adopts a randomized controlled experimental design from the perspective of emotional regulation and cognitive arousal mechanisms. A total of 120 students with moderate or above anxiety levels were recruited from a comprehensive university, and were randomly divided into a music therapy group and a control group based on gender and baseline anxiety level, with 60 students in each group. The music therapy group received a structured intervention for 8 weeks, 3 times a week for 30 minutes each time, which included listening to rhythmically stable instrumental music and guided emotional imagination; The control group only received routine mental health education. Before and after intervention, the Self Rating Anxiety Scale and State Trait Anxiety Scale were used, and physiological indicators such as heart rate variability were recorded. Results The results showed that there was no significant difference in various anxiety indicators between the two groups before intervention (p>.05). After 8 weeks of intervention, the self rating anxiety scale score of the music therapy group significantly decreased from 56.3 ± 6.8 to 42.1 ± 7.2, a decrease of about 25.2% (paired sample test, p<.001); In the State Trait Anxiety Scale, the State Anxiety subscale decreased by 22.7% (p<.001) and Trait Anxiety decreased by 18.4% (p=.002). In contrast, the corresponding indicators of the control group only decreased by 6.1% and 5.4%, and the differences did not reach a statistically significant level (p>.05). The covariance analysis results showed that after controlling for baseline anxiety levels, the intervention had a significant main effect on anxiety improvement (F = 15.6, p>.001). In terms of physiological indicators, the standard deviation of heart rate variability in the music therapy group increased by about 19.6% (p=.004) compared to before intervention, indicating a significant enhancement in autonomic nervous system regulation ability. The effect size analysis shows that the effect size of music therapy on overall anxiety relief is 0.72, which belongs to the medium to high intensity intervention effect. Discussion The research results indicate that systematic music therapy can significantly alleviate anxiety symptoms among college students, showing positive effects in both subjective emotional experience and objective physiological regulation. Future research can further compare the differences in anxiety relief effects of different music types, intervention frequencies, and individual music preferences based on expanding sample size and extending follow-up periods, in order to improve the individualization level of intervention programs.

Journal ranking systems have evolved from evaluative instruments into powerful mechanisms of research governance in higher education, shaping academic careers, institutional strategies, and accreditation outcomes. Within business and management education, the Association of Business Schools (ABS) journal ranking system has become one of the most influential and contested evaluative regimes. This article offers a critical-conceptual review of the ABS journal ranking system, reframing it not as a neutral technical device but as a governance mechanism that structures legitimacy, incentives, and conformity across business schools. Integrating scholarly literature, policy documents, and accreditation frameworks, the review examines the origins, evaluative logic, global diffusion, and consequences of the ABS journal ranking system. It shows how the system reinforces Anglo-American epistemic dominance, incentivizes conservative and prestige-driven research behavior, marginalizes interdisciplinary and practice-oriented scholarship, and contributes to global academic inequalities, particularly in non-Anglophone and Global South contexts. By linking debates on journal rankings to business-school accreditation regimes and contrasting them with outcome-based engineering accreditation models, the study reveals a misalignment between journal-centric evaluation and mission-driven, impact-oriented education. A regional analytical case from Turkey further illustrates how ABS-oriented governance logics interact with national quality-assurance and accreditation systems, highlighting mechanisms of adaptation and institutional tension. Overall, the article consolidates major critiques of the ABS journal ranking system to underscore the importance of responsible research assessment and to outline pathways toward more transparent, pluralistic, and mission-aligned research evaluation in business education.

