In conversation with Daniel Akinola-Odusola, a cognitive scientist, creative strategist, and STEAM and ethics advocate

Please note that this article was published prior to the new brand name of PREACH Inclusion® on 25 April 2024, so you will notice references to BAME in Property.

BAME in Property is back with our interviews and we’re thrilled to have the fascinating Daniel Akinola-Odusola as our first guest on the virtual hotseat for 2021. A human-data scientist, a creative founder, a workshop facilitator and a STEAM mentor, Daniel is one busy individual. He tells us about the different projects he’s got his teeth into, his expanding network, the meaningful mentoring he provides and how he has adapted his work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Safe to say, we can all learn a fair bit from Daniel, who also shares some great tips about reclaiming boundaries, not falling victim to the hustle culture, and ensuring you take sufficient rest to be your best self.

1. Let's start from the beginning, tell us about you, your upbringing and education, and how you became a self-proclaimed 'data nerd'!

I was born in London but schooled in the Chicago suburbs, moving from private to public school just before secondary. My parents thankfully allowed my sister and I to follow a lot of our interests growing up. I have always been intensely into music, comedy, technology, and science/speculative fiction.

Going into university, I was torn between becoming a material scientist and an architect (my mum’s initial profession) and started attending Dartmouth College as an engineer. Halfway through my degree, I realised that I wanted a more human and political element to my scientific studies and switched to cognitive science (consisting of philosophy, psychology, computer science, and linguistics courses). I believe this experience of so many different courses laid the foundation for how I currently approach novel problems – getting to the heuristics, the “who”, and the “why”.

I interned with an NGO, some psychology research, and an internet of things start-up, before deciding to attend King’s College London for a Neuroimaging MSc to be more qualified as a scientist on paper. It was a fantastic experience that made me realise I really do enjoy human data, communications, and experimental design. I am still close with the programme leader who invited me to go back and talk about life post-MSc to students a couple of times before the programme disbanded.

2. You're involved in multiple projects, tell us a bit about them and why they are important to you (particularly interested in the Centric Lab and your work with STEM)

My work with Centric Lab was born of a working relationship I already had with the founders when they kindly took me into their former coworking space, THECUBE, in exchange for running the Neuroscience London monthly meet up. My first project was to create the Stress Risk Score (SRS) which would visualise the relative risk of pollutants in different areas of London by turning the research Centric had gathered from current literature and open-source data into easier to understand scales and maps. They allowed me to nerd out on self-learning the qGIS software and coming up with the first SRS map. This work is important because of the healthy environment of respect and shared values. I am given license to be an inter-disciplinary scientist and encouraged to assess everything we do philosophically and ethically.

A few failed projects in neurotech and data science, some pro bono work, and my Centric experience have given me more insight into my value and motivation as a data and ethics advisor for sole traders and SME founders

My work with Citizens with Experience (CWE) was derived from Centric sending me to a workshop at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) that CWE was running. After the workshop, I got talking with Rob who wanted to have a more data and neuro influence in some of the projects. We are currently prioritising work on how to promote psychological safe spaces and democratised design.

I created Daotive Thinking to be a brand and service that comes from my inherent skills and experiences with human-centred data. A few failed projects in neurotech and data science, some pro bono work, and my Centric experience have given me more insight into my value and motivation as a data and ethics advisor for sole traders and SME founders who want to create ethical purpose and value for their target communities.

Lastly, I have been tutoring MSc students (usually foreign) in scientific writing and statistics for dissertations as well as taking on the occasional GCSE math or science student. I really enjoy making STEM accessible to students and find a lot of enjoyment in STEM mentoring and facilitation.

3. Did your work evolve during the COVID-19 pandemic? how? why is it important?

Now is a time where work must be more intentional and iterative because whether you are dealing with students, local communities and authorities, small businesses, or others, the human problems of Brexit and the pandemic exist on top of the usual uncertainty. For instance, the GCSEs are cancelled this year which removes that avenue of work and income this winter and spring (again) but doesn’t stop me from thinking of content I can make that will be useful for students who want to still build their confidence in these topics.

