A lot of discussion has been happening on how to make the laboratory experience a happy one. Given the fact that the Principal Investigators (PI) have tremendous clout and power and that the students/post-docs are on the other end of the power equation, cases of abuse abound. Abuse, of course, takes many hues.
There is an article in Nature on this topic this week. It caught my attention because it described a supervisor who followed the student around the lab, shaming her, yelling at her, and in general being as abusive as possible. There was one more such report from Germany, where a researcher who focuses on empathy was anything but empathetic to her colleagues.
My student applied for post-doc positions in India. I was curious when she rejected some of the good labs. I asked her for reason. She told me that the PI had told her upfront that he expects her to work long hours every day, including the weekends. Implied in this was, of course, she should not take holidays. My student burst out "Don't I have a life?"
Unfortunately, as I am discovering, this attitude is very common. I am also discovering that many PI have put in CCTV as well as microchip to monitor their student's activities. Then there are those who spy out whether a student has boyfriend/girlfriend. Woe betide if they turn out to have one.
Actually, it makes me wonder whether such PI have a life or not. My lab is just one part of my life. Of course I also sometimes (like when a paper is due for revision or when the clock is running out for the student to submit a paper or thesis) restore to hounding a student out and I am sure they grumble and moan about it. But for me, 90% of the time, lab ceases when I walk out of it at 5 pm. That is the end.
I pay for it, of course. I do not have umpteen publications. I will never be made member of any Indian Academies. I will never be given any recognition. But, at the same time, I want to make science fun for my students. They should do it because they enjoy it. They should come to the lab because it is a good place for them to learn. They will make mistakes but in the end, I hope, a spark is lit.
In the end, I suppose, it is about what you want from life.
There is an article in Nature on this topic this week. It caught my attention because it described a supervisor who followed the student around the lab, shaming her, yelling at her, and in general being as abusive as possible. There was one more such report from Germany, where a researcher who focuses on empathy was anything but empathetic to her colleagues.
My student applied for post-doc positions in India. I was curious when she rejected some of the good labs. I asked her for reason. She told me that the PI had told her upfront that he expects her to work long hours every day, including the weekends. Implied in this was, of course, she should not take holidays. My student burst out "Don't I have a life?"
Unfortunately, as I am discovering, this attitude is very common. I am also discovering that many PI have put in CCTV as well as microchip to monitor their student's activities. Then there are those who spy out whether a student has boyfriend/girlfriend. Woe betide if they turn out to have one.
Actually, it makes me wonder whether such PI have a life or not. My lab is just one part of my life. Of course I also sometimes (like when a paper is due for revision or when the clock is running out for the student to submit a paper or thesis) restore to hounding a student out and I am sure they grumble and moan about it. But for me, 90% of the time, lab ceases when I walk out of it at 5 pm. That is the end.
I pay for it, of course. I do not have umpteen publications. I will never be made member of any Indian Academies. I will never be given any recognition. But, at the same time, I want to make science fun for my students. They should do it because they enjoy it. They should come to the lab because it is a good place for them to learn. They will make mistakes but in the end, I hope, a spark is lit.
In the end, I suppose, it is about what you want from life.
No comments:
Post a Comment