To me, personally, that’s a crime! 💜💜💜

Gurudev and the Mahatma ❤️

Life Lessons from the Great Tagore-Gandhi Debate

Nobel Laureate Tagore | On His Birthday Today

7th May 2025 #Reflections #onhisbirthdaytoday

Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore, are two towering figures associated with the Indian independence movement.

Both shared a camaraderie and a bonhomie that’s evident in Tagore bestowing the title ‘Mahatma’ on Gandhi and Gandhi addressing Tagore respectfully as ‘Gurudev’.

Both Gandhi and Tagore placed immense value on education as a tool for individual and national awakening.

Both believed in the importance of selfless service to society.

Both envisioned an India that was inclusive and free from religious and social divisions.

Both were critical of the excessive materialism and industrialization of the West as well.

Yet… despite this mutual admiration and their shared goal of India’s upliftment, their approaches to various crucial issues, particularly in the realms of education and nationalism, revealed significant differences of opinion.

In fact, the “great debate” between Tagore and Gandhi foregrounds their contrasting perspectives to life, and bespeaks to the importance of celebrating other perspectives, other voices and other truths that life has to offer us.  

While Tagore envisioned a more holistic and creative education that’s universal in its appeal, foregrounding the arts, literature, music, and a connection with nature, Gandhi envisaged a nationalism that is deeply rooted in the Indian soil, emphasizing self-reliance (Swadeshi), non-violent resistance (Satyagraha), and the rejection of Western colonial influence.

Tagore’s institution - Visva-Bharati, aimed at fostering intellectual freedom, creativity, and a global outlook, blending Eastern and Western knowledge, that emphasizes self-realization and the harmonious development of the individual.

He was quite sceptical of narrow, aggressive nationalism, which he saw as a potential source of conflict and intolerance. Hence, he advocated for a more cosmopolitan and humanistic approach, that prioritised universal humanism over a strict nationalistic fervour.

Gandhi on the other hand, emphasised on self-reliance that favoured a rejection of foreign-made goods and a return to traditional, indigenous crafts.

In this regard, the charkha, or the spinning wheel, was a powerful symbol of self-reliance and economic independence for Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian independence movement, as it represented economic self-sufficiency, economic empowerment and resistance against British industrial dominance.

In short, although they were very good friends, they agreed to disagree on their perspectives to life and society.

While Gandhi, the pragmatic political leader, focused on mass action and self-reliance, Tagore, the visionary poet and philosopher, emphasized on universalism, cultural renaissance, and the holistic development of the individual.

This three-decade long friendship in fact speaks volumes to the celebration of differences between individuals.

As friends, as family, as siblings, as colleagues, we may all have our different / differing world views to life and living.

Like Tagore and Gandhi, it’s good to have healthy dialogues and debates that hinge on our differences.

But let’s not enforce our personal worldviews / perspectives on another.

To me, personally, that’s a crime! 😊

Let’s believe in celebrating every individual’s unique world view! Let’s agree to disagree! 😊

The moment we realise that, everyone has the right to their beliefs, opinions, perspectives and world views, that’s when we will stop judging, criticising and commenting on another person’s attitude to life and living!

As Hector Garcia says in their Ikigai –

“Our ikigai is different for all of us, but one thing we have in common is that we are all searching for meaning.”

This celebration of the quintessential differences in every individual makes life meaningful and rewarding, and helps us to look upon life as ‘a celebration of differences!’

To sum it up, in the words of the French enlightenment philosopher Voltaire –

“I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.

How beautifully he’s said it! Ain’t he? 😊

Image credits: gandhi.gov.in

PS: You may want to read Tagore’s take on Visva Sahitya, on our past blogpost HERE 

“A reason to jump out of bed in the morning” | Today in MCC ❤️

“My Top Three Favourite Reads”

Rendezvous with Deputy Vice Chancellor of St. Paul’s University, Kenya

Today | @ MCC | 6th May 2025

Today we had a rewarding time of interactions with Prof. Abraham K. Waithima, Deputy Vice Chancellor of St. Paul’s University, Kenya.