4. How important is diversity in all of the work you do? What have you learnt from working in diverse teams?

Diversity must be done in the right environment for more than simple tokenism or you are doing more harm than good.

While I do not currently work in any teams outside of our small team at Centric Lab and some of my CWE work, I will highlight that there is inherent diversity in both. However, diversity must be done in the right environment for more than simple tokenism or you are doing more harm than good. There must be respect and an acknowledgement of boundaries and consent within a diverse group or you can be contributing to someone’s trauma or development of imposter syndrome.

5. As we've entered another year of the COVID-19 pandemic, what are some of the habits you are changing in your work? What tips would you give to our readers?

My work process in the previous year or two was not very heavily planned. I said “yes” to anything I had time for which probably balanced with having a social life but still living alone to be able to reset. The “yes” mentality burned me out multiple times since the pandemic hit because technology makes you always available or not at all. New, meaningful networks are harder to create. My work stopped on all fronts for most of the year in what was my first year going fully contract-based and self-employed.

Treat rest and breaks as an investment in the same way that most health and exercise benefits come from the recovery.

I spent the end of last year figuring out my comfortable level of planning. I personally prefer using a blank notebook as opposed to a dated planner and planning my tasks by the week. It gives me the flexibility to switch the days around on some tasks but ensure they are done on time. It also allows me to rest when needed and make up for it.

Treat rest and breaks as an investment in the same way that most health and exercise benefits come from the recovery. Work on creating psychological safety in your schedule and discuss this with family, friends, and colleagues so that they are aware of your needs, boundaries, and intentions. Get comfortable saying “no” without coming up with an excuse.

My work with Citizens with Experience (CWE) was derived from Centric sending me to a workshop at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) that CWE was running. After the workshop, I got talking with Rob who wanted to have a more data and neuro influence in some of the projects. We are currently prioritising work on how to promote psychological safe spaces and democratised design.

I created Daotive Thinking to be a brand and service that comes from my inherent skills and experiences with human-centred data. A few failed projects in neurotech and data science, some pro bono work, and my Centric experience have given me more insight into my value and motivation as a data and ethics advisor for sole traders and SME founders who want to create ethical purpose and value for their target communities.

Lastly, I have been tutoring MSc students (usually foreign) in scientific writing and statistics for dissertations as well as taking on the occasional GCSE math or science student. I really enjoy making STEM accessible to students and find a lot of enjoyment in STEM mentoring and facilitation.

I forced myself to have 3-week break to reset and come back free from the hustle culture mentality.

6. What's next for you and your hustling?

I forced myself to have 3-week break to reset and come back free from the hustle culture mentality. I want to publish and create products in each hustle to complement the service work I do since we are likely to stay in remote circumstances for at least the next few seasons.

At Centric Lab, we have the whole year mapped out on the various mediums we are using to give the people and communities the knowledge and tools to understand and fight for their health. I am really excited to get back to work again and about what we have in store.

For Daotive Thinking, I plan on organically finding founders and key-decision makers who want support on tasks such as prototyping and feedback, consensual data use with their community, and community-led innovation. I will build content from this work to create templates and case studies for people who don’t need or can’t afford dedicated help.

For Daotive Learning, I plan to help create content that makes STEM topics for exams and dissertations more accessible but also mentor early career workers and students on how they can take a STEAM (STEM with the inclusion of Arts) approach to their interests to create a portfolio or build a career. This would be particularly interesting in underrepresented groups.

CWE work prior to the pandemic was very dependent on spaces and institutions that may not be available for a while. I am focusing on what value can be created through workshops or content that help people with psychological safe spaces and design during this pandemic.

I have made this the first year that I build creativity into my calendar in terms of music, art, and publication. I started a podcast last year that has also become a Medium publication, called Daotive Living, that I want to revisit soon that blends my interest in culture, psychology, and philosophy.