By 
Chancellor’s Fellow and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Edinburgh
https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/stella-chan
Tel +44 (0)131 651 3935 stella.chan@ed.ac.uk
My name is Stella Chan. I am an Academic Clinical Psychologist based at the University of Edinburgh.
I have to be honest that when I applied for the Scottish Crucible, the biggest motivation was to advance my CV. While being selected for a nationwide leadership programme through a highly competitive process no doubt has enhanced my CV, I soon became aware that the true gain was much more than that. The Scottish Crucible has provided a much needed space for me to reflect on my career, identify gaps and limitations, and build confidence and skills to move forward. This was made possible through the intense residential workshops; there is nothing like being ‘trapped’ for 48 hours (three times!) with other early career researchers to heighten one’s sense of purpose! The variety of speakers was incredible, from senior academics to industry partners, and from policy makers and funding bodies’ representatives to journalists.
The most memorable part for me was a session where established academics shared their failure stories. We have all heard plenty of successful stories, but hearing failure stories have been truly inspiring. Above all, I am really grateful to have met so many other early career researchers, and many of whom have since become my friends and supportive networks. Thanks to Scottish Crucible.
