Balancing the Early-Stage Career Path as a Pracademic: An Autoethnography Study from China

• In Event: Pracademia: Impacts and Pathways

Abstract

Pracademics combine two roles as scholars and practitioners. Despite the unique contributions of pracademics in connecting knowledge and practice for improved knowledge generation and development outcomes, the way pracademics balance their two roles, especially in the early-stage career, remains underexplored. This study investigates self-identity formation, balancing practices development, and early-career pracademics' career planning. Drawing upon auto-enthnography, this study focuses on the first author’s own experiences, where the author simultaneously pursued a doctoral degree, promoted sustainable finance, and established a nonprofit recommendation platform in China from 2018 to 2023. This paper makes three contributions. Firstly, it employs auto-ethnography to analyse motivations and concerns for self-positioning as pracademics. Secondly, it highlights the challenges pracademics face in balancing knowledge generation and practical impact, discussing the successes and failures of developing coping strategies. Thirdly, it explores the possibilities and decision-making processes in an early-career pracademic's professional planning. Additionally, this research provides a critical discussion on the necessity and function of pracademics in the developing context of China and beyond.

Authors

• Ke Lu, University of Hong Kong

• SHIQI PENG, The University of Hong Kong