Dr. Christa Sathish
Passionate about Cultivating & Crafting a Positive Academia
Work Experience
Positive Academia CIC
Co-founder
September 2023 – Present
CYGNA Women in Academia Network
CYGNA Lead Team Member
June 2023 – Present
University of Westminster
Lecturer Management & Marketing
2nd May 2023 – Present
Middlesex University
Visiting Lecturer Digital Advertising
March 2021 – April 2023
Self Employed
Private Tutor
Oct 2014 – Oct 2018
K Ramakrishna College of Engineering, India
English Training Officer and Literacy Coordinator
Oct 2013 – Oct 2014
CIFAL Scotland – United Nations Institute for Training & Research
Project Event Coordinator
Oct 2010 – Sep 2013
University of the Highlands and Islands
International Student Officer
Sep 2011 – Oct 2012
Bürgi Nägeli Lawyers
Legal Secretary
Jun 2009 – Oct 2010
Mepha / Teva, Switzerland
Laboratory Technician spec Galenics (Pharmaceutical Research & Development)
Jun 2008 – Jun 2009
Givaudan, Switzerland
Laboratory Technician spec Galenics (Pharmaceutical Research & Development)
Jun 2007 – Jan 2008
University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland
Laboratory Technician spec Galenics (Pharmaceutical Research & Development)
Jun 2005 – Jun 2007
Novartis, Switzerland
Laboratory Technician spec Galenics (Pharmaceutical Research & Development)
Jun 2001 – Jun 2005
Education & Awards
Middlesex University, UK
Doctor of Philosophy – PhD, Media practices
Jan 2020 – April 2023
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Master of Research, Business
Distinction
2018 – 2019
University of the Highlands and Islands, UK
Bachelor’s degree, Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
Distinction
2011 – 2012
Brighton School of Business and Management, UK
Higher National Diploma , Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
Distinction
2009 – 2011
Novartis AG, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Certificate of Competence, Laboratory Technician spec. Pharmaceutical R&D
2001 – 2004
Novartis AG, Switzerland
Professional Baccalaureate (Tech.), Tech.
2001 – 2004
Volunteer experience
Middlesex University, UK
Research Summer Conference Comittee member
Feb 2020 – Present
Middlesex University, UK
Student Voice Leader ACi
Feb 2020 – Present
Leadership and Advocacy
Promoting students' wellbeing
2022 is the Year of Positive Academia (initiated by Anne-Wil Harzing). I am promoting positivity during the sessions with my third-year undergraduate students.
We engage in short starter activities that aim to promote a positive attitude towards their learning, themselves, and others. The students’ engagement has been great, and the activities appear to motivate and encourage them towards the completion of their program.
The activities are based on topics like believing in yourself, managing time positively, self-care, caring for others, never giving up, happiness is key, gratitude, motivation, kindness, and writing for wellbeing.
I created posters, accessible on #positiveacademia and #positivesharedworld, featuring some of our Middlesex University students’ reflections about their wellbeing practices.
International Leadership and Management
CIFAL Secured funding
As Project Coordinator at CIFAL Scotland (2010-2013), I have managed and lead an international team of students who acted as dreamcatchers as part of the Rio+20 My Green Dream Campaign. The students recorded videos about their Green Dreams related to their concerns about the global environment. I gathered the videos on a YouTube Channel linked to the campaign website. I managed to form strong relations in Darfur, India and across Europe.
I never gave up and held virtual conference calls and meetings at any time of the day. I was in contact with student groups across the globe and worked with them together in a team over distance. I was able to motivate students who had minimal technical equipment to record dreams and I am still so proud of that.
I travelled across Scotland and presented the campaign at various Scottish Universities and schools. I was commended by a Scottish councillor for my leadership and advocacy skills as I had impressed an audience of about 100 people in a school.
I achieved the critical target of gathering 1000 international dreams, as promised to the Scottish Government. As a result, CIFAL was able to secure £10,000 funding to run the business another year.
LinkedIn Recommendation: Inclusivity
Christa is twice exceptional. Naively, I thought this was a nicer way of saying autistic. But – being my mentee since early 2020 – Christa has patiently taught me it is so much more. She is exceptionally bright, exceptionally dedicated, and exceptionally curious. But she is also hardworking, reflective, and responsive, and cares deeply about how her research can help others. This makes her a fantastic researcher.
But not only that: she is also a wonderful teacher; our Middlesex students like the fact that she is different from others, admire her knowledge and appreciate her well-planned and interesting sessions. Having nearly finished her PhD (in only 3 years), I am sure Christa has a bright future ahead of her in academia. I hope we can keep her at Middlesex, but any university that gets to employ her would be very lucky indeed. I look forward to seeing Christa flourish in academia!
Anne-Wil Harzing, 28.12.2021 Research Mentor, Staff Development Lead, Middlesex University
Blog Posts
Letter of Appreciation & Gratitude
Dear Dr Sathish, I am willing to express my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for your time,...
Reflective blogging for impact: a pathway to employability, equity, and societal impact in Higher Education
I am pleased to announce that my proposal for my new project - Reflective Blogging for Impact: A...
Why Positive Academia matters to me
For me, Positive Academia is a personal and professional mission that resonates deeply with my...
When inclusion becomes exclusion: The problems of the label ‘disability networks’
When inclusion becomes exclusion: The problems of the label ‘disability networks’ In this...
International Women’s Day 2024: Positive Actions that contribute to the Amplification of Women’s Voices
Women are still facing daily challenges and barriers ranging from childcare, family politics,...
Reflections on the completion of AMR’s Bridge Reviewer Program
“The Academy of Management Review’s Bridge Reviewer Program is an innovative program with a goal...
Creating Positive Impact for Teaching and Learning @University of Westminster: Visiting the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park
It was field trip time for our Master level students of the Multi Platforms Communication Module...
The SWAN project
This project created two swans reflecting CYGNA’s equal, inclusive, collective identity and the...
Completing a full-time PhD as a neurodivergent female academic with two kids
I am often questioned about how I was able manage a young family and complete a full-time PhD at...
Academics’ Well-Being Matters (1): Autonomy an Important Component of Digital Well-Being
Welcome to my new blog post series on Academics’ Well-Being Matters! In this blog post series, I...