Our Principal Dr. Paul Wilson welcomed the dignitary following which we had a time of rewarding interactions on avenues for collaborations between the two institutions.

When he said that his native tongue was Gikuyu - a Bantu language primarily spoken by the Kikuyu people in Kenya, I was delightfully surprised, and asked him, ‘So you know Ngugi Wa Thiongo?’

“Oh yes, I do! He’s one of my favourite writers”, said Prof. Waithima.

“Great. We have him prescribed for us. He’s a writer with such great ideals and convictions on him, ” I replied enthusiastically.

Doubly excited, he then started waxing eloquent on the Mau Mau Uprising, and their liberation struggle.

He also suggested that I read this book titled, Carcase for Hounds by Meja Mwangi, that delves into the brutal realities of the Mau Mau liberation struggle during the final years of British colonial rule in Kenya.

Prof. Waithima added to say that, he had done a project on this book for his ‘O’ level in school, for which he had got distinction as well, he added.

Then, we discussed the memoir by the 44th President of the US - Barack Obama – and his life in Kenya that he discusses at length in his memoir titled, Dreams from My Father.

The book is a poignant chronicle of Obama’s search for his own racial and personal identity, by exploring his upbringing as a biracial child, with a white American mother and a Black Kenyan father. Moreover, Obama delves into the lives of his parents and his extended family, tracing their roots in Kansas and Kenya.  

Sensing that he’s an avid reader, I then asked him for his top three favourite book recommends.

Pat came the answer – 😊

His First Book Recommend was the book titled, Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson.

This book offers a straightforward and engaging approach to understanding different personality types and improving communication. It introduces a four-colour system – Red (Dominant), Yellow (Inspiring), Green (Stable), and Blue (Analytical) – to categorize common behavioral patterns.

His second book recommend was - Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia.

The book delves into the Japanese philosophy of “ikigai,” which translates roughly to “a reason for living” or “a reason to jump out of bed in the morning.” The book explores how finding your personal ikigai can lead to a more fulfilling, happy, and potentially longer life.

His third book recommend was – Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear.

The book is a practical guide that focusses on making significant life improvements through small, incremental changes in our daily habits. Instead of focusing on big goals, the book emphasizes the power of ‘atomic habits’ - tiny, manageable routines that compound over time to produce remarkable results.

PS: Quite interestingly, exactly five years ago, on 4th May 2020 we had reviewed Atomic Habits on our blog. 😊 You may want to read the review on our past post HERE

Prof. Waithima at the MCC-MRF Innovation Park

"Originally doctorates were based on the needs of a specific discipline and were recognised as a badge of excellence largely for teaching" ❤️

A Centralised Dashboard for PhD Scholars?

Light at the end of the Tunnel, At last? 😊

In the Offing | Good News for PhD Scholars

#newspaperinlearning #newspaper

5th May 2025 | Today’s New Indian Express

The State Higher Education Department has decided to create a web portal, which would act as a centralised dashboard for data related to PhD works from across state universities.

The initiative is aimed at monitoring PhD works, ensuring timely completion of the PhD, streamlining the process and keeping a tab on the quality of research work in state universities.

“The portal will serve as a one-point information centre for all the information related to PhD research work happening in the 13 state universities. Currently, there is no such mechanism,”

said C Samayamoorthy, Secretary, Higher Education department.

He added that, the universities will have to continuously update data right from registration of PhD scholars, topics of their research work, and progress on their work.

“The database will help us to track and identify the scholars, who have sought for extension of time for thesis submission, as well as check plagiarism in final dissertations,”

Samayamoorthy said.

An announcement regarding the project was made by Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhiaan in the Assembly recently, following which the department held a meeting to discuss the functions and execution of the web portal.

According to officials, the project is likely to be implemented from the next academic year. An agency will be selected to create the software and it will take six months to one year to get the portal running, said a senior official.

Higher education department officials said only the 13 universities will be included in the portal initially, and in later phases steps will be taken to upload data of the remaining state universities, functioning under other departments.

