Episode 32: Starting my PhD focused on animal communication!

In this special episode of Animals & Us - Voices of a New Paradigm, Avantika shares a significant life change—her move to Belgium to pursue her PhD. This marks the beginning of a new academic chapter, one that aligns closely with her personal aspirations and her grandfather’s legacy. Avantika reflects on the excitement and challenges of this new adventure and the personal significance of this step in her journey.

Her upcoming research will be with the ANICOM project—a groundbreaking study on intuitive interspecies communication (IIC), funded by the European Research Council. The project, led by Prof. Vanessa Wijngaarden at the University of Liège (Belgium) explores the practices of animal communicators and how they engage in two-way communication with animals. With a multidisciplinary team and fieldwork across 8 countries, the ANICOM project aims to develop new methods for engaging with non-human animals as full research participants. Avantika discusses her involvement with this project and how it will contribute to the development of "dialogic multispecies methods," combining insights from animal cognition, Indigenous knowledge, biosemiotics, and new materialism.

Join Barbara and Avantika as they talk about the intersection of personal growth, academic pursuit, and professional passion. This episode is about honouring the past, embracing the future, and forging a path toward a more inclusive and interconnected world where humans and animals communicate on equal terms.

Listen now to hear more about Avantika’s exciting new chapter in Belgium and her commitment to advancing research on animal communication through the ANICOM project.

Click HERE for more information about the ANICOM project.

Avantika will also be sharing snippets of her journey during this process on her Instagram account.