Anne-Wil Harzing is Emerita Professor at Middlesex University. She has done lots of research, published many things, won awards, and engaged in leadership. However, what has been most important to her in her career is improving our research processes, making our research assessment more inclusive, and supporting other academics with staff development and free resources. That’s why she loves working with Christa as a co-founder of Positive Academia CIC.

​Positive Academia is a professional reform movement that advocates a transformation of our academic values and interactions to develop sustainable and inclusive universities. It transforms our knowledge into positive impact for our academic communities and society at large through our high-quality, societally relevant, research – underpinned by research processes that are sound, open, and inclusive – our holistic and synergistic careers, including our research-informed teaching and leadership, and our external engagement that is focused on co-creation. It is realized by emphasizing our power of dialogue, voice, and action, and supported by our multi-faceted collegiality and care.

1. Building a strong research foundation that outlines not just desirable outcomes, but also the process of moving towards a more positive academia.
2. Empowering individual academics and the wider academic community to initiate a bottom-up change process, whilst working with university managers and institutions to realise structural changes.
3. Unleashing a collective transformation through engagement in daily micro-practices rather than advocating top-down and bureaucratic initiatives that ultimately are often “paper only”.
4. Focusing on the causes of current dysfunctionalities in academia rather than isolated symptoms such as research misconduct, lack of research impact, and toxic research cultures, by proposing different academic values and interactions that should gradually prevent these symptoms.
5. Being both international and interdisciplinary in scope, instead of focused on a single country/region or discipline.
6. Leveraging collaborations of academics at different career stages, learning from each other rather than reinforcing hierarchical academic systems.
7. Bridging and amplifying current initiatives but also contributing novel approaches and points of view.

Positive academia evolved from Anne-Wil’s leadership in the past decades in creating collaborative, inclusive, and supportive research cultures. Anne-Wil recognized that academia often operates in silos of competition, where kindness, gratitude, and mutual support are undervalued. In 2021 her bold response #positiveacademia – the spark in the dark during the COVID-19 pandemic – reflects a movement dedicated to fostering collaboration, care, and the recognition that small acts of kindness can create ripples of positive changes.

Anne-Wil’s vision has always been both practical and inspiring. Her work has demonstrated that a positive academic environment is not only a lofty ideal but a tangible reality that can be cultivated through intentional action. Her vision resonated deeply with academics across disciplines and career stages, planting the seeds for a movement that continues to grow.

For Christa, Anne-Wil’s vision and passion was an awakening. In Anne-Wil’s actions and words, she saw a pathway to a more humane academia and a blueprint for the legacy she has aspired to leave since 2019 through her deep drive for positive change-making in academia. Anne-Wil’s wisdom, enthusiasm, and uplifting humour became a triggering force in Christa’s journey and the close friend who holds the rope and pulls it down to the ground when needed.

When Anne-Wil showed Christa her idea for the #PositiveAcademia initiative (The year of positive Academia 2022) in December 2021, she triggered Christa’s creative brain to complement our shared vision with a new campaign. Christa wanted to find ways to turn Anne-Wil’s ideas and contributions into everyday practices that could resonate with academics at every level and career stage. Shortly after completing her PhD, this led to the creation of her brainchild: #EveryLittleActionCounts.

Our #EveryLittleActionCounts campaign focuses on the small, intentional acts that individual academics can take to embody these principles on a daily basis. This campaign is rooted in the belief that even the smallest gestures, such as writing LinkedIn recommendations, being kind in emails, or expressing gratitude, can create momentum for positive academic transformation.

Together, #PositiveAcademia and #EveryLittleActionCounts became very natural extensions of one another. The former offers the what and why, while the latter provides the how. This synergy marked the beginning of a collaboration that has allowed us to reach audiences far beyond what either of us could have imagined.

One of the most meaningful aspects of our collaboration has been how our distinct strengths and perspectives complement each other. Anne-Wil brings a depth of experience, academic rigour, and profound understanding of the challenges in academia. Her extensive leadership and mentorship experience have laid our movement’s steady anchor.

In contrast, Christa brings a lot of energy, fresh perspectives, a deep passion for innovation and creativity driven by curiosity and imagination and an eagerness to experiment with new approaches. Our partnership has shown that collaboration across career stages is not only enriching – it is essential. Anne-Wil’s wisdom and steadiness have given Christa the confidence to take risks, while Christa’s energy and curiosity have infused new vitality into Anne-Wil’s vision.

Together, we have created a dynamic interplay of knowledge, experience, innovation, exploration, and experimentation that has become the beating heart of Positive Academia.

Over time, our individual contributions, ideas, passions, and drive for positive change began to merge closely into a single, unified entity: Positive Academia. This was not a deliberate decision but an organic evolution – a testament to the power of synergy. Positive Academia became a space where Anne-Wil’s legacy, Christa’s creativity, and our passion for making a difference for others could coexist and amplify one another, creating something far greater than the sum of its parts.

This movement is now a living, breathing community. It has grown into a platform that celebrates kindness, generosity, gratitude, and care as some of our core values. Our LinkedIn community now includes nearly 5,000 followers, and we have been able to connect with academics from all over the world, giving each an opportunity to contribute their own stories and perspectives to our shared vision. We are also looking forward to various exciting collaborations and engagements in the near future.

Our collaboration has also been a reminder that legacy is not a solitary endeavour. It is built in partnership through the relationships and the friendships we nurture and the communities we serve. Positive Academia is not just our legacy – it is the legacy of everyone who has joined and will join our movement, shares stories and takes small action to create positive changes.

While this reflection marks a celebration of the past three years, it is also an invitation to look forward. We are already envisioning new ways to expand the reach and impact of Positive Academia. We are exploring new campaigns, collaborations, conferences, and platforms that will enable us to connect with even more academics and amplify and realise our vision.

At its core, Positive Academia is a reminder that change begins with us. It begins with small actions, intentional choices, and a commitment to kindness, care, and gratitude in our interactions, but also represents  academic values that celebrate quality over quantity, the research process as well as the destination, the synergistic nature of teaching, research, engagement, and leadership, and the importance of collective impact on our academic stakeholders over individual academic achievements. Together, we have already made a difference, and together, we will continue to build a legacy that endures.

We are grateful for the community that has embraced this vision, and for the opportunity to be part of something so meaningful. Thank you for believing in this vision and for showing that Positive Academia is not just an ideal but a reality we are building together. Your stories, reflections, actions, and many great scholarly contributions have been fuelling our movement.

With gratitude and hope,

Christa Sathish and Anne-Wil Harzing