Coming back,

Well, even as the Higher Education Department is planning on a huge overhaul of the PhD process in its 13 Universities across the State, it’s only meet that the PhD Scholars also brace themselves to giving their best to their research work.

In this regard, Rob Bongaardt and Anne Lee in their seminal article titled, ‘The Global Knowledge Economy’, have some very interesting observations.

Doctoral Researchers as ‘Early Career Researchers’

All doctoral researchers are otherwise called, ‘Early Career Researchers’ (ECRs for short). They have a huge responsibility on them, as they ‘represent’ the University that hosts them, and hence, they are expected to contribute with original knowledge, thus supporting and promoting a university’s profile on the global stage.

Moreover, your research in itself should help the governments at the forefront while framing their policies and while taking political decisions, they aver.

Kate Whittington and Sally Barnes while highlighting the ‘Changing Face of Doctoral Education in academia today’, say that –

Today, the PhD is a well- recognised doctoral award considered largely as research training. Originally doctorates were based on the needs of a specific discipline and were recognised as a badge of excellence largely for teaching.

They have subsequently moved towards a degree that confirms research experience and skill and are widely considered the starting point of an academic career.

The PhD as a ‘Long Apprenticeship’

The doctorate is one of the highest levels of academic degrees awarded. In the Middle Ages the doctorate was achieved through a long apprenticeship with a master teacher. It was the only type of doctorate available until the early 1800s when universities based on both teaching and research were established and moved the focus of a PhD towards research.

The original conception of the PhD as an apprenticeship model has moved towards a model that can often include course work and requirements to publish and/ or teach and to meet disciplinary norms. Professional doctorates have more recently emerged as an alternative to the PhD.

The shift of the award of a doctorate from teaching to research excellence occurred in 1810 when Wilhelm von Humboldt established a new type of university in Germany (Berlin) that was based on both research and teaching. From its establishment, this university offered a PhD based on research. Up to this point the PhD was seen as a necessity for teaching at degree level, with graduates being expected to be able to teach a wide variety of subjects.

However, as the award shifted towards a research focus, academic staff began to specialise in their research endeavours and to focus their teaching on areas related to their research. This research- orientated doctorate spread across Europe and the world and the encompassing of both research and teaching is the basic premise of the majority of academic posts today.

Common Destinations of doctoral graduates

Historically, a doctorate typically gave one an academic job for life within the university environment. Governments have encouraged increased participation in higher education as one means to achieve economic security and advancement. With more individuals achieving Bachelor’s degrees, there are more that go on to Master’s degrees and then to doctorates

Because of the paucity of tenured academic posts, such individuals rarely progress further up the academic ladder and employers do not appear to value the skills they offer in the external job market.

The decline in permanent academic posts is likely to have resulted, at least in part, from universities utilising increasing numbers of doctorate students to deliver teaching previously delivered by academic staff.

The questions we are left with concern the doctorate’s future. What is it for? What benefits does it bring and for whom? Maybe we need to accept that one doctorate model cannot fit all and that clarity on the benefits and purposes of each type of doctorate would help all.

Maybe the time has come for us to consider what each type of doctorate model prepares its graduates for. For example, marketing one route – the traditional PhD with a focus on research skills – as the doorway to academic careers would provide a clear supply chain into the world of academia.

Single-discipline or interdisciplinary research projects?

In this complex world, the skills and wisdom acquired by doctoral graduates make them more needed than ever, and hence there is an urgent need to move towards interdisciplinary work through initiatives that ‘liquefy’ traditional borders. 

This has strong resonance with University College London’s initiative to create a ‘connected curriculum’ at other pedagogic levels. 

It’s time for different disciplinary traditions to understand each other and plan how to work together, 

they sign off!

Works Cited

Whittington, Kate and Sally Barnes. “The Changing Face of Doctoral Education”. Anne Lee and Rob Bongaardt, Ed. The Future of Doctoral Research: Challenges and Opportunities. NY: Routledge, 2021.

Lee, Anne and Rob Bongaardt. “The future of doctoral research in the light of experience”. Anne Lee and Rob Bongaardt, Ed. The Future of Doctoral Research: Challenges and Opportunities. NY: Routledge, 2021.

