Andrea Kis receives doctorate in research on the sustainability of scientific systems and academic careers

Surviving Academia: Sustainability in Science and Careers

January 31, 2025

In her research Andrea Kis studied the sustainability of science and academic careers, focusing on working conditions, psychological values and system sustainability

Image: Wenjin Chen on iStock

On 30 January, Andrea Kis from the Technology, Innovation & Society (TIS) group received her PhD for her research entitled “Surviving academia: Studies on the sustainability of science and academic careers'. In her dissertation, Kis examines the sustainability of scientific systems and the human factors behind science.

Research experiences

Kis' research focuses on the experiences of young researchers and their work environments. She found that while many doctoral students experience good conditions, some face inadequate supervision and less than ideal research environments. These conditions can lead doctoral students to consider ending their academic careers, which conflicts with sustainable development goals.
Psychological Values

In her second and third papers, Kis discusses the psychological values of academic researchers. A better understanding of what individual researchers value can help improve academic careers and make science more attractive to a more diverse group of individuals.

Sustainability of Science

Kis' fourth paper conceptualizes sustainability within the scientific system. She emphasizes the importance of thinking collectively about the reliability of the knowledge produced and the sustainability of the academic workforce. By using sustainability frameworks, we can better understand how we do science and develop solutions to current problems within the academic system.

Andrea Kis defended her thesis 30th January. Title of PhD thesis: “” Supervisors: Wybo Houkes, Elena Mas Tur, Daniël Lakens and Krist Vaesen.