“I bomme, as a bombyll bee dothe”: an (un)random research journey [Abstract]

Conference presentation abstract. In this presentation I will reflect honestly upon my own journey, from early career design researcher through to Principal Investigator of the Perpetual Plastic for Food to Go project, and how this journey has been shaped by both global and personal challenges. I will also discuss the value of allowing oneself as an early career researcher the freedom to pivot context and collaborators and to recognise that sometimes a bit of randomness is a positive thing. I conclude this presentation with a speculative vision of my retirement.