"You have to be open to not being completely sure what will happen or what you want to do… work hard and try to adapt your way of thinking, then you can find yourself doing stuff that you never thought you'd be capable of.”
From touring festivals with a self-built slate instrument to shaping national policy, a lifelong fascination with sound has taken Dr Jay Harrison on an unconventional journey.
For most people, the creative industries and academic research are two polar opposites. For Jay Harrison, they have become two sides of the same coin.
“I would describe myself as a drummer in terms of what I'm most proficient at, I suppose. But now I work in data, policy and evidence research for the creative industries, which is something I never thought I’d do”.
Now a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, Jay is bringing the precision of a technician and the creativity of an artist to academia and aims to bridge the evidence gap between art and industry.
