🔥 Fireside Talks

Fireside talks take place in the third full week of every month (counting Monday as the start of the week), rotating between Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and are scheduled for one hour, alternating between a slot from 8:00 UTC to 9:00 UTC and a slot from 16:00 UTC to 17:00 UTC. This was designed to try and optimize inclusivity across timezones and professional and private life schedules.

All fireside talks take place online at the open source system at https://hearth.opens.science/fireside-talk.

“What they don’t tell you about burnout” (facilitated by ginger coons)

🔥 Fireside Talk 1

📅 Monday the 21st of September 2026 at 8:00 UTC (10:00 CEST)

🔗 Online meeting through https://hearth.opens.science/fireside

Burnout is common in academia, but is not often discussed openly. Going through burnout alone or with only individualized support reinforces the idea that it’s solely a personal problem, not a systemic one. By discussing burnout experiences with others who have been there, we can reduce the stigma and struggle of an already difficult situation. This fireside talk makes room to discuss burnout, and offers some personal insights into the information gap in institutional burnout care.

Interested in joining? It would be great if you could register here. In that case we’ll add you to the meeting so it will pop up in your calendar.

Alternatively, you can also click this link to immediately add the event to your calendar.

“How to (not) say no” (facilitated by Gjalt-Jorn Peters)

🔥 Fireside Talk 2

📅 Tuesday the 20th of October 2026 at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST)

🔗 Online meeting through https://hearth.opens.science/fireside-talk

In academia, many invitations, suggestions, and proposals can feel like they might be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, making it hard to decline. In addition, academia’s timelines mean that the work associated to such projects is often envisioned in the (far) future, and ‘future me’ always seems to have much more time for things than ‘present me’. This fireside talk will be about navigating these tensions and strategically, or at least deliberately, saying “yes” to some things and more importantly, “no” to other things.

Interested in joining? It would be great if you could register here. In that case we’ll add you to the meeting so it will pop up in your calendar.

Alternatively, you can also click this link to immediately add the event to your calendar.

“Relationship Building for Self-Care in Academia” (facilitated by Leona Ryan)

🔥 Fireside Talk 3

📅 Wednesday the 18th of November 2026 at 8:00 UTC (9:00 CET)

🔗 Online meeting through https://hearth.opens.science/fireside-talk

When navigating complex or non-traditional approaches in academia, standard self-care can fall short. Real sustainability requires more than just solo downtime. It takes an intentional, multi-layered support network.

This session will explore how building strategic, cross-sector relationships serves as a core form of self-care. By connecting with peers both inside the institution and across adjacent fields like policy and practice, scholars can anchor themselves in shared goals, validate their work, and drive real-world impact faster. We will discuss how wrapping oneself in a collaborative, mission-driven community can protect well-being and support sustaining a meaningful career for the long haul.

Interested in joining? It would be great if you could register here. In that case we’ll add you to the meeting so it will pop up in your calendar.

Alternatively, you can also click this link to immediately add the event to your calendar.

“When belonging comes at a cost: why do we overextend ourselves to fit in?” (facilitated by Tanya van Goch)

🔥 Fireside Talk 4

📅 Thursday the 21st of January 21 2027 at 16:00 UTC (17:00 CET)

🔗 Online meeting through https://hearth.opens.science/fireside-talk

Wanting to belong can make us take on more than we realize. In ambitious environments, being a good colleague, proving ourselves, or simply wanting to contribute can easily turn into saying yes to another project, committee, or responsibility. But when does contributing help us feel connected, and when does it become another source of pressure? In this fireside talk, we’ll explore the less visible work we do to belong, how expectations and workplace culture shape it, and whether some people have to work harder than others to feel included.

Interested in joining? It would be great if you could register here. In that case we’ll add you to the meeting so it will pop up in your calendar.

Alternatively, you can also click this link to immediately add the event to your calendar.

“Self-compassion” (facilitated by Miriam Engels)

🔥 Fireside Talk 5

📅 Friday the 19th of February 2027 at 8:00 UTC (9:00 CET)

🔗 Online meeting through https://hearth.opens.science/fireside-talk

In academia, pressure can be overwhelming, making it easy to fall into harsh self-criticism. Self-compassion is neither procrastination nor laziness; it is the simple recognition that researchers are human, complete with limits, setbacks, and failed projects. It relies on three core dimensions: self-kindness, which replaces self-criticism with supportive self-talk after rejections; common humanity, which breaks isolation by recognizing that struggle and self-doubt are shared; and mindfulness, which prevents us from being consumed by negative emotions. Together, these practices help protect against burn-out and foster a healthier way of working.

Interested in joining? It would be great if you could register here. In that case we’ll add you to the meeting so it will pop up in your calendar.

Alternatively, you can also click this link to immediately add the event to your calendar.