29 May 2026
Dear colleagues,
It is my pleasure to present the next edition of QED to you. In this edition:
- Updates from Love Erikson and me, Nick Schafstall.
- PhD thesis by Camille Mayeux.
- Updates about SEAD, BugsCEP, and Neotoma.
- Honoring the career of Philippe Ponel.
- Connecting freelancers in paleo-sciences. Page 7 by Colin Courtney-Mustaphi et al.
- Recent publications.
- An advertisement for an R Fundamental course by Data Sharp Academy
Enjoy the newsletter, and let’s stay in touch before the next newsletter in December.
Sincerely,
Nick Schafstall
A call to action for freelancers in paleo-sciences: Connecting and launching (QED May 2026 page 7)
Colin Courtney-Mustaphi (colin.courtney-mustaphi@york.ac.uk)
Nick Schafstall (archaeoento@gmail.com | nick.schafstall@gamtc.lt)
Pierre Lapellegerie (pierre.lapellegerie@gmail.com)
“What are you doing next?” We have all been part of conversations around career pathways and
we have seen a growth of interest in careers that link paleoenvironmental research and the private
sector. Stakeholders include universities, research institutes, governments, NGOs, companies or
individual freelancers. Outsourcing components of scientific research is one mechanism to achieve
project and programme goals. Definitions and regulations vary by country jurisdictions,
institutional rules, and funding requirements. Broadly, freelancers focus on executing specific tasks
or deliverables (e.g., fieldwork support, laboratory sample processing, data collection, data analysis,
reporting, professional training) on a project basis, acting as “doers”. Consultants provide strategic
advice, expertise, and guidance to solve high-level problems, acting as “advisors” (database
management, project proposals, hosting professional secondments, research programmes).
Freelancers often have shorter-term, tactical roles, while consultants build longer-term, strategic
partnerships. Some cases may have a combination of both. Compensation modes for outsourcing
in academia have examples ranging from single contract agreements of paid services to deliver a
service or product, procurement and tendering processes, to defined partnering and allocated grant
funding, and even non-pecuniary compensations such as co-authorships or covering publication
fees.
Are you thinking about what you want to do next? How to do it and who to contact? We wanted
to begin to connect many of us in the Quaternary entomology community who are motivated as
freelancers, consultants, and external advisors. Amongst graduates, we are witnessing a growth in
interest and questions amongst people in our community on the commercialisation of our skills
and leveraging links between academia and the private sector. We have seen an expansion of
innovation hubs on university campuses to test economic viability of ideas and innovations and to
incubate spin-off companies. With many young researchers exploring diverse career pathways, we
continue to ask ‘where is the commercial paleoenvironmental research sector?’ and ‘who is
participating?’
We are surveying the Quaternary entomology community to find and connect those who are
interested in freelancing or who are already offering their professional services as freelancers or
consultants. Please fill in this form before the end of July 2026:
https://forms.gle/Z9sG5s3pgTjSWKjG8
We will contact respondents this summer to discuss potential opportunities to launch into
freelancing Quaternary palaeosciences. Results will be shared in the next edition of QED.
Thank you for sharing your interest, and we look forward to connecting with you!
Reference
Courtney Mustaphi CJ, Schafstall N, Lapellegerie P. 2026. A call to action for freelancers in paleo-sciences: Connecting and launching. In: Schafstall N (ed.) Quaternary Entomology Dispatch (May 2026): p7. [backup PDF]
See our previous articles in the Quaternary Entomology Dispatch:
Courtney Mustaphi CJ. 2024. Short updates from the community. In: Schafstall N (ed.) Quaternary Entomology Dispatch (December 2024): p2. [LINK to PDF]
See previous issues of the Quaternary Entomology Dispatches:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KYIz7IR0g7rjqwvCyzJB0A81VSRlgoc8