Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · 9d

Thrilled to announce that the Asia-Pacific Academic Mental Health Symposium will be held at The University of Queensland next year.

Please share and complete the EOI to register your interest!

uniofqueensland.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

@zjayres.bsky.social @thephdplace.bsky.social

Join us for an inspiring day of presentations , workshops and networking.

Held in person at the UQ campus and Zoom (TBC)

Places will be limited. To register your interest complete the EOI today!

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · 15d

Preparing for my event with PhD students at the University of Sydney next week.

Also printed these postcards from my art collaboration with some important reminders.

My message: Your mental health is more important than your thesis.

@thephdplace.bsky.social
#AcademicMentalHealth

Colourful postcards with reminders for PhD students

1 3

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Aug 18

Telling employees to do laundry, cleaning or floss their teeth to manage stress when they are facing potential redundancy is appalling.

Feeling for all of my colleagues at the University of Technology Sydney.

#AcademicMentalHealth

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

Uni staff told to 'wash delicates' for stress management as 146 courses suspended

The University of Technology Sydney is suspending more than 100 courses as it prepares for a controversial redundancy program to save $100 million.

www.abc.net.au

1

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Apr 22

Thanks so much Vikki for the wonderful chat! I also recommend listening to other episodes of her great podcast.

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Apr 22

😊 How my definition of success has changed. Rather than measuring my achievements in terms of publications and research grants, being successful today means looking my health, getting enough sleep, and spending time with my loved ones.

1 1 1

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Apr 22

💗 The importance of self-compassion and treating yourself with kindness and grace

1

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Apr 22

🛑 Why we need to protect PhD scholars from bullying and exploitation, and stop rewarding supervisors who do this

1

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Apr 22

😢 Why student evaluations of teaching can be damaging and actively harm mental health

1

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Apr 22

🎓 The @voicesofacademia.bsky.social blog with the fabulous @zjayres.bsky.social and the importance of listening to those of us with lived experience

1

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Apr 22

I also discussed:

📚 The Research Handbook of Academic Mental Health (co-edited with Angela Martin, Lauren Cox and Neal M. Ashkanasy) and why universities need to make significant structural and cultural changes to protect and support employee mental health

1

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Apr 22

"For me, success is getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night, having a little bit more balance, going to Pilates class twice a week... Take your annual leave. Don't feel guilty about it."

Loved this recent chat with Vikki Wright!

#AcademicMentalHealth

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/3...

3.31 Protecting your mental health during your PhD with Dr Marissa Edwards

Podcast Episode · The PhD Life Coach · 07/04/2025 · 1h 7m

podcasts.apple.com

2 5 53

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Apr 3

New work laptop stickers 💗

@academic-chatter.bsky.social
@thephdplace.bsky.social

#AcademicTwitter
#AcademicMentalHealth

1 3

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Mar 21

A reminder. Thinking of my friends and colleagues in the United States. We stand with you.

@academic-chatter.bsky.social
@thephdplace.bsky.social
#AcademicTwitter
#AdvocacyArt

A group of smiling people with the caption "Everyone belongs in academia"

5 10

Reposted by Marissa Edwards

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Mar 18

Domestic higher education enrolments are growing Down Under, potentially alleviating a government-inflicted downturn in overseas student revenue

#AcademicSky #EduSky

Domestic student enrolments on the rise in Australia

Teaching and nursing enrolments surge as students seek ‘safer’ career paths in an uncertain and expensive world

www.timeshighereducation.com

1 5

Reposted by Marissa Edwards

NTEU @nteunion.bsky.social · Mar 13

“The Federal Government must push back on the Trump administration’s blatant foreign interference in our independent research in the strongest possible terms.” – Alison Barnes, NTEU National President

Read the full media release here:
nteu.info/notrump
@alisonbarnes.bsky.social

8 11

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Mar 13

"I can't do a good job ethically and morally. I don't want to teach any more. I am so sad about it. I grieve for it."

theconversation.com/they-eat-sna...

