{"id":61137,"date":"2022-01-20T03:02:05","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T08:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=61137"},"modified":"2022-01-20T03:02:05","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T08:02:05","slug":"pandemic-disruption-to-phd-research-is-bad-for-society-and-the-economy-but-there-are-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/pandemic-disruption-to-phd-research-is-bad-for-society-and-the-economy-but-there-are-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandemic disruption to PhD research is bad for society and the economy \u2013 but there are solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nEvery year thousands of students enrol in PhD degrees at universities in New Zealand. The government funds their degrees because the advanced knowledge and innovations they develop\u00a0benefit our economy and society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But there is\u00a0growing concern<\/a>\u00a0about the impact of COVID-19 on doctoral students. It\u2019s feared some will abandon their degrees, with real implications for the potential future social and economic benefits of the research.<\/p>\n

PhD students are required to do extensive research and document their findings in a thesis. Many do this using specialised equipment available only on university campuses.<\/p>\n

Due to the lockdowns in the past two years, however, most were locked out of their labs for several months. Given the ongoing uncertainty, how can we help students whose degrees are being disrupted?<\/p>\n

The funding problem<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The government bases funding on the assumption a PhD takes three years to complete full-time, plus the time for thesis examination, meaning universities are funded for these degrees for four years.<\/p>\n

Universities also award top students three-year scholarships to help pay their living expenses while they do their research. Some offer grants to students while they write their thesis and are examined during their fourth year.<\/p>\n

Stalled research and disrupted study<\/strong><\/h4>\n

We don\u2019t yet know how long PhDs will be extended as students try to recover time lost due to the pandemic. But closing university campuses during the lockdowns stalled many research projects.<\/p>\n

Health scientists at the University of Otago, for example, estimated\u00a095% of their projects were affected<\/a>. Like their\u00a0overseas counterparts<\/a>, even those who could work from home struggled to make progress due to limited access to supervisors and colleagues.<\/p>\n

Now back in their labs, students are having to\u00a0adjust their research plans<\/a>. A study by Te P\u016bnaha Matatini\u00a0highlighted<\/a>\u00a0how vulnerable our doctoral students are to the ongoing crisis. Many need funded extensions to complete their research. They also face\u00a0shrinking job prospects<\/a>\u00a0in academia.<\/p>\n

The danger is some will abandon their degrees. Surveys suggest up to 25% of PhD students in\u00a0Australia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Canada<\/a>, for example, may halt their training.<\/p>\n

Losing a similar proportion of students in New Zealand will disrupt the research workforce that supports economic growth and social development.<\/p>\n

The power of \u2018small wins\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n

These are big challenges. A report from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment identified that universities, policymakers, funders and the community will need to work together to\u00a0protect the future of the research sector<\/a>. In the meantime, I think two smaller changes could make a difference.<\/p>\n

Improving how students measure their progress will increase the rate at which they complete their degrees. It is natural for students to struggle. They are searching for new data and insights in their field \u2013 stuff that is hard to find.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0recent survey<\/a>\u00a0highlighted that students who feel stuck, and think they have no significant results, are less likely to finish.<\/p>\n

Currently, there are two major milestones in most PhD programs. Students are assessed at the end of their first year and must have made enough progress developing their research project to continue their degree. After that, the next milestone for most is submission of their thesis.<\/p>\n

Breaking thesis preparation down into manageable chunks during the years in between should help. Researchers following\u00a03,500 European students over 30 years<\/a>\u00a0observed a jump in thesis completions when stricter deadlines for submission of thesis chapters were introduced.<\/p>\n

Helping students make their progress tangible takes advantage of what we know about the\u00a0power of small wins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Better career advice<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The second change involves upgrading the career advice offered to students. Around the world, PhD students aim for a\u00a0career in academia<\/a>. They often rate the alternatives as second best.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0analysis of the national research workforce<\/a>\u00a0in 2020 by the Royal Society of New Zealand showed around 75% of PhD graduates are employed outside universities. It\u2019s vital, therefore, that students receive high-quality information about alternative careers.<\/p>\n

Researchers at ANU have developed\u00a0artificial intelligence tools<\/a>\u00a0that can analyse thousands of job advertisements and identify those suitable for PhD graduates. They found 80% of adverts for highly skilled researchers do not target people with PhD qualifications.<\/p>\n

Taking advantage of the information provided by tools like this will improve how universities train students for their future careers. A better understanding of the demand for research skills should enhance the contribution PhD graduates make to the New Zealand economy.<\/p>\n

And it will mean the next generation of researchers is ready to support the recovery from the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Catherine Whitby is Postgraduate Lead in the School of Natural Sciences and Associate Professor in Chemistry at Massey University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year thousands of students enrol in PhD degrees at universities in New Zealand. The government funds their degrees because the advanced knowledge and innovations they develop\u00a0benefit our economy and society. But there is\u00a0growing concern\u00a0about the impact of COVID-19 on doctoral students. It\u2019s feared some will abandon their degrees, with real implications for the potential […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[428864],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-61137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-higher-education","tag-phd-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPandemic disruption to PhD research is bad for society and the economy \u2013 but there are solutions - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/pandemic-disruption-to-phd-research-is-bad-for-society-and-the-economy-but-there-are-solutions\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pandemic disruption to PhD research is bad for society and the economy \u2013 but there are solutions - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every year thousands of students enrol in PhD degrees at universities in New Zealand. The government funds their degrees because the advanced knowledge and innovations they develop\u00a0benefit our economy and society. But there is\u00a0growing concern\u00a0about the impact of COVID-19 on doctoral students. 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