The mental health of students in university has become an increasingly pressing concern due to rising academic pressure, career uncertainty, and major life transitions. Identifying students’ psychological support needs requires an understanding of the challenges they face, as well as their expectations regarding support forms, intervention methods, and service providers. This study employed a mixed-methods cross-sectional design, combining large-scale questionnaire surveys (701 respondents) with qualitative interviews to assess the mental health status and psychological support needs of students at economics universities in Vietnam. The findings reveal that students commonly experience negative emotional states, particularly anxiety related to academic workload, financial instability, personal health, and future career orientation. A proportion of students reported depressive symptoms such as persistent sadness, prolonged stress, and physiological disturbances including insomnia and disordered eating. While severe behavioral disorders are uncommon, signs of declining academic motivation, social withdrawal, and weakened interactions with lecturers are evident. Students express a strong demand for mental health support, especially in career guidance, learning strategies, emotional regulation, and interpersonal problem-solving. Individual, professional, confidential counseling services are the most preferred forms of support, highlighting the need for a comprehensive mental health and psychological support system tailored to the context of Vietnamese universities.

Basic research is essential for the development of dental science, and the demand for medical doctors involved in basic research is increasing. However, the enthusiasm and resolve to engage in basic science research has declined, as understanding the necessity of and conducting basic science research with clinical observations are challenging for students. In addition, the increasing need to implement cross-disciplinarity in dental research activities has even weakened research innovation. In response, the School of Stomatology launched a programme named the Academic Career Planning Course of Stomatology Students (ACPCSS) in 2022. This study evaluated the programme's effectiveness in enhancing dental students' enthusiasm, commitment, and innovation in basic research. The programme has set up three modules to facilitate on-site or online lectures on the necessity of basic science in stomatology subdisciplines to strengthen students' enthusiasm, and the approaches of clinical-research integration to develop their resolve, and cross-disciplinary research innovation with dental science. In the cross-sectional study, questionnaires were distributed to evaluate the effect of the programme. Retrospective analyses compared academic performance-measured by publications and funded research projects-among students with different levels of lecture participation. To date, the programme has held 22 lectures, and a total of 3357 participants have attended. The participating dental students have engaged in more scientific activities, including publishing more research papers and multidisciplinary papers and acquiring more funded projects. ACPCSS is associated with improved dental students' awareness of the necessity of research, increased resolve to engage in basic science, and enhanced innovation in dental research. The ACPCSS project has cultivated participants' enthusiasm, resolve, and innovative abilities in scientific research. This was accomplished through three dedicated training modules, which emphasized: the necessity of research in dental subspecialties, clinical research integration methodology, and cross-disciplinary research exploration.

Academic Motivation and Career Aspirations of Undergraduate Students in Tribal Areas

Understanding the barriers UK midwives face in leading research: A critical discussion paper.

Professional advancement models (PAM) for advanced practice providers enhance recognition and engagement by rewarding academic excellence. This manuscript outlines the sustainability of a PAM at a pediatric medical center, highlighting integration into professional governance and performance management. Design flexibility has ensured relevance amid shifting organizational priorities. The PAM demonstrates return on investment through improved recognition, engagement, and retention, while serving as a career map that strengthens leadership's ability to guide academic career development.

Academic Career Success: Love, Family and Research Skills.

This research examines the correlation of sports activity engagement with personal growth and mental well-being among university students in Pakistan. Sports is often associated with improved physical health but its association with maintaining mental well-being is often overlooked. Students in Pakistan are often discouraged from participating in sports as it is considered disadvantageous for the students’ academic career. This study aims to change this perception by assuming a positive correlation between sports, personal growth and mental health of students. By using the cross-sectional method of research, data was collected from 150 students enrolled at different universities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 Questionnaire, Personal Growth Initiative Scale Questionnaire, and Mental Well-Being Scale Questionnaire were used. The finding of the study showed that a significant positive correlation exists between sports participation and personal growth (r = .184*) as well as between sports participation and mental well-being (r = .242**) of university students. The finding of the study has shown that university students who join sports have the ability to gain discipline, control of emotion, as well as attain well-being.

