Sussex Diaries: “One Year On” - Reflections and Lessons from the PhD Community

BY DEVYN GLASS, RESEARCH HIVE SCHOLAR AND DOCTORAL RESEARCHER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX

After a year since the UK went into a nationwide lockdown, the Research Hive Scholars at the University of Sussex asked their fellow Doctoral Researchers to tell them about their experiences of completing a PhD during a pandemic. There has been much discussion about the difficulties that PhD students have faced over the past year, funding difficulties, challenges fostering a working environment, and field work delays to name a few. However, it is clear from the blog posts shared with the Research Hive that we, as a community, have reached a period of reflection.

Many recognise how far there is still to go, in the rollercoaster of the pandemic but also in their own PhD journeys. Yet, by taking a moment to reflect on one’s progress during the last year, we are able to recognise the many personal and professional breakthroughs that have sprouted through a distinctly challenging period.

Doctoral Researchers have adapted everything from drinks tasting to ethnography to work within the confines of the Covid-19 restrictions. Some of our researchers have also been juggling the demands of family life, and significant personal changes and challenges. Despite these challenges, there is a sense that Doctoral Researchers feel they have developed resilience, have found their voice, and have a renewed appreciation for the discoveries that can come from undesirable situations.

credit - Aishwarya Padmanabhan

Below, we share some reflective extracts from the blog posts shared for the Research Hive blog from Doctoral Researchers at the University of Sussex.

“Every colleague or friend I talk to is at some stage of burnout. However, there is one thing about us: we are are a resilient little lot. So we persevere.”

“I have no doubt that we will come out of this stronger, with more life experience than we could have imagined and ready to take on the world.”

Aishwarya Padmanabhan, Sussex Neuroscience

“While it was not a straightforward journey in terms of administration, logistics and design, it will certainly be worthwhile. I am thrilled watching the project take shape.”

“While the pandemic was an unexpected curveball, the drastic change in my circumstances forced me to become more inventive and think outside the narrow lab-shaped box, in which my research was neatly placed. The pandemic has been challenging in more ways than I can describe here, but I have become to appreciate that unconventional situations lead to original ideas and solutions.”

 Helena Blackmore, Sussex Ingestive Behaviour Group, School of Psychology

“Everything was ready. I was going to make great progress over lockdown and feel proud of myself when I turned up at work with half my thesis finished.” 

“Luckily, this whole ‘situation’ gave me an unshakable belief in my own ability to get through difficult times and I now know I am going to finish my PhD.”

Lorna Brigham, Osborne Lab, Chemistry – School of Life Sciences

 “I was surrounded by friends and this made it all the more bearable.”

“Ideas kept me company on the lonely childless weekends of lockdown. I had no one around but these concepts and making connection breathed life into my isolation. So, it was a gift in some ways.” 

Mona Manjot Kaur Dhaliwal, School of Sociology

“I have realised that entire dynamics of doing a research fieldwork (particularly in a pandemic-ridden world), is extremely unpredictable.”

“This empowerment further translated in my confidence to put some delicate questions to them, which otherwise I might have struggled with during an in-person session.”

“On the flip side, I was rather patting my own back with a strong sense of accomplishment by using this social distancing through the virtual medium to my complete advantage.”

 Ritabrata Roy, School of Law 

 “No matter how different one’s experience is, there will always be something in it that is collectively shared and that others find relatable. I may not have any certainty about the world, but I know what I care about and why.”

“I wish I had seen this more clearly three years ago. Research only acquires its meaning with a personal purpose and a distinct voice.”

 Ahlem Faraoun, School of Sociology

A huge thanks to all of our authors for sending pieces for the Research Hive blog, we were taken aback by the amount of thoughtful and insightful accounts of completing a PhD and the optimism that is still evident despite the bumpy road we find ourselves on!

The Doctoral community at Sussex are thrilled to be supported by SAGE Publishing, through their funding of the Research Hive, which helps to provide events to support wellbeing and academic development. Over the next few months, they will benefit from the Research Hive Seminars series, which covers diverse issues that are currently affecting Doctoral Researchers, such as research assessment and rights retention.