One Year After my Podcast Journey: Bridging Research and Practice
By Eduardo Martins Guerra
We, researchers, sometimes retreat into our labs and write academic papers to share our results with the world. However, even though these results are public, are they actually reaching their intended audience? I work with software engineering, and in many situations, I’ve felt that some truly interesting results never make it to practitioners. So, to try to change that scenario, I decided to talk to people – and to share those conversations in the form of a podcast!
As a member of the Hillside Group, a non-profit organization that promotes the use of patterns and pattern languages, I proposed the creation of the Hillside PatternCast. Patterns are recurring solutions that can be used to solve problems within a given context. They are well known in software architecture and design as a way to document techniques and good practices. But the concept is interdisciplinary: you can find patterns in fields ranging from pedagogy to business. The goal of the podcast is to talk about patterns in a broad sense – chatting with people from different areas and spreading the idea of how this approach can help document practical knowledge across diverse domains.
For the format, I chose to do one of the things I enjoy most: have a good conversation. I didn’t want it to feel like an interview or a lecture. I wanted each episode to be a passionate exchange between two people who love the topic they’re discussing. That way, the listener can share in that excitement and feel like they’re part of the dialogue.
Recently, the podcast celebrated its first anniversary, releasing one episode each month. I have to say: it’s been a lot of fun! I’ve had some fantastic conversations on a wide range of topics related to patterns: machine learning applications, introducing fearless change into organizations, and sustainability in software development, just to name a few. The hardest part was wrapping up the episodes, because I often lost track of time, immersed in such engaging discussions.
After this first year, I’m very satisfied with the result. We were able to document a great deal of valuable knowledge in a fresh, accessible format – reaching exactly the audience that can benefit from it the most. In some cases, the podcast even acts as a gateway to the original material, for those who discover the topic through an episode and decide to dive deeper.
Looking ahead, I can already see myself meeting even more inspiring people and having fascinating conversations. To fellow researchers, I leave a message inspired by this journey: don’t rely solely on academic papers to spread the word about your work and your field. Find alternative ways to reach people outside the research bubble – those who might actually benefit from what you’ve discovered.
If I made you curious and you want to listen to the Hillside PatternCast, you can find it at this link.