By Marte C. W. Solheim
Working in academia has its perks, and one of the reasons why Marte C.W. Solheim left her job in the industry, was to be able to study in-depth some of the mechanisms related to diversity and innovation she had observed throughout her life living abroad and in Norway. She had a clear purpose of what she wanted to do setting out on the PhD journey, but not all went as smoothly as she had anticipated. Now, a few years on, with the benefit of hindsight: what are some of the key elements that constituted that journey?
I was invited by the Nordic Research School of Innovation (NORSI) to reflect on my PhD journey and my academic career in a fireside chat.
The evening prior to this event I was sitting at home and thinking about it all, and what would comprise some of the key components that pushed me through the PhD track and beyond. I turned to my husband and I asked him: what would you say, having lived with me through the PhD, is the first word that pops to your mind?
His first word was pain. We laughed, but there was something to it. Some of the pain of my PhD journey related to feeling stuck, lack of progress, and merely not feeling good enough. Blood, sweat, and tears, dripping down on the statistics course paper on a late Saturday night. Or, on a more personal note, during the last year of my PhD journey, my mother falling ill and passing away. The PhD journey does not happen in isolation, nor is it linear in terms of learning and milestones, but has its setbacks and loops. COVID-19 has made this increasingly evident in the last years, as the PhD does not happen in an ivory tower isolated from outside world events. It is therefore, crucially vital to acknowledge the ‘whole 360’ of peoples lives, for PhDs, their supervisors, and the institutions (hurray for some institutions also acknowledging this through extending time for PhD students).
Moving on from the pain and perhaps because (most of the time) I am quite the positive type, I thought that the second step after the pain and reflections that came along with it, refers to persistence. Despite wanting to quit my PhD (many times), I did not give up and pushed through (kudos here also to my supervisors). Imagine your PhD is like building a cairn, you have to start with that first stone, to lay another one on top. Just keeping at it and getting up despite facing rejections and sensations of feeling stupid and that “everyone else has their act together”.
This leads me to the third p, which is purpose, which for me, relates to contemplating why you want to pursue a PhD, and herein, really aim at identifying why are you setting out on this journey and what is your mission? Identifying that purpose is important and I would advise you to hang it up, somewhere visible, so when you are experiencing some pain /setbacks etc., you are reminded why you are doing this. And that it matters. And that it speaks to the textbook understanding of purpose: the reason something exists.
Passion in terms of the PhD journey feeds into purpose, but here focusing more on figuring out what you are passionate about, and nurture and ‘feed that animal’. Identify what drives you and what makes you talk real fast about something, or what triggers a spark in you? For me, it was increasingly about identifying what I like to call “a human touch”: social relations and mechanisms that are underlying innovation. With an upbringing valuing and being exposed to diversity in experiences and relations, and spending several years abroad myself, I have always been interested in social relations and how intersection of diverse knowledge and experience could create something new.
Hereunder, I believe it is important to have a sensation of progress, and for me, that was often related to setting feasible milestones, and deadlines and research dissemination has been a big part of that for me. A PhD often seem to have one milestone, i.e. writing and completing a paper, which then a few of them would comprise the thesis. Here one often forgets the importance and (potential) motivation (and positive spillover effects) that lies in other activities within a PhD. A PhD is often compared to a marathon and disseminating research can offer the experience of mastering and achieving milestones, sustain motivation, and prompt new research directions. This has happened to me on several occasions, and fruitful collaborations has arised because of research dissemination and the exposure. As also argued by many, research is of no use unless it gets to where its needed/useful, so I would certainly argue in favour of doing such, but here, of course, it is important to ‘find your way’, so that you can be authentic, and genuine and comfortable in the way that you approach research dissemination.
In terms of progress, I would also add that for me, it is also wise to be pragmatic, and deal with things in realistic manners, such as planning and to-do lists or ways of achieving your goals that are realistic. I often sit down and look at my calender before starting the week, and plan and map out how the days of the week will look like. But things can change, so its good to keep in mind: just start. Sometimes thinking about something is harder than just starting to do it. My motto is, and I am sure many other have had the same realisation: You cannot edit a blank page.
Lastly, but crucially important, is the last of the P`s, which is people. Both in terms of the research that I carry out, that has a “human touch” concerning understanding the mechanisms and relations and outcomes of human interaction, but also in terms of the people I have met on my way. Finding and collaborating with kind people has been pivotal to my PhD journey and beyond. Moreover, support from supervisors, peers, family and friends are also crucial.
No PhD journey is the same, however, I believe that there are some factors that could be crucial to consider. First, it would be good to find a group (i.e. for example a research school?) where you can engage in fruitful and interesting discussions, a smaller group where you hold eachother accountable for progress (could be motivating), don’t be afraid to ask for help or advise, and don’t let your happiness be solely dependent on what happens related to work. Hence, focus also on personal community and belonging, and on finding ‘your voice’ and way in academia and beyond.
In the words of Maya Angelou:“You only are free when you realize you belong no place — you belong every place — no place at all.The prize is high. The reward is great”’