PS: You may want to read our past post on the subject HERE on our blog. 

"What is a history teacher? He’s someone who teaches mistakes" ❤️

How Do You Differentiate Between Bioregional Writing and Regional Writing?

Reflections on Graham Swift | On his birthday today

Hardy’s The Woodlanders vs Swift’s Waterland

#onhisbirthdaytoday

4th May 2025

Well, bioregional literary studies focuses on how literature engages with particular bioregions. Added, it explores how literature can foster a deeper understanding of and commitment to a specific bioregion.

In other words, instead of a generalized view of the world, bioregional perception emphasizes the specific realities and needs of one’s local environment.

It would be helpful to quote from the highly perceptive book on the subject, titled, The Bioregional Imagination: Literature, Ecology & Place.

Here goes -

As Tom Lynch argues in Xerophilia -

Conventional regional literature is most often composed for an audience of outsiders rather than for the residents of the region and thus is more likely to be a “literature of tourism” that highlights the odd and exotic and relies on generalities and stereotypes.

As he explains, the authors of this literature tend to be “former residents of the hinterlands [who] move to the big city and write stories about the colourful if rapidly fading life they left behind” or “writers from the big cities [who] may move (often temporarily) to the hinterlands to write stories about their new abodes for the amusement and edification of an audience back home”.

Bioregional literature, by contrast, is more likely to be oriented towards those who live in that bioregion. As Lynch puts it, “the implied reader is more likely to be a neighbour than a dweller in a remote city”.

To support this point, he discusses Thomas Hardy’s 1887 novel The Woodlanders, in which the “villagers’ basic life- rhythms have scarcely changed for years and seem unlikely to do so in the future,” despite disasters that befall individuals.

In contrast, he offers Graham Swift’s 1983 Waterland, in which the residents of the East Anglian fenlands experience the world as a less stable and more porous place and are clearly affected by the “shock waves” from political and technological developments of the wider world, often in ways that affect their whole region.

The novel is narrated by Tom Crick, a history teacher in Greenwich who is being forced into early retirement. Facing the skepticism of his students about the relevance of history, he abandons traditional lessons and instead tells them the story of his own life and family, deeply intertwined with the history of the Fens.

The Fens hence, are not just a backdrop but a central character in the novel. Their unique landscape – reclaimed marshland, crisscrossed by rivers and drains – shapes the lives and histories of the people who live there. The constant struggle against the water, the cycles of flooding and drainage, become metaphors for the ebb and flow of history and personal lives.

The novel fosters a strong sense of place. The characters are deeply connected to the Fens, and their identities are tied to its unique environment and history. In fact, the novel’s unwavering focus on the Fens as a living, breathing entity that shapes and is shaped by its inhabitants firmly positions it within the realm of bioregional literature.

Graham Swift himself says in the introduction to his novel that –

Waterland, in short, would teach me never again to regard location as a mere incidental feature of fiction. I could look at my preceding novels and see how important location and something going beyond just physical location—locality—is to them. Novels are there, I believe now, to be true to, to insist on, sometimes to celebrate, the inescapable locality of existence.

Another explosion in the genesis of the book was to make its narrator, Tom Crick, a history teacher,

says Swift, and adds –

And what does your history teacher do? He presses his ear closer to the keyhole of his own door; attempts to repulse the assaults of his heartbeat; to interpret silence. A tell-tale silence? An incriminating silence? A guilty silence?

And the way in which he so beautifully describes a history teacher –

What is a history teacher? He’s someone who teaches mistakes. While others say, Here’s how to do it, he says, And here’s what goes wrong. While others tell you, This is the way, this is the path, he says, And here are a few bungles, botches, blunders and fiascos . . . It doesn’t work out; it’s human to err (so what do we need, a God to watch over us and forgive us our sins?).

And that’s exactly something that Bioregional Literary Studies does!

It helps us learn from the mistakes of the past, and gently nudges us to proactively engage with the region!

