ARMA-NL BookClub – Growing together

Are you looking for a way to connect with colleagues, expand your professional horizons, and dive into some great reads? We are excited to invite you to the ARMA-NL Bookclub!

We launched this online initiative to explore books that offer real, practical value to our roles in research support. Once a month, we take a 45-minute step back from our daily tasks to learn together, share professional experiences, and gain fresh perspectives.

📖 Our Next Read: Stolen Focus

For our next chapter, we are tackling a challenge we all face daily:

• “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again” By Johann Hari.
• In an age of constant notifications, endless emails, and digital noise, protecting our attention spans is harder than ever. We believe this will be a highly relevant, eye-opening, and thought-provoking read for everyone in research support.

💡 Why Join Us?

• No “Bookworm” Status Required: You don’t need to be an avid reader to participate. Just bring your curiosity and your unique perspective.
• Practical Value: We focus on books that offer tangible insights you can apply directly to your day-to-day work.
• Community Connection: Enjoy meaningful, relaxed discussions with coworkers from across the ARMA-NL network.

📅 Practical Details & Registration

• Sign-up: until 31 August – mail Anke Dälhmann (a.dahmann@tudelft.nl) to sign-up
• Duration: Starting in September untill 31 December 2026
• Format: Online meetings via Teams
• Duration: 45 minutes per monthly session
• Group Size: Depending on the number of participants, we will create more than one BookGroup (typically 3 to 6 people per group), fully taking everybody’s availability into account.

Ready to invest in your own development and join the conversation? We would love to have you there!

We like to encourage you to order the book of your choice at your local bookstore, there are at least 10 important reasons to do so.

What we have read so far:

📘 The Culture Map – Erin Meyer

We communicate all day with people from all over the world. Sometimes we sense. This book provides theory and strategies for dealing with differences in communication styles rooted in the culture we grew up. Especially recommended for subsidy advisors, to make our communication (feedback!) more effective.