#AcademicMentalHealth
#AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter
@academic-chatter.bsky.social

‘They eat snacks during class and swing on chairs’: the worrying, sexist behaviour of some young men at uni

Researchers have been reporting a disturbing rise in sexist, misogynist behaviour from school students. But what is happening in Australian universities?

theconversation.com

5

Reposted by Marissa Edwards

Dr Zoë Ayres @zjayres.bsky.social · Feb 21

Just migrating Voices of Academia here, from X. Please give us a follow at @voicesofacademia.bsky.social
#AcademicMentalHealth

5 23 71

Reposted by Marissa Edwards

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Feb 26

Nine out of 10 UK undergraduates who responded to a survey have admitted using generative artificial intelligence in assessments, suggesting use of tools such as ChatGPT has become routine among students, reports @julietterowsell.bsky.social

Nine in 10 UK undergraduates now using AI in assessments – survey

One in four students tell Hepi they use text generated by tools such as ChatGPT in submitted work

www.timeshighereducation.com

1 4 3

Reposted by Marissa Edwards

BillyD3 ☁️ @billyd3.bsky.social · Feb 22

Reasons to Live Through the Apocalypse

Sunrises. People you have still to meet and laugh with. Songs about love, peace, anger, and revolution. Walks in the woods.
The smile you exchange with a stranger when you experience beauty accidentally together. Butterflies. Seeing your grandparents again. The moon in all her forms, whether half or full. Dogs.
Birthdays and half-birthdays. That feeling of floating in love. Watching birds eat from bird feeders. The waves of happiness that follow the end of sadness. Brown eyes. Watching a boat cross an empty sea. Sunsets. Dipping your feet in the river. Balconies. Cake. The wind in your face when you roll the car window down on an open highway. Falling asleep to the sound of a steady heartbeat. Warm cups of tea on cold days. Hugs. Night skies. Art museums. Books filled with everything you do not yet know.
Long conversations. Long-lost friends. Poetry.

- Nikita Gill

65 680 2.6K

Reposted by Marissa Edwards

Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · Feb 21

have to edit a piece I wrote in December and unfortunately I no longer have any recollection of either said piece or indeed the person I was back in December, anything put to paper more than a week ago is as foreign and distant to me as the writings of ancient Greece

25 31 710

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Feb 22

I’m teaching seven hundred first year students in my undergrad course this semester.

So grateful to have a wonderful team of tutors with me to share the load!

I’ve been teaching large courses since 2013 but would love to connect with others to share tips and tricks. 🙏🏻

#AcademicChatter

1 1 8

Reposted by Marissa Edwards

Voices of Academia @voicesofacademia.bsky.social · Feb 22

🚨📝 New blog

Breaking Barriers: My Higher Education Journey as a Disabled and Neurodivergent Student by Alexandra Wilson-Newman

"... I’ve felt a compounding theme of accessibility challenges and systemic ableism throughout my university journey"

voicesofacademia.com/2025/02/21/b...

Breaking Barriers: My Higher Education Journey as a Disabled and Neurodivergent Student by Alexandra Wilson-Newman

Navigating higher education (HE) is difficult for any student, but for those who don’t fit the traditional mould – whether due to neurodivergence, disability, other protected characteri…

voicesofacademia.com

4 11

Reposted by Marissa Edwards

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Feb 21

Research staff at UK universities should be employed on contracts of at least two years in length, according to a new manifesto calling on employers to improve job security for thousands of researchers

#AcademicSky #EduSky

Give researchers two-year minimum contracts, UCU manifesto urges

UK universities must end use of year-long contracts that keep researchers in ‘perpetual limbo’, says union-led manifesto

www.timeshighereducation.com

1 10

Marissa Edwards @drmarissakate.bsky.social · Feb 21

I really enjoyed speaking at several universities recently about the importance of supporting PhD candidates' mental health. And love that my art collaboration with @luciatypes.bsky.social has encouraged lots of discussion about reminders. What would you add to the list?

@thephdplace.bsky.social

An image that reads PhD Student Reminders - Your Mental Health is More Important than Your Thesis

1 4 10