This study takes the Nanning campus of Guilin University of Technology as an example to explore the application of intelligent learning technologies (e.g., AI-driven personalized recommendation systems, VR simulation training, and learning analytics) in the education and management of student veterans—a special group in higher education. By constructing personalized learning paths and adaptive teaching environments, this research aims to address the challenges of academic adaptation, social integration, and identity transition faced by student veterans, thereby enhancing their sense of belonging, learning motivation, and academic performance. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as the core theoretical frameworks, this study verifies the facilitating effect of blended learning (integrating online intelligent platforms with offline military theory courses) on the academic adaptation and career development of veteran college students. Quantitative results showed that after implementing the intelligent learning model, the course completion rate of student veterans increased by 30% (from 65% to 85%), and the average GPA rose by 0.7 (from 2.8 to 3.5); 85% of participants reported improved learning efficiency, and 76% acknowledged enhanced interest in professional courses via VR military simulation. This study contributes to the field of Educational Technology Integration and Inclusive Education for Special Groups in higher education by providing a replicable framework for leveraging intelligent technologies to support the development of student veterans. The findings also offer insights for addressing the educational needs of other non-traditional student groups (e.g., adult returning students, cross-major learners), thereby promoting educational equity and quality improvement in diverse higher education contexts.

Background: Workplace stress and burnout have emerged as critical occupational health concerns among university lecturers, particularly amid increasing academic workloads, performance pressures, and organizational demands intensified during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite growing empirical attention, evidence remains fragmented, especially within Southeast Asian higher education contexts. Objectives: This study aims to systematically review empirical research on workplace stress and burnout among university lecturers in Indonesia and Malaysia, with a focus on identifying key stressors, associated outcomes, and protective factors. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Peer-reviewed articles published in English were retrieved from the Scopus database using predefined search terms related to workplace stress, burnout, lecturers, and higher education in Indonesia and Malaysia. After screening and eligibility assessment, 19 studies published between 2004 and 2025 were included. Methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale, and findings were synthesized through qualitative narrative analysis due to study heterogeneity. Results: The review reveals that workplace stress and burnout are prevalent among university lecturers in both countries. Major stressors include excessive workload, role ambiguity, performance-based evaluation systems, work–life imbalance, and limited organizational support. These stressors are consistently associated with adverse outcomes such as emotional exhaustion, reduced job satisfaction, impaired performance, and increased turnover intention. Protective factors, including social support, supportive leadership, emotional intelligence, and workplace spirituality, were found to mitigate stress and burnout effects. Conclusions: Workplace stress and burnout among university lecturers in Indonesia and Malaysia are multifactorial and systemic issues embedded in contemporary academic work environments. Organizational- and policy-level interventions are essential to promote lecturer well-being and ensure sustainable academic careers.

Purpose Recent research has indicated the significance of the early career phase for academic identity development. The purpose of the study is to generate a picture of how early career academics' (ECAs) identity development took shape through conceptual perspectives of positioning theory and communal self. Design/methodology/approach This article presents a collaborative self-study that documented how past, present, and future identities influenced the transition to being ECAs for an international team of doctoral candidates and assistant professors. Data sources included six ECAs' written narratives of their trajectories. Findings Thematic analysis indicated that we experienced geographic and psychological fractures as we moved into new environments, we recognized the role of others as we grounded ourselves in new environments, which facilitated our identity formation, and we exercised agency within the system. We found ECAs' identity development to be a process of continuously connecting to our purposes, passions and commitment and of negotiating our identities in relation to others for communal self. Practical implications Based on the findings, we recommend that ECAs engage in identity-focused conversations with others to help (re)negotiate tensions between past, present, and future selves as academics. We suggest that faculty members and ECAs alike be open about the ways in which they agentically and creatively operate within the academic system. Originality/value As an international team of six ECAs spanning across differing career stages, we provide concrete examples in different contexts to illustrate how the identity transitions take shape.

