As we gear up for the ESIL/ASIL research forum in Helsinki, I thought I would inaugurate this new webpage on a light note by bringing your attention to a blog written by my friend and colleague Frédéric Mégret of McGill University.
In The Nomadic Academic Mégret reflects on what it means to be a scholar in our globalised digital age. Whilst the blog is primarily interested in new technologies, and how they affect our research and teaching, it also offers some provocative thoughts on the ‘environmentally sustainable academic’.
Should we really travel half way round the world for a 10 minute presentation? Should conferences be grouped in time and space or should we resort more systematically to web conferencing? Do the benefits of academic conferencing always offset the carbon footprint of those attending? Should we go paper-free and convert to e-publishing? How can we change things in a system where we, as professionals, are partly judged on how many conferences we go to?
These are challenging, if not irritating, questions. We like to believe that we are part of the solution, not part of the problem. Besides, most of us spend a considerable amount of time teaching and writing on environmental problems. Can we not just enjoy our free drink?
Mégret’s Nomadic Academic may be a bit of a party pooper. Still, these are questions worth thinking about as we hop on a plane en route to our next academic gathering.
Mario Prost.
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