Nicholas Dirks is President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences, one of the oldest scientific organizations in the United States. Previously, Nick served as Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley and Executive VP and Dean of the Faculty for Arts and Sciences at Columbia University. He is the author of eight books, including the forthcoming book, City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University.   In this episode shares his own experience of the PhD and starting out on an academic career.     Nicholas offers his perspective on the changing culture of academia and the particular challenges and opportunities that are in play.   He then explores the idea of graduate education and alternative forms of knowledge production and dissemination.   Nicholas emphasizes the importance of connecting graduate programs with pressing global issues, such as AI, climate change, and geopolitical tensions, in order to prepare doctoral candidates for meaningful contributions to the world beyond academia.   We finish the episode with a top tip around writing and inspiration.    You can connect with Nicholas here:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickdirks Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-dirks-84a1ab149/ Website: https://www.nicholasbdirks.com/   For a transcript of this episode go to www.thephdliferaft.com If you would like to receive a useful weekly email from the PhD Life Raft you can sign up here for ‘Notes from the Life Raft’: https://mailchi.mp/f2dce91955c6/notes-from-the-life-raft