2016: January Irina decides, it’s now or never ever ever will she take this courage to start her journey in entrepreneurship and makes visible to the public her Facebook page, called Researchista, raising immediately her deep concern about: “Does more knowledge create more happiness? Or rather, more unhappiness? “To perceive (understand) is to suffer” said Aristotle. More you learn, more you understand that you need to learn more about it.. Socrates famous quote: “”I know that I know nothing”. So, does more knowledge create more unhappiness? At the same time, can more happiness create more knowledge?”
Having recently graduated, all she wanted was to help other PhD students by sharing her ideas, her stories or by inviting others to speak on her blog.
2016: 14 February The blog goes on-air! http://www.researchista.com is officially launched with its first post on.. Love during PhD.
2016: March Researchista hosts her first Special Guest Dr. Jimmie Leppink, who writes for PhD students about: My first paper, Tips on improving your writing, Writing and Research design, Guest writer preview.

Twitter account – check.
2016: April From her genuine concern about the health of PhD students, Researchista invites over the life Coach Danielle Branje, to discuss about anxiety in professional life (see: “Trust more, stress less“, “Prevention is the key“, “Tips to trick anxiety in your professional life”).

2016: May Researchista’s first media appearance in the Maastricht University newspaper, “The Observant”. And she wants to let the world know, Research does not exist only in the academia and it was not made only for PhD students to struggle!

2016: June Researchista participates at the TEDx Pitch Night event in Maastricht and here is what she said:
It is in this month that an entire month (during Mondays), our Special Guest Hasmik Matevosyan tells us based on her Research finding what’s happening in fashion industry.

SoundCloud account – check.
2016: July When everyone went for holidays, Researchista picked a moment to hope that it will pass unnoticed, (but for some this became the only thing Researchista ever did?) and did her first Researchista-fashionista photoshoot. Her name has a fashionista touch, remember?
It was the moment when many Researchers from my academic environment think I am doing it all wrong, the month of double-face self-palming from colleagues I know wondering to themselves of what I did I do. I wonder, is it because of this picture? 😀

Ever since, I am asked if I am trying to sell Research with my body or if I am trying to become a modeler. It did not matter what I wrote in that post, because those who gave me such feedback clearly haven’t read it 😛 carefully. Research on FASHION is just one of the multiple topics Researchista will approach.. so get ready to not get bored 🙂
2016: August Our Special Guest tells PhD students and others alike what are the secrets of high performance, how to generate brilliant ideas and on public speaking.

2016: 9th of September Researchista is launching her first product.

It was a special experience!
2016: October is Research on FOOD month… and here a wild month unleashes, because the posts were so interesting and we’ve got a lot of feeback. It starts with the transition of a civilization and vertical farming by Michelle Jongen from Botanica Innovare and continues with the first Special Guest from abroad, Dr. Beatrice D’Ippolito, York University.

Even more, together with my friend, Diana Z. from Busy Avocado, we embark in a little Research journey on our own, here is what my friend says about food labels.
This month, Dr.-to-become Carolin Hoffman is telling her story on 2nd Researchista fashionista shoot.

2016: November is the Research on BRAIN month, hosting a series of very nice Guests from Maastricht University and abroad. We start with Dr. Joao Correia on brain & language, we continue with Dr. Gojko Žarić on brain & reading and almost ends with the post on brain & hearing problems from Laurien.

2016: December As an extention to Research on BRAIN month, Researchista pays a particular attention to a less researched topic, called “MISOPHONIA“, suggested by Dr. Mercede Erfanian, Amsterdam. This month we host our first guest from the USA, Dr. Jennifer Jo Brout!

Also, Researchista was nominated in the Business Development and Knowledge Transfer contest, event organized by the School of Business and Economics at the University of Maastricht. Thank you!
Indubitably, the year had to end with one more Researchista-fashionista photoshoot! This is the story of Laurien, upcoming on first Monday of 2017. Subscribe to the blog 😉
I learned this year that marketing speaks in mysterious ways, 2016 was the year of social media and marketing exercises.
Have a happy 2017! Everything will be ok…
With love for Research,
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