And the next quote from Waterland is real epic. And I quote –

Children, only animals live entirely in the Here and Now. Only nature knows neither memory nor history. But man—let me offer you a definition—is the story-telling animal.

Wherever he goes he wants to leave behind not a chaotic wake, not an empty space, but the comforting marker-buoys and trailsigns of stories. He has to go on telling stories, he has to keep on making them up.

As long as there’s a story, it’s all right. Even in his last moments, it’s said, in the split second of a fatal fall—or when he’s about to drown—he sees, passing rapidly before him, the story of his whole life.

Why wait? Do grab for yourself a copy of Waterland by Graham Swift, and start paying attention to the LifePlace that makes up your region! 😊

"Less than one percent of the population has PhDs, so if you have one, be proud; it’s a big deal" ❤️

Shocking Data | On PhDs that take Ages with TN Universities!

Only 29.4% of PhD candidates managed to submit their thesis within five years!

#newspaperinlearning 

What does it mean to think like a doctoral student?

#newspaper | 2nd May 2025

Today’s New Indian Express

Data from 13 state universities in Tamil Nadu have revealed that only 29.4% of PhD students are able to complete the course within five years.

Alarmed by the figures, the Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE) has decided to take up a detailed survey to identify the challenges faced by state institutions and PhD scholars that are causing delays.

According to initial data collected by TANSCHE from the 13 Universities under the Higher Education Department, 42,913 students had enrolled in PhD programmes in the last five years. Of them, only 12,625 students (29.4%) managed to submit their thesis within five years.

Varsity officials said that ideally PhD scholars should be able to finish their degrees within three to five years, with the maximum time allowed to complete the programme being six years.

“Nearly 70% of the scholars are unable to finish their PhD within five years. To address the problem, we need to identify the root causes. A questionnaire is being prepared for the students and this will provide us clarity on their problems,”

said TANSCHE vice chairman MP Vijayakumar.

During his recent meeting with vice chancellors, CM Stalin had advised them to prioritise research work.

As per the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report of 2021-22, as many as 28,867 researchers enrolled for PhDs in the state that year, 2,854 received their doctorates.

Alarming facts indeed.

Although TN leads India in PhD enrollments, the question is, why-on-earth does it take a candidate beyond five years to submit their PhD thesis?

In fact, the PhD journey is a highly demanding intellectual endeavour, that requires a lot of commitment on the part of the candidate as well as the supervisor!

Even in the United States, the situation is almost the same, say researchers.

Globally, only 1.1% of 25- to 64-year-olds have a doctoral level education, and a doctorate is generally seen as the highest academic achievement you can obtain.

However, in the US, despite producing the highest number of doctorates, figures show that only slightly more than 50% of those who take on a PhD actually graduate! (Lani 2020).

Even if you follow data all the way back to the 1950s, the average reported completion rate has been only 61%.

But this is not just a US phenomenon, and low figures are quoted for Europe (66%: European University Association 2019) and the UK (70%: Jump 2013).

Australian Government 2020 data shows that from 2010 to 2016, the national completion rate for master’s/PhD programmes was a shocking 14.9%

says Nicholas Rowe, in his book titled, The Realities of Completing a PhD: How to Plan for Success.

Jason R. Karp’s 2009 book titled, How to survive your PhD has some interesting pointers in this direction.

Jason says -

Did you know that less than 1 percent of the U.S. population has a PhD?

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education and National Science Foundation, 43,354 PhDs were awarded by U.S. schools in 2005 (their most recent data). Of these, 27,974 were awarded in science and engineering disciplines, and 15,380 were awarded in liberal arts and humanities disciplines.

Sounds like a lot of PhDs hanging around, but these figures are actually quite small when you consider there are over 300 million people living and working in the United States. These small numbers are one reason why doctors, whether they’ve earned PhDs or MDs, hold such a prestigious role in society today,

says Jason, and proceeds to put forth some wonderful ideas on how to successfully submit one’s PhD on time! -

Don’t enter a PhD programme thinking that it will be your ticket to some cushy college professor job with three to four months off every summer. Sure, it could happen, but that’s not what a PhD really means.

