About Cygna
Information about the Cygna network
The name CYGNA derives from the female version of the Greek word for SWAN (Supporting Women in Academia Network). We promote interaction among female academics and provide a forum for learning, support, and networking.
The network was founded in June 2014 by Argyro Avgoustaki, Ling Eleanor Zhang, and Anne-Wil Harzing, later joined by Shasha Zhao. The current network lead team is composed of Anne-Wil Harzing, Ciara O'Higgins, and Christa Sathish.
For details of our upcoming meetings see here. You can find a history of the first nine years at Cygna history and a write-up of our 10-year aniversary here: CYGNA 10-year Anniversary event. We also maintain an overview of blogposts on our meetings here and explain our ethos here: Mission, values, and meeting charter.
We have a readings and inspirations section for female academics, a LinkedIn group, using the hashtags #cygna_london #cygnawomen. Interested in joining CYGNA? Please contact Anne-Wil Harzing (anne@harzing.com).
Why are you called CYGNA?
Our name and logo (visible as a pin on our jackets in the pictures and video below) were chosen through a collaborative process involving all members, who now call themselves swans. The name CYGNA appealed to members for its Greek origins and its slight mysteriousness. The connotations and imagery elicited by the word swan were also seen as clear positives:
- the traditional symbol of beauty and grace in ancient Greece, which, combined with the Greek name, provides us with strong academic roots
- serene and calm on the outside, but madly paddling under the water, just like most academics these days
- peaceful, faithful, and almost entirely herbivorous, but assertive when defending things that matter, such as gender equality and our research
- at home in diverse environments (water, earth, air), reflecting the national and cultural diversity of our network, which counts more than 30 nationalities
What does CYGNA mean to its members?
At our 50th meeting we also asked members to share a few words about what CYGNA meant to them on a Padlet. The word-cloud below is a perfect summary of what CYGNA aims to be: a friendly, kind, inclusive, and supportive community, providing a safe space/place to exchange ideas, share experiences, provide advice, inspire, and learn. We think that's pretty amazing :-). This succinct, but wonderfully evocative, comment by the equally wonderful Luisa Pinto says it all.
Belonging, learning, camaraderie, friendship and sharing. My academic family: I'm an only child who suddenly has a community of sisters. Thanks!
Why we are different from other networks?
Our network differs from other academic women’s networks in at least five ways:
Single discipline across universities
Many women’s networks are single-university networks and cover all disciplines from Archaeology to Zoology. Although this might build institutional coherence, single-discipline networks across universities like CYGNA offer different institutional perspectives, provide better opportunities for research collaborations, and present the opportunity to discuss sensitive issues with those outside one’s immediate circle of colleagues.
Close bonds for trustful relationships
Countrywide networks such as WHEN [Women in Higher Education Network] have an important role to play. However, the sheer size of this type of networks makes forming the close bonds that are needed for women to thrive in academia difficult. At CYGNA new members are only added to the mailing list if they are known to at least one active current member and they need to complete a membership survey. New members are also explicitly introduced and made to feel welcome at their first meeting.
Regular 2-3 hour events
Most university and countrywide networks only organize only a few events a year, often fairly short in duration. On average, CYGNA has met for half-day events five times a year since its inception. Since May 2020 we have had regular virtual meetings to accommodate our international members. With 53 meetings organized to date (July 2023) this means lots of opportunities for academic women to meet and a solid stock of accumulated resources on our website here.
Open to international members
CYGNA is open to international members. In fact, nearly one half of our active members do not live in the UK. This provides members with the opportunity to network outside their own country. Its London location means that we also regularly host international CYGNA members at our physical meetings. To date, we have had visitors from Australia, Austria, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, and the USA. Given that, by coincidence rather than by design, 95% of our UK CYGNA members originate from outside the UK, this makes for a very international network.
Accessible for all without financial barriers
CYGNA is resolutely FREE for its members. Our speakers are usually CYGNA members who offer their time for free, whereas for physical meetings the host university sponsors our catering. We do not charge for membership or for attending our meetings. This ensures our network is open for academics at any stage of career and to those who work at less well-resourced institutions.
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Related pages
- About Cygna - Background on the CYGNA network
- Quick overview - Overview of presentations in our meetings with linked slidedecks
- Meetings - Information about forthcoming CYGNA meetings, and links to prior years
- Membership - Information for and about the Cygna network membership
- Readings and inspirations - Inspirational readings and resources for female academics
- The Cygna charter - Documents our CYGNA charter
- Cygna videos - Repository of introduction videos of our new CYGNA coordination team
- Cygna history - Tracing the history of our network since 2014, includes links to all of our meetings
- Frequently asked questions - Everything you may want to know about the CYGNA network and more
- The SWAN project - Initiated by Christa Sathish and Clarice Santos and implemented by Jacqueline Leon Ribas, this project created two swans reflecting CYGNA’s equal, inclusive, collective identity and the diversity of the network and its members
- Conference meet-ups - Provides brief write-ups of CYGNA conference meet-ups
- 10-year Anniversary event - Programme page for our 10-year anniversary event
- International Women's Day - Our collection of posts for international women's day
- CYG: Teaching & Scholarship Research - Our first CYG = SIG = Special Interest Group
- CYG: Career stage CYGs - Introductory page for our new career stage CYGs
- Cygna Writes - Introductory page for our new CYGNA Writes initiative - Writing in Community, Achieving in Silence
- Cygna Collaborations - Reports on some of the many collaborations our swans have engaged in across the CYGNA network
Related video
Copyright © 2024 Anne-Wil Harzing. All rights reserved. Page last modified on Sat 21 Dec 2024 11:55
Anne-Wil Harzing is Emerita Professor of International Management at Middlesex University, London. She is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business, a select group of distinguished AIB members who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the scholarly development of the field of international business. In addition to her academic duties, she also maintains the Journal Quality List and is the driving force behind the popular Publish or Perish software program.