ABSTRACT This article explores why expatriate academics choose to work abroad and examines their perceptions of the benefits and challenges of employment at foreign universities. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 expatriate academics from 21 countries across 16 Polish universities. Data analysis identified key motivations such as career advancement, gaining diverse research and teaching experiences, and enhancing employability. Many expatriates valued expanding their research networks and boosting their academic reputation, with nearly two-thirds working in international teams – positively influencing curriculum internationalisation and staff development. Despite these benefits, expatriates faced significant challenges, including language barriers, administrative complexities, and bureaucratic obstacles. These issues affected university management practices and the effectiveness of teacher education and support systems. The study highlights the importance of responsive management strategies, such as regular feedback mechanisms and tailored staff development programmes, to better support expatriate academics. By addressing these challenges, universities can strengthen institutional capacity, enhance teacher training, and promote a more internationalised curriculum. This study advances the literature on academic expatriation by providing empirical insights into expatriate academics’ motivations, challenges, and benefits – an area remaining underexplored despite growing internationalisation efforts. It extends theoretical frameworks, such as those on international academic career and adjustment challenges. The findings offer actionable guidance for university policymakers and academic leaders tasked with internationalisation.

PurposeIn today’s diverse social environment, college students often struggle to devote sufficient time to English learning, potentially affecting their academic performance, psychological wellbeing, social development, and career prospects. This study examined a moderated mediation model to explore how English learning gains influence learning engagement, with subjective wellbeing as a mediator and pro-environmental behaviors as a moderator.MethodsA total of 1,354 valid responses were collected from 1,500 students at an independent university in Shanxi Province, China. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 and PROCESS 4.0, applying Pearson correlation and hierarchical linear regression analyses. The results revealed significant positive associations among pro-environmental behaviors, English learning gains, subjective wellbeing, and learning engagement.ResultsEnglish learning gains significantly predicted learning engagement, and subjective wellbeing mediated this relationship. Pro-environmental behaviors moderated the mediating pathway, strengthening the effects of both learning gains and subjective wellbeing on learning engagement.ConclusionThese findings provide empirical evidence on the mechanisms underlying college students’ English learning engagement and offer practical guidance for educational institutions to support student learning through wellbeing enhancement and pro-environmental initiatives.

ABSTRACT We explore career narratives of immigrant academics in Canada and the UK, using the lens of the sustainable careers framework, which is characterised by three indicators: happiness, health and productivity. Academic careers are unique in several ways: academic freedom allows scholars to research topics that are meaningful to them, thereby aligning work with individual values. Another aspect is the long-term orientation of academic jobs, which may offer permanent contracts that guarantee job security, supporting wellbeing. For immigrant academics, these issues are even more salient, as they have to adjust to a new country while managing their careers. We identify that there is a complex interplay between the three sustainable careers indicators, such that it is unlikely to have multiple indicators satisfied concurrently, and there are tradeoffs that are typical to this specific population. These findings raise awareness of unique issues that characterise the career sustainability of immigrant academics.

The second paper in the series, Art of Career Time and Timing, within Prof. Nwaru’s Career Navigator, explored career kairos recognition and discussed the four signs through which kairos can manifest and discerned. While recognizing kairos is an important step in navigating academic careers, recognition alone is insufficient. Without action, kairos remains suspended as unrealized possibility. In this third paper of the series, we shift focus from recognizing to seizing kairos, examining what it takes to act when timing is narrow, evidence is incomplete, and outcomes are uncertain. Drawing on reflective analysis grounded in my personal kairos stories presented in the second paper, the current paper explores the fragility and fluidity of kairos and the risks inherent in responding to it. Kairos moments disrupt linear career logic, often appearing “too early” or “out of order,” and are marked by an asymmetry between inner clarity and external validation. They involve high stakes, irreversible commitments, and relational risk, and demand sustained, embodied engagement rather than detached deliberation. Across these conditions, courage emerges as the central enabling force that converts recognized kairos into lived transformation. Courage is understood not as fearlessness or impulsivity, but as the capacity to commit and act under uncertainty, before confirmation arrives. The paper argues that academic trajectories are not reshaped by insight alone, but by courageous actions taken within narrow windows of opportunity, through which kairos is transformed from a fleeting moment into a lasting turning point. The paper concludes with practical frameworks for preparing to act on kairos: cultivating discernment, practicing smaller acts of courage, building supportive mentors, maintaining readiness, weighing sacrifices realistically, and acting swiftly once conviction is clear. Ultimately, the destiny of kairos is transformation. Seized with courage, it accelerates growth and reshapes identity. Missed through hesitation, it becomes a haunting “what if.” Acting on kairos is thus both the risk and the reward of a life lived fully in step with opportunity.