A PhD is about learning, about working your tail off, about striving for excellence, about the process of becoming a scholar. And, when it’s all done, for the honour of being called “Doctor” with all of its privileges and responsibilities.

A PhD is an Opportunity

there will be plenty of opportunities when you are working on your PhD, opportunities including –

• Working side-by-side with faculty and experts

• Conversing with other graduate students about issues in your discipline

Taking a wide variety of classes on various subjects

• Teaching undergraduate students about your field

• Becoming involved with research projects

• Presenting your research at academic conferences

• Sharing your research findings with scholarly communities by publishing your work

• Conveying your research findings to the general public

The key to PhD success is the ability to recognize these opportunities when they present themselves. You want to choose a school that will offer you the maximum number of opportunities, one that matches your research interests, too.

For example, maybe there’s a certain person you admire in your discipline and working with him or her would help you learn what you wouldn’t otherwise learn somewhere else. To be the best, you need to rub elbows with the best. Choose a school that will give you the best opportunities to learn and become successful.

Writing your research interests on paper will force you to think about what you want to study and help make your ideas more concrete. Try listing your research interests below, starting with some general areas and then listing specific ones.

My General Research Interests

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

My Specific Research Interests

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

If you can list more than five general or specific research interests, chances are you’re not focused enough. As a doctoral student, your research will focus on a very specific area.

For example, a general research interest could be “child development,” but child development research alone is not specific enough. Listing “factors that influence child development” is still not specific enough, unless you want to spend the rest of your life working on your PhD.

What about child development do you want to study? The effect of nutrition on physical maturation? How different types of parenting styles affect behavior? The effect of single-parent homes compared to dual-parent homes on the development of social skills?

Another general research interest could be “psychology,” and then your specific interests could include the factors influencing deviant behavior among high school students, the effects of serotonin on mood in clinically depressed patients, or the various factors that influence memory.

Of course, your dissertation will inevitably become even more specific than these issues as you learn.

Ask yourself what you are most interested in studying. More importantly, what excites you?

Patience

If someone were to ask me to pick one word to describe my PhD experience, the word would have to be “patience.” My lack of patience led to a lot of self-inflicted, unnecessary stress.

Academia moves slowly. Be prepared to wait for your advisor to read your research manuscripts that you intend to submit for publication, for your advisor to read your dissertation proposal, for your committee members to read your proposal, for your advisor to read your dissertation, etc.

Thinking Like a Doctoral Student

What does it mean to think like a doctoral student, and how exactly do you know whether or not you’re thinking like one? Is thinking like a doctoral student different than thinking like a normal person? What do doctoral students do that makes them unique?

Many people go through their daily lives without really thinking too deeply about countless issues.

If you sit in a public place and listen to the conversations that people have with each other, you’ll notice that most of those conversations are superficial in nature.

People tend to talk about smaller things rather than major thoughts or monumental feelings. We get so wrapped up in our busy lives (and spend too much time watching TV) that we spend little time actually thinking. Look at the books people read. When most people graduate from college, they usually don’t continue reading the kinds of texts they were “forced” to read while in school.

For example, how many people do you know who read Shakespeare in their free time? Or physics textbooks? Or essays on literary theory?

Instead of reading the works of great scientists, philosophers, sociologists, economists, among numerous other legends, people read romance novels, Dr. Phil’s latest weight loss book, or People magazine to find out what Britney Spears has been up to recently.

With all due respect to romance novels, Dr. Phil, and Britney Spears, reading these things doesn’t do much for your brain or your own personal development and enrichment. Except for pure, cheap entertainment value, they’re largely a waste of time.

As a doctoral student, however, you’ll spend a lot of time reading and thinking about what you read. During the time you spend on your degree, you’re expected to eventually become one of those scholars whose work you’ve been reading the last four or more years.

While undergraduate students want to know what and sometimes how, graduate students want to know why.

Basically, as an undergraduate, you learn what is already known, but as a graduate student, especially as a doctoral student, you learn to add to the body of existing knowledge in your discipline.

Think Big 

You know you’re thinking like a doctoral student if you like studying a subject so specific that you can discuss it with only five other people in the world.

