Marek Kwiek I Social Stratification in Science

Academic profession studies of the future: Big data should complement surveys and interviews, while macro-level analyses should accompany micro-level studies.

ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/ih...

Assistant, Associate or Full Professor, AI & Society The Department of AI and Society (AIS) at the University at Buffalo (UB) invites candidates to apply for multiple positions as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Full Professor. The new AIS ...

AI & Society faculty opportunity posted just this month with a start date of Fall 2025 and beyond: www.ubjobs.buffalo.edu/postings/57734 ‼️🐂

For "interdisciplinary scholars whose research agenda connects the study of AI with humanistic and/or social scientific line(s) of study"

How to win a Nobel prize: what kind of scientist scoops medals? What subjects have past winners studied? What age were they when they won? Where do they live? Nature crunched the data on every science prizewinner to find out.

"Your best chance of winning comes when you’re 54, the age of 24 recipients. The average age of all laureates is 58."

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Just a reminder that this is tomorrow!

Using ChatGPT to write essays may be eroding critical thinking skills A team of neurologists and AI specialists at MIT's Media Lab has led a study looking into the brain impacts of large language model (LLM) use among people who engage with them for study or work. They ...

"A team of neurologists and AI specialists at MIT's Media Lab has led a study looking into the brain impacts of large language model (LLM) use among people who engage with them for study or work".

phys.org/news/2025-06...

Nature Index 2025 Research Leaders: United States losing ground as China’s lead expands rapidly - Nature Index 2025 Research Leaders

"Although the latest data predate the current Trump administration, observers warn that funding cuts will accelerate the rate of China’s gain"

www.nature.com/nature-index...

Good to remember! It is all about probabilities!

Big Data and Academic Profession Studies: Toward a New Research Agenda Academic profession studies need a mixed lens: big data plus surveys/interviews, macro paired with micro analysis. Large/small survey findings differ from interviews, but combined they yield sharper t...

My short programmatic paper just out!

"Traditional social scientists must now compete with data scientists and computational social scientists, who increasingly focus on issues long explored in higher education research".

ihe.bc.edu/pub/7j5k6uda...

Are Scientists Changing their Research Productivity Classes When They Move Up the Academic Ladder? YouTube video by Marek Kwiek - Global Academic Careers

Interested in publication #productivity from a scientist's #lifetime perspective? Listen to this 12 minutes #discussion of my research!

youtube.com/watch?v=WcRt...

Authorship for sale: Nature investigates how paper mills work Companies selling authorship slots thrive in a culture that equates success with a strong publication record. Customers, sleuths and the shadowy owner of a paper mill explain why.

"Companies selling authorship slots thrive in a culture that equates success with a strong publication record. Customers, sleuths and the shadowy owner of a paper mill explain why."
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

If AI takes over more work of college graduates, where does that leave higher ed? Experts at the Higher Learning Commission's annual conference shared strategies to help institutions navigate an increasingly automated world.

"With massive increases in computing power and data storage, AI can perform some of the same tasks through the blunt forces of processing and analysis that higher ed has traditionally helped to hone in humans."

www.highereddive.com/news/ai-whit...

How China is vying to attract the world’s top scientific talent Hundreds of policies across the country have been designed to lure researchers and new graduates to settle there.

War on talents...

"Across China, cities and provinces are seeking researchers, students and innovators — both homegrown and from abroad. In return, they’re offering large sums of money, as well as housing, health care, work for their spouses and other benefits."

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Jumpers-Up and Droppers-Down in Research Productivity? No Chance – Marek Kwiek YouTube video by Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford

Thank you @Stanford @METRICS for this seminar on high research productivity! It was a great experience!

It is now on YouTube! Thanks so much. Fourth time, once a year...
youtube.com/watch?v=E-ye...

Quantifying attrition in science: a cohort-based, longitudinal study of scientists in 38 countries YouTube video by Marek Kwiek - Global Academic Careers

Interested in research on #"leaving science" conceptualized as #"quitting #publishing"?

Here is the story told in 16 minutes, an excellent discussion!

