A vegetarian with a deep interest in politics and science fiction
Adam Daniel Fishwick is the scientist of the month. He is the research director at the Centre for Doctoral Studies and Research Administration, and a visiting professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Did you know that rugby is not just a name for a sport?
Adam was born in the UK, specifically in Rugby, and it is perhaps not surprising but from that town the sport got its name. “I grew up there and then moved to Brighton to study at the University of Sussex. There I did my BA in International Relations and Development Studies and an MA in Global Political Economy, before I was offered the chance to apply for funding for my PhD through the UK Economic and Social Research Council. With that grant, I spent another 4 years at Sussex doing a master’s degree in research methods and then three years of PhD research on economic development and labour movements in South America. This was a great experience, with six months of overseas fieldwork in Argentina and Chile, which set me up on the career path I am on today.”
Adam started his career in the university environment as a teacher in 2011 and in 2015 he started working at De Montfort University in Leicester where he worked for seven years in the political sciences and human resource management department. There he taught amongst other, political science and international relations. In 2019 he was promoted to Associate professor and appointed as an academic director of doctoral studies in the School. After that he was appointed as the deputy head of the academic department, responsible for research and innovation policy and strategy.
Why Iceland?
After a few years of travelling between the UK and Reykjavík, Adam decided to move to Iceland. The reason for the move is that his wife Maryam and two sons lived in Reykjavík. When a position at the University of Akureyri was offered, Adam took the opportunity and the whole family moved north in 2022.
“I love travelling and I am lucky to have been to many places for work and I also travel with my family. Then of course I watch football and my favorite team is Stoke City. But it’s not enough to watch so I go to the gym a bit.” Adam says about his recreational interests. He adds, “I also read dystopias and I work hard here and travel to find good vegan restaurants. Do you recommend anything?“
Researching both labour movements and space
Before he started his academic career Adam held a variety of jobs. “At the age of sixteen I started working in fish and chip shops, worked in garment cleaning for some time, worked in a toy factory and sold mobile phone subscriptions to companies, to name a few.”
Asked what sparked his interest though in his research he says; “I think my research interests, which have largely been on labour movements and trade unions, comes from my interest in politics that I have had for many years. It is so interesting to see how labour movements, including trade unions and related social movements affect transformations in the global economy. Recently, my interest has grown in researching the different forms of grassroots work by informal workers and I am working with colleagues in Argentina, India and Ethiopia. In Argentina today, workers are forming partnerships to take over plants that have closed down and are thus part of changes that affect the national economy. The most important thing, however, to me in all research work, is that the information gathered is used to further the development of the relevant parties.”
“I am currently participating in a new research project that looks at the development of space policy, domestic institutions and investments, in the Arctic, and how these developments have a social impact. My participation in the project focuses on Iceland, which does not have the same structure in this regard, as Norway and Sweden, which are also participating in the project. It is still important to understand how this is structured and hopefully the results will be useful here in the future. This is a new topic for me and overall I am rather excited about it!”
The artificial intelligence and the “aha” moments
Adam has been involved in many fields of teaching, from international relations and theory to urban social movements. He has taught development economics and about Arctic economics at the University of Akureyri.
“When I teach, I like to use interactive and creative ways in the classroom to get students to think critically and build their confidence. I think it’s so important that they gain the ability to develop their own view on material.” Adam says about the teaching and adds, “In my opinion, success is achieved when students can realize how to apply their studies to complex modern subjects, for example, does the organization of modern value chains need to be re-thought?”
“I also recognise that artificial intelligence has become a challenge in teaching, I’m not concerned about usage in assignments, but that the use will dilute the learning experience. Artificial intelligence can help people through material, but it reduces the likelihood of a „lightbulb“ moment when reading through material. You could say that I’m a skeptical person when it comes to artificial intelligence.” Adam says smiling.
Piece of advice: There is nothing called bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. Or is it just something Icelanders tell me when I complain about the weather?