The first step in thinking like a doctoral student is to think big. No one has ever achieved something great without first believing it could be achieved, however seemingly impossible at first.

A PhD is the highest academic degree conferred by a university, after all. Believe it or not, despite the greater salary, prestige, and respect given to MDs, a PhD is considered a higher academic degree by most.

Less than one percent of the population has PhDs, so if you have one, be proud; it’s a big deal.

Understand the Literature

The third step in thinking like a doctoral student is to understand the prior body of work in your specific area of study. Before you can develop your own ideas, you first need to understand what research has been done before you entered the field—believe it or not, people were doing research long before you were born—and that requires a lot of reading.

What are the major thoughts and arguments for popular topics in your discipline? Have these thoughts and arguments changed over the years? If so, why have they changed? What new information exists that didn’t exist before? Gaining knowledge of your discipline and establishing yourself as an authority are necessary to successfully move forward.

Be Critical

The fourth step in thinking like a doctoral student is to be critical. Don’t believe everything you read and don’t take everything at face value.

Reason

The fifth step in thinking like a doctoral student is to reason your way through a problem. Say you’re presented with a problem or question in your discipline. First, write down what the problem or question is!

Publications: Publish or Perish

One of my fellow grad students once told me that I should have more than just my dissertation as a publication when I graduate. Although having as many publications as you can is arguably important when applying for faculty positions (the infamous “publish or perish” philosophy).

If you’re clever and think like a doctoral student, you may be able to get two or even three publications just from your dissertation alone.

There is no question among the academic professorate that the purpose of research is publication. Your professors cannot get tenure without getting published and getting published often.

Even the ones who are already tenured still regard a publication as the Holy Grail; a long publication list can lead to promotions, higher salaries, and professional prestige.

As a scholar, you will not be judged by your breadth or depth of knowledge, your service-related activities, or, if you’re working in a scientific discipline, your dexterity in the laboratory. No, you will become known and judged by your publications; so when it comes to a publication, everyone wants a piece of the pie.

Intellectual Property

While working on your PhD, you’re going to generate tons of written work, some of which will be based on your own ideas. Therefore, it’s a good precaution to protect your intellectual property. 

There are four main categories of intellectual property: patents, trademarks, designs, and copyright. While the majority of your doctoral work will fall within the copyright category, patents, trademarks, and designs may also apply to your work if you are working in a discipline in which you will design or create things (e.g., architecture, engineering, dramatic arts, among others).

Conferences

Regardless of your discipline, one of the things you’ll do as a PhD student is submit your research, most often in the form of an abstract (or synopsis) to present your findings at a conference. 

Presenting your research at a conference is a wonderful opportunity to share your research with others in your discipline, not to mention a great chance to develop yourself professionally. When you attend conferences, make sure you bring business cards and hand them out judiciously.

Well, I’ve just given a few vignettes excerpted from the legends on how to complete your PhD within the stipulated timeframe, and make sure you finish it well within the five-year plan! 😊

By creating a dedicated workspace, mapping your timeline, and learning to say no to non-essential commitments that could take away valuable time from your thesis work, you can plan on submitting your thesis well ahead of the deadline.

Finishing your PhD on time is indeed a significant achievement. By planning effectively, staying focused, and taking care of yourself, you can navigate the final stages and submit your thesis with confidence.

Best wishes! 😊

Works Cited

Rowe, Nicholas. The Realities of Completing a PhD: How to Plan for Success. NY: Routledge, 2021.

Karp, Jason. How to survive your PhD: The Insider’s Guide to Avoiding Mistakes, Choosing the Right Program, Working with Professors, and Just how a Person actually Writes a 200-page paper. Illinois: Source Books, 2009.

Lee, Anne and Rob Bongaardt. The Future Of Doctoral Research: Challenges and Opportunities. NY: Routledge, 2021.

PS: You may want to read our past post on How to Identify Research Gaps? HERE on our blog.

Yet another article, on ‘Why Research’ may be quite useful in motivating you towards the right kind of research, HERE on our blog.