Kwiek, Marek, Szymula, Lukasz. #Quantifying attrition in science: a study of scientists in 38 countries
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hpw...

How China is vying to attract the world’s top scientific talent Hundreds of policies across the country have been designed to lure researchers and new graduates to settle there.

Part of a global battle for talent - across China, cities & provinces are seeking researchers, students & innovators. In return, they’re offering large sums of money, as well as housing, health care, work for their spouses & other benefits….

#AcademicSky

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

3/3
⚖️ Yes—underperformance increases the risk of leaving academia.

But this applies to both men and women, challenging the idea that academic attrition is solely driven by performance-based self-selection.

I recently presented at INAS2025 in NYC:
“Why women leave academia? A longitudinal study of the leaky pipeline in German sociology”

Thanks to @womensforuminas.bsky.social and the INAS attendees for the inspiring exchange, and @europeatharvard.bsky.social for their support!

📝 Preprint👇

Becoming a university #chancellor comes at a cost: research output.
A study of 200 top global universities shows a significant drop in article publication after chancellorship begins—especially for active, male, and North American chancellors.

www.j-jdis.com/EN/10.2478/j...

Thank you #UNESCO for an invitation to act as one of 4 independent scientists in the Advisory Board!

It is an excellent opportunity to see how global organizations work in practice! My reading - they work very well, small teams, huge impact!

Two days with #UNESCO in #Advisory Board of GEM - Global Education Monitoring.

Extremely interesting work with and for a UN agency.

Let us not #underestimate (and #underfund) global organizations, they still have enough power to prepare solid - and consequential - global reports!

Yes.
Today. 9:00-10:00 AM PT, 18:00-19:00 CET time.
Fully prepared.
There will be a lot of (research) fun.

Yes.
Tomorrow.
Confirmed.

In this new era, we need a new internationalisation compact The internationalisation of higher education is undergoing a transformation: less defined by expansion and more by governance, risk calibration and ci...

"This is not a withdrawal from global science, but a strategic recalibration. Wen’s argument – building on Henri Lefebvre and Simon Marginson’s work – positions space-making as an active reconfiguration of material, symbolic and institutional terrain."
www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?sto...

Why does internationalisation still cling to the nation-state? The United States government’s ban on Harvard University enrolling foreign students exemplifies the growing control states are asserting over global...

"This move, part of a broader pattern of Trump-era interventions, exemplifies a troubling trend: states increasingly assert control over global academic mobility."

www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?sto...

This is what I wrote: "A perfect intro to a globally underexamined field. Written by the world's most respected scholar in private h ed, this book shows the power of a theoretically sophisticated approach to the changing dynamics of privateness & publicness in h ed."
global.oup.com/academic/pro...

The prestige economy of higher education journals: a quantitative approach YouTube video by Marek Kwiek - Global Academic Careers

Interested why scholars and scientists publish in top journals? Look, or actually listen, here:

Kwiek, Marek. The prestige economy of higher education journals: a quantitative approach. Higher Education 81, 493–519 (2021). DOI: 10.1007/s10734-020-00553-y.

youtube.com/watch?v=kwMa...

Statement on Academic Freedom – The Rectors of the Dutch Universities (2025) Statement on Academic Freedom – The Rectors of the Dutch Universities (2025)

"Without academic freedom, we might not have antibiotics, nor a deep understanding of human behaviour. Literary criticism, climate models, and ecological restoration would be severely limited; just like ethical reflection on artificial intelligemce"

www.universiteitenvannederland.nl/en/current/n...

Extremely happy!

Extremely proud!

Teamwork - works (w. @lukasz_szymula)!

Never thought we could be that succesful!

Three years from idea to publication.

The chances, lifetime, of moving #radically up or down in productivity classes are #marginal (1% or less).

Our regression analyses show that there is a single most important #predictor of being a top performer – being a top performer at an #earlier career stage.

#Methodologically, we turn a large-scale bibliometric dataset (Scopus raw data) into a comprehensive, longitudinal data source for research on #careers in science.

The global science system is #highly #immobile: half of global top performers continue their careers as top performers.