After 9 years in the Centre for Innovative Ageing, Associate Professor Dr Paul Nash is leaving not only the Centre but also the University, Wales and the UK. He has taken on a post as Associate Professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and he reflects on his time in the CIA, experiences and friendships made.

Paul Nash with CIA colleagues

They say that “A great place to work is one in which you trust the people you work for, have pride in what you do, and enjoy the people you work with” (Robert Levering). By such a yard stick, why would you ever considering leaving the Centre for Innovative Ageing (CIA)? Over the last 9 years I have grown to trust my colleagues implicitly, love most aspects of my job and laugh so much I have cried (and cried until they made me laugh). But as with any definition within the social sciences there are parts of the jigsaw missing. For me, one of the most important parts of loving where you work is the supportive yet challenging environment (sure that’s in the REF literature somewhere). Making work somewhere you can build on what you are good at but also be challenged in a supportive way to develop and grow your skills to become better as an individual but also contribute to a more fulfilling whole. Although perhaps a little contrite, Tracy Streckenbach said it best… “Culture is about performance, and making people feel good about how they contribute to the whole.” This is both the success and the failing of the CIA. I have been supported and developed into a person I wouldn’t have recognised 9 years ago, not least in terms of my confidence. This culture of growth and development has also shown me what is outside the safety of my team and enticed me to explore and embrace the possibilities of a globally important field of work.

When I joined the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Ageing (IRCA) in 2008, I was a shirt-and-tie-wearing, fresh-faced noobie PhD student looking to get an RA job to pay my mortgage. After probably the most terrifying interview of my life, I was chased down the corridor by a HR officer and offered the job. I couldn’t have done that badly! From that point we underwent a rather important rebranding, taking us from a noise you make when you dislike something (IRCA) to a global force to be reckoned with (CIA). Under the mentorship (and subsequent friendship) of the best boss I have ever had and possibly ever will, the CIA and I both grew exponentially. From humble roots in the South Wales Valleys I have had the opportunity to explore India, South Korea, Europe and North America. In a mutually beneficial work relationship, Prof Burholt and I have leant on each other knowing full well that the other will be there to provide support. This tacit understanding really is the cornerstone for who I have become both as an academic and as a colleague.

Internal initiatives such as writing groups and mentoring have enabled me to gain valuable skills in crafting journal articles, facing the blank page syndrome of research grants and even responding to funders. One skill that I have learnt first-hand is that of facing rejection. With grants becoming ever more difficult to secure, especially for early career researchers, and journals facing increasing submissions in the light of REF, a lot of time will be spent on work that is deemed (at least initially) not good enough. The CIA family have taught me not only how to address comments to re-craft submissions but also that being part of a research community means supporting each other through the hard times as well as revelling in the successes.

External engagement has also been instilled in me from day one. Where we work on research that some may see as an ‘ivory tower’ privilege, the CIA embodies the spirit of co-production, working with older adults from day one in the process. If we don’t work with and understand the needs of older people, how can we expect to produce work that will help and support? A simple concept but one I fear is over-looked all too often. This ethos has led to me taking on volunteer trustee roles in Age Cymru Swansea Bay, a direct service delivery partner in the Age Cymru Brand Partnership. Similarly the desire to maximise the impact of the work we do has led to international collaborations and working directly with the World Health Organisation, something that even 3 years ago I wouldn’t have even dreamt about.

I have been in jobs where the turnover of staff is high but this just isn’t the case in the CIA. True, people join regularly but even when they move on, they never leave. A case in point is Dr Dobbs, someone who has left and returned so often I am sure there is a danger of whiplash! This goes to show the draw of the centre; the work we do, but more importantly the people who make it. When you happily spend 50+ hours a week in the office, it is certainly more than just the draw of a pay check. With weekly cwtchs, seasonal picnics, evenings out and of course the Xmas party, the CIA is more than just the work it produces, it embraces everyone into some weird extended dysfunctional family that just sort-of works. Part of this reason is the lack of hierarchical bureaucracy which flows through many work places. Whether you are professional services staff, research staff on fixed contracts, PhD Students or permanent academic staff, you are disrespected equally! Laughter is always heard ringing through the corridors but never is it out of malice, only through that weird twisted family love that the CIA embodies. Sorry….why is it that I am leaving again?

The CIA and all those in it have forged me into the academic I am currently and they have certainly shaped the way I view research, teaching and more widely work as a whole. I am taking the position in LA not for the plethora of celebrities I shall undoubtedly meet, not even for the 36 hours of sunshine a day but to continue a career I would most certainly not have had if it was not for the CIA. I will take on the US educational system with a waistcoat and plummy accent, their research funders with the correct spelling of ageing and some great co-production principles. The principles of what it is to be an academic researcher and educator are universal, the groundings provided in the CIA are wholly unique and I hope that I can embed and spread some of the acquired knowledge on the other side of the pond.

So, in short, although a rather self-indulgent blog piece, I refuse to apologise.  The CIA is rather amazing and I am a fool to leave this bunch of fantastically dysfunctional colleagues who have only ever encouraged and supported me. I have had the best boss, I have had the best colleagues, I have had the best cakes, cwtchs and conferences. Where I will never be able to replace or replicate the magic that is happening in Swansea, I will take with me a few unicorn-shaped sparkles and inappropriate giggles to brighten up pastures new. As with any other family, however, I know that whatever happens in my life and wherever I end up, the CIA will always be with me and have my back as I will always have theirs. I look forward to working with them all in the future but more now as the crazy uncle you see at Christmas rather than the annoying little brother who just keeps bugging you all year long. What I have said in over 1000 words, Betty Bender manages to sum up in just 14, “When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home.” Nowhere is this truer than in the CIA and it is somewhere that will always have a piece of mine. If anyone reading this has the opportunity to work in this amazing team, grasp it harder than a gerontologist does a glass of free wine at a conference wine reception. Will I be back? In body, I don’t know, but in spirit I will never leave.

Thank you all and please never change (well, except your socks!).

Paul Nash

Gerontologist, psychologist, CIA Agent in heart