Play Bold, Learn Deep, Stay True

Please share a short biography

I am Assistant Professor at the Institute for Public Management and Governance, WU Vienna University for Economics and Business. With a background in political science, economics and psychology, I am an experienced academic dedicated to exploring how Artificial Intelligence shapes, and is in turn shaped by, the individual actors and groups who design, deploy, and utilise these technologies. Most especially, I consider how advanced technologies change public institutions, reconfigure human relationships, and shape interactions within public sector and societal contexts.

Please provide a short overview of your job and its relation to STEM. What is your current job? What is the field about?

Through my research and teaching, I aim to actively engage with the scholarly debates surrounding disruptive technologies, and to provide evidence-based insights to guide policy and practice. As a seasoned researcher, I am passionate about understanding the political and socio-economic implications of emerging artificially intelligent technologies, and how the reconfiguration of traditional governance structures and human relationships can be harnessed to empower stakeholders and promote social justice. In the classroom, I strive to equip my students with not just a strong foundation in key concepts and issues, but also the intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills essential for lifelong learning.

Who or what inspired you to follow this career path / start this job?

Going back a few years now, I was inspired to pursue a career investigating the role of technology in politics and society after witnessing first-hand the changes brought about through the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies in government. Digging deeper into initial literature on electronic or digital government, I was struck by how little of it focused on the human implications of this disruption – questions about how technology reconfigured hierarchies, or altered fundamental interactions, or why and under what circumstances people declined to use these tools remained largely the subject of anecdotal speculation. I was determined to learn more.

What does your typical working day look like?

Does an academic have a typical working day? I am not so sure! I structure each week according to the research and teaching tasks at hand. I spend time working independently, but also interact on a regular basis with my project teams or co-lecturers. I engage in several research tasks – literature reviews, research instrument design, field-based data collection, research paper writing. For my teaching, I design curricula, prepare lectures, grade assignments, support students through their studies. I have also taken on administrative roles which involve sitting in on meetings, writing minutes, sending e-mails. In my down-time, I might participate in workshops or attend guest lectures. At the end of the day, I disappear into my other life of friends, parties, and hobbies.

Please give an overview of your study path and how you got into this career. If you could start all over again, how you would change the career path? Has there been an educational experience (formal/informal/traineeship/...) that helped you? Did your colleagues follow similar study and career paths?

I read for my degrees at universities in India and the UK. As a social scientist in a largely technical space, I have enjoyed exploring the STEM literature to inform my arguments, and collaborating with computer scientists and technical specialists on research and teaching projects. I like to think there is no single career path to do what I do – people come to academia either fresh out of university or after long stints in industry – and the only prerequisites are a curious mind, a thirst for ideas, and an openness to debate and discussion.  

What are the professional & personal key skills needed to do your job?

One can’t put an academic into a neat little box. Each of us is a unique combination of different skills and talents. That is the beauty of the profession – we play to our skills and interests to produce interesting research, and to educate the next generation of young professionals. Whatever your skillset, you will find your niche at a university, and, when you discover a gap, there is always a friendly face with exactly that talent willing to collaborate with you on the next big idea.  

What types of jobs & industry sectors can you work in, with your skills?

Never think that one is born and dies an academic. There are plenty of people with PhDs and other research degrees that cross back-and-forth between academia, government, the non-profit world and the private sector. Doing one thing or another is a calling or vocation – something that the individual needs to decide for themselves.

What are the main challenges in your job?

The rapid proliferation of Generative AI has brought academia to an inflection point, forcing lecturers, educational institutions and policymakers to rethink traditional approaches to research, learning, teaching, and assessment. Critical thinking is a muscle that needs to be built up over time and regularly exercised; however, GenAI is here to stay, and students already use these tools in a wide variety of non-academic contexts. Better understanding GenAI, its opportunities and risks, and how it can be leveraged to support learning outcomes, is for me possibly the biggest challenge for the current generation of educators and students.

What is your advice to students?

Stay curious about the world around you. Be open to new ideas, experiences, and influences. Embrace change. Work hard, play hard. Own your best work, and your mistakes. And through it all, remain grounded and respectful.

How can teachers and parents support their students / children?

Do not fear the dissenting voice in young people, nor a question that goes against the grain.