The percentage of women neurologists is steadily increasing globally. Nevertheless women still face lower and slower levels of career progression and are less likely to reach leadership positions. In order to obtain a better understanding of the gender gap in the area of neurology in Italy, the Gender Equality Committee of the Italian Society of Neurology (SIN) conducted a survey among the society members. Members of the SIN were invited to complete an anonymous online survey. The questions were grouped into different sections covering work environment, research, academic career, scientific societies, work/life balance and gender equality perception. The questions were structured using Likert-type scales. A total of 237 subjects (64.1% women; mean age 42.5 ± 13.6years), representing 6.4% of the SIN members, participated in the survey. A significantly higher percentage (p < 0.0001) of women than men reported that gender influences career progression (51.5% vs 5%), academic career (91.8% vs 57.1%), access to research facilities (37.5% vs 17.1%), authorship of scientific articles (34.2% vs 8.6%), selection of contributions and speakers within scientific societies (37.9% vs 16.2%), and work-life balance (76% vs 37.5%). Overall, women felt that gender equality was poor in all the different sections. In Italy women neurologists face a wide range of gender disparities affecting their professional and personal lives in the hospital and academic settings. Even if the low response rate could have affected the results, improving gender equality should be a priority in the near future.

The Comprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) initiative of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) supports long-standing collaborations between an under-resourced institution and NCI-designated Cancer Centers to strengthen cancer research workforce and advance cancer research capacity. One of the longest continuously funded CPACHE programs is the Morehouse School of Medicine/Tuskegee University/University of Alabama at Birmingham O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center tri-institutional partnership. A central component of this partnership is training future generations of investigators, which is accomplished through the research education programs that are designed to build cancer research skills, enhance mentorship, and support career development for all levels from high school students to Early-Stage Investigators (ESIs). This paper evaluates the longitudinal impact of a year-long program for ESIs and postdoctoral fellows since its inception in 2007. The data were extracted from the Research Education Core administrative records about the scholars and mentors and utilized publicly accessible databases Scopus and PubMed for publications, and the NIH RePORTER for grants. Among 89 program scholars, nearly 95% had at least one publication since their program start date. Of these, 70% had a first author, and 62% had a senior author publication. Approximately 20% of scholars obtained NIH funding as principal investigators through grants, core leadership, and/or supplements. This tri-institutional program successfully attracted investigators committed to cancer research. The outcomes suggest that structured training, intensive mentorship, and cross-institutional collaboration can meaningfully support their academic careers. These findings provide insights for strengthening similar programs to continue to meet the evolving professional needs for the development of ESIs and postdoctoral fellows, particularly at under-resourced institutions.

ABSTRACT This article considers the whittled-down Library of Professor Harold Silver (1928–2021), an important figure in both the history of education and educational policy in the latter part of the twentieth century and the early part of the twenty-first. Drawing on oral history interviews and a prepared catalogue of these books, this article considers what a working scholarly library can tell us about not only an important scholarly career, individual working practices, and the changing nature of academic publishing and careers. By using oral histories combined with the books as material, printed objects, I explore what the books can tell us individually, and reconstruct Harold’s Library and the work done within it. I also offer some reflections on the emotional experience of handling another person’s books.