Fiasco Fest: How to joyfully move on from rejection and career misfortunes

A European project for a failure-friendly research culture, funded by the Arqus Alliance.

“Fiasco Fest goes Arqus” is one of the projects funded by the Arqus Innovation Fund, which has provided financial support to 45 initiatives and 124 sub-activities in the last two years. It will be take place from 1 October 2024 to 15 September 2026.

The “Fiasco Fest” creates space for researchers to talk openly about obstacles and failures. Developed three years ago by Sabine Bergner and Johanna Stadlbauer from the University of Graz, the project has been a success and it is now also being implemented at other universities of the Arqus Alliance. Five Arqus universities are taking part: Graz, Lyon 1, Maynooth, Padua and Wrocław. The initiative started in October 2024 and is expected to continue until September 2026. 

What is the Fiasco Fest? 

The premise is that career setbacks are unavoidable and are an opportunity for personal development. In a festive environment, researchers 1) share with each other points of pride and “fiascos” in their career so far, 2) move on to analysing and exploring together what makes one’s experiences into a “fiasco”, 3) after which they are provided with psychological insights and tools that help with coping with setbacks, enabling them to “handle their next fiasco with care”, and 4) finally there is an exercise in letting go.

“We want to celebrate mistakes so that we can learn from them more easily,” says Johanna Stadlbauer.

Setbacks and defeats are common occurrences throughout one’s career, but they are often perceived as shameful and not openly discussed. To avoid discussions about rejection and failure leads to unrealistic expectations, a fear of taking risks or mental health issues. These negative consequences reduce researchers’ creativity, motivation and commitment. Career setbacks are unavoidable and should be seen as an opportunity for personal development. 

“Failure is a core element of research,” says psychologist Sabine Bergner. “Because in order to find creative solutions, we have to try out new things without knowing whether they will work.” 

Funded through the Arqus European University Alliance Innovation Fund, the “Fiasco Fest goes Arqus” initiative consists of three components:

1. The workshop, known as “Fiasco Fest,” serves as the core of the initiative. It is a three-hour experience lab designed to provide a safe and open space for PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers to share their stories of setbacks and failures.
2. The collaborative session, referred to as “Train the Trainer,” equips trainers from at least five Arqus universities with the essential tools and techniques to independently lead the “Fiasco Fest” themselves. Professionals will learn to establish the safe space required for the “Fiasco Fest” and adeptly guide its participants through the event.
3. The manual, referred to as the Pedagogy Playbook, will support the trainers in effectively preparing for and conducting the Fiasco Fest. It will provide structured and organized information about the Fiasco Fest’s content, objectives, activities and procedures.

Contact

Main contact persons for the University of Graz:

• Johanna STADLBAUER & Sabine BERGNER (arqus@uni-graz.at)                 

Main contact persons for partner universities:

• Laura Bousquet & Romain Thinon, University of Lyon 1 (arqus@univ-lyon1.fr).
• Marian Crowley Henry, Katriona O’sullivan, Aimee Crawford,  Ben Finnegan, Maynooth University (arqus@mu.ie).
• Sara Raponi & Matteo Volpin, University of Padua (arqus@unipd.it).
• Dominika Buczkowska, University of Wrocław (arqus@uwr.edu.pl).

How to get involved:

• If you are a researcher at the Arqus partner universities, you can participate in the workshops. You can also join us in creating a repository of tools and activities which support the development of an error-friendly research culture.
• If you are working with researchers: With the toolbox (in development), you can create your own Fiasco Fest. Next opportunity to learn about it: “Fiasco Fest: What a Party-Workshop Can Do for a More Failure-Friendly Research Culture”: Online talk on Friday 21 February 2025, from 13:00 to 14:00 CET on Zoom (meeting of the CARE Careers Advisors Network). Contact Sarah Blackford | LinkedIn if you want to participate!
• Podcast: (Episode 97) Navigating Failure in Academia – Research Culture Uncovered

The “Fiasco Fest” itself is a three-hour experience lab, an open space for PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers to share their stories of setbacks and failures. Sharing among peers in the same career stage means participants are among those who understand what impact it can have to be rejected or have an experiment go wrong. In a community, participants acknowledge that impact, and learn to move on despite it. At the universities of Maynooth and Padua, the first  “Fiasco Fest” workshops are planned for 5 June 5 and 3 July 2025, respectively. The Graz edition was held last 4 November (Read the report and see pictures). Lyon 1 and Wroclaw editions are still to be confirmed.

The Arqus Alliance celebrates this creative project which aims to combat the current culture of failure in academia and reminds us we need to learn from our mistakes. These are the kind of initiatives that the Arqus Innovation Fund was created for!

More information

The Arqus Innovation Fund aims to incentivise innovative bottom-up initiatives by Arqus staff and students that go hand in hand with the objectives of the Arqus Alliance and its three major action lines: Education, Research and Innovation, and Social Engagement. Check the last projects funded.