Life at SCANCOR
Tips and ideas from the current postdocs for incoming scholars
Here are some reflections and opinions of SCANCOR postdocs to help incoming SCANCOR scholars orient themselves. We plan to update the document periodically, so let us know if you have additional information that could be useful to SCANCORians.
Arno Kourula, Maja Lotz, Sara Värlander, Arild Waeraas
From an affiliated Visiting Scholar
SCANCOR, a unique gateway to Stanford and the possibility to network, share, engage with and learn from other scholars, researchers and students in all a kinds of academic fields both at SCANCOR and Stanford as a whole.
What you need to before arrival
Academically: Be prepared and know what you want to use your stay at SCANCOR for. There is no so-called usual way to do things or structure to step into, so it is entirely up to you. The openness can be a challenge but is most of all a gift to explore. Concentrate on your work, and network with people within your field of interest. Even if you plan well be prepared that it will be different and you don’t know all the great possibilities beforehand.
If no office space is provided, many of the Stanford libraries has great rooms for working.
In terms of attending courses find out before you arrive what courses you would like to attend and contact the person teaching about auditing the class. Stanford is also a unique possibility to attend a lot of open seminars and workshops that takes place all over campus. To find information you have to surf around and sign up for the possible newsletter at the different institutes.
In terms of practicalities, the first weeks after arrival is getting everything settled with housing, finances, transport etc. The SCANCOR guide is very helpful!
Rikke Dalsted, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
From an affiliated Visiting Scholar
My stay at SCANCOR and Stanford has been both challenging and exciting, but most of all immensely rewarding and inspiring. Here I have established contacts that will be important for my future work. My primary advice to incoming SCANCOR researchers is to leave as many obligations and commitments to your home institution as possible, so that your main focus is on what's going on here at Stanford – and in the BayArea. The possibilities for academic input and exchange here are enormous! Make sure to challenge yourself and seize the opportunity to meet and discuss with people who previously were only names on a title page.
There is no doubt that moving overseas takes a lot of effort. Expect it to take at least a couple of weeks to settle in and get your everyday life organized. The move away from familiar surroundings at home will guraranteed trigger new ideas, and provide new perspectives on your research. A huge advantage of being associated with SCANCOR is that you get to know colleagues to discuss and share the experiences of visiting Stanford. Through the regular weekly seminars SCANCOR scholars also become familiar with each other's work, hence providing valuable common ground for discussions.
Siri Øyslebø Sørensen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
From a Visiting Scholar
SCANCOR/Stanford is a unique place for reflection and learning. To paraphrase Matt Ridley in his book The Rational Optimist: "Stanford is a place where ideas can have sex ". To benefit from this stimulating environment you must come prepared. Not only in practical terms but mentally. My best advise before you arrive is to set goals for your stay and develop a game plan for getting there. For PhD students: how far will you move your dissertation? For Postdocs: which articles from your dissertation will you submit and where? For senior faculty: how can you further your own development and contribute to others development. SCANCOR/Stanford is a very fertile place for creative thinking. You will be exposed to many talented people who willingly will share and develop their idea with you. Use the opportunity to advance your own thinking with these talented people. Trust me: it is a unique experience!
Tor W. Andreassen
Professor, Chair, Department of Marketing
Associate Dean MSc program in Marketing
BI Norwegian Business School
From an affiliated Visiting Scholar
I and my family have had a great time and I can’t think of anything that could have made my stay better. Apart from that we should have applied for a year, not only a spring…!
* Make sure to start the visa-application process well in advance. The US is an extremely bureaucratic country.
* Don’t worry if not everything is arranged before you depart from home – things will work out as you come to California; many things are easier to arrange here than from home. (This might mean that you have to live temporarily in a motel for the first weeks or so, though.)
* For those with children to be enrolled in school: one thing that will save you a lot of money is to make sure you have your doctor at home fill in, sign and stamp the medical forms required for beginning school. If you don’t know which school district you will start – don’t worry, print out the requirements for the Palo Alto school district and trust that these will do also in the other school districts. It may also be good to know that your child will not have to take all the shots required by the school districts – as a parent you can “waiver” them – which will be accepted if your doctor supports and signs this decision.
* If you have children in school, make sure to have time to also participate in their lives. School finishes early (especially if you have a 5-year old enrolled in Kindergarten), and you need to arrange for some kind of child-care in the afternoons if your aim is to work full time. American children also have a lot of homework, and in the beginning you will be needed to help out with it.
* The weather in California is nice, but the (too) efficient air conditioning systems everywhere make it cold indoors. Make sure to not only bring summer clothes. Also in California you will need long sleeved shirts, pants and a jacket.
* Many people at Stanford think all SCANCORians are sociologists (possibly due to the directors having been sociologists). This will affect how they respond to you and your work.
* The seminar culture in the US (at Stanford?) is tough. When presenting your work you must be prepared for a lot of criticism, questioning in a way that may not feel constructive. This is especially true if you do qualitative studies. (Most people at Stanford do quantitative work.)
* You and the other SCANCORians will together set the tone for the Friday informal seminars. Think about how you can contribute to creating a constructive climate for discussion. Don’t see it as a place to “show off ” your own knowledge, but as an opportunity to help and support your SCANCOR colleagues.
*Don’t make too extensive plans of what you will do while here. And don’t agree on doing too much for your home university. There are so many interesting things happening at Stanford and in the business community in the area that you will be able to participate in and it is a pity to not have the time to due to other commitments.
* Don’t receive too many visitors. You and your family will need time also during the weekends to not do anything in order to recover from the effort it takes to get accustomed to the cultural differences.
* Take the opportunity to travel, in California as well as in the US.
Anette Hallin, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
From an affiliated Visiting Scholar
The numerous discussions I had with faculty, other visiting scholars, and students of very different backgrounds were simply priceless. It would be an understatement to say that I only learned about new research streams. Rather, I came to understand many intellectual traditions and ways of thinking. Despite being close to completing my dissertation, even now I can view my current work as part of a much greater whole and also explore new research opportunities through a broader lens. SCANCOR was an experience that surpassed even my highest expectations.
Juhana Peltonen, Aalto University
