Anyway, the issue here is not to punish those who have wronged us, rather it is to prevent those who come after us from having such experiences.

I'm not looking to take a big swipe at my supervisor (although it's what I'd like to do), more so, I'm looking to help others who come after me. It's what you and everybody else who wants to complain should be looking to do.

Anyway, I think my supervisor will get his own come uppence in due course, that is for sure. I don't want to get involved in his downfall - THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANT TO CREATE A MOVEMENT FOR.

I want to look to the future - to change it for others who come after us.

I don't want to look to the past, it's over. What I'm saying is that there is nothing in place to protect students so somebody has to be clever enough to build something that will help them.

If you stay on these forums and do nothing but complain, nothing will be done.

Exactly!

QTPie,

I really endorse your idea but I feel I can’t help you. From my experience (you can read my topic entitled “problem with supervisor” in this forum), in a case of bullying, you only have two choices. First choice: if you don’t want your efforts and hardship to go in vain, you must shut up and beg your supervisor to help you whenever he/she feels like it. Second choice: you can make complaints and no-one will support you or (for that matter) believe you and you will be regarded as the ET the extraterrestrial!!! I don’t want to sound negative but I don’t think there is much you can achieve…

But what if a group existed to support and help you?

hey there,
in general, i like your idea. some points to think about:
- some PhD students suffer from bullying. Others suffer from other things. Do you want to address "just" bullying?
- I assume most institutions of higher education have rules and regulations and offices set up for such cases. The problem lies less in the lack of regulations, than in the enforceability. To enhance the enforceability, I think, you'd have to change fundamental things such as "the culture of academia". I have my doubts that fighting for more rules would make a difference in the long run.
- There is a problem, applicable to most social movements: that people who are being bullied usually do not have time and energy to really fight back in an organised way. People who aren't being bullied, unfortunately don't feel compelled to make a stand out of solidarity for their less fortunate peers. Who then should carry the movement?

shani,
I could easily forget how awful my PhD was and do nothing, but I don't ever want anyone else to feel the way I did. There must be more people like me who want to help.

You're right about enforceability. I can't think of anything that would make a uni listen except bad publicity, and that's not really an option if you want to stay in academia.

There are people who allegedly can help, like the student association or student counselling but, as I said, more often than not no-one believes you. At best, such groups only sympathize with you.

Bullying is a small word to describe my experience, but as shani said, I don’t have the energy to fight back. There is always a loophole in your relationship with your supervisor that the University will take advantage of. How can you overcome these problems? Even so, you will always depend on the Uni in order to get your PhD, a reference letter etc. You will not be able to find a job in the industry, let alone in academia. At the end it’s you, a student on his own, against a lecturer/professor who is backed by the University and the academic community. So, you do the maths…

When I discussed my situation with a friend, he told me: why don’t you write a paper about the quality of research supervision in higher education? So, there is your way of fighting back. Instead of creating a movement, you could do some interviews with students who have been mistreated during their PhD studies and write a paper about it.

Missresearch: you are precisely the right person to help me. Because you have experience of the academic setting. You qualify because you offer an insight into academic life unlike anyone else.

“First choice: if you don’t want your efforts and hardship to go in vain, you must shut up and beg your supervisor to help you whenever he/she feels like it”

If you don’t want your efforts and hardship to go in vain you must beg your supervisor. I begged my supervisor on my hands and knees: he loved every minute of it. He ended up firing me. Do you think that’s fair?

“Second choice: you can make complaints and no-one will support you or (for that matter) believe you and you will be regarded as the ET the extraterrestrial!!!”

That’s precisely why we need to do something about it because so long
as victims of workplace abuse are regarded as criminals, which so often they are, nothing will change.

Think about it: if some of the powers that supervisors have over students were taken away, then they wouldn’t be able to act in the same way, would they?

The problem is, the supervisor is given way too much power without there being any proper system to vet him/her before he gets the job.

For example, what about making somebody who (for example) sympathises with suicide bombers a supervisor because he publishes papers???? But it’s OK, you see, because he publishes those papers.

There’s no vetting for these jobs. The people who are employed to take up the positions are not suitable to guide young and influential students. And they have too much power in their hands.

Nobody wants to say anything against them because too much money is tied up in the whole thing. These people PUBLISH PAPERS and they get money in. And reputation. Everything lies on the reputation of the institution. And having it made public that this institution employed an evil bully will not look good. That’s why nobody wants to do anything about it.

QTPie - I fully support what you are saying, the only thing stopping anyone forming this kind of group, ironically, is the bullying they fear. I have my PhD and believe me the bullying does not stop, early career researchers and teaching staff get a really poor deal too. My problem wasn't even with my suervisor - who was great- its with other more senior academics who like to feel really important and powerful. I truly believe that academia has been privileged in monitoring itself. There is no universal structure to the PhD and the viva itself is truly opaque and woolly. Career prospects are awful - but they don't tell you this when you begin. I raised this at a meeting recently and was treated as if I were an ungrateful agitator! What I do know for a FACT is, despite their professed PC attitude - your social class matters greatly in this profession and can attract bullying. I have observed and experienced this time and time again.

also, yes I'm still on my soap box, teaching and supervision is not highly regarded or rewarded. Its research and publication. I have been involved in the interview process and they look for publications ONLY. Its the RAE first, second and third. If parents of UG students knew how poorly their kids were supervised they'd go bananas.

This is why bullying is so damaging, it can stop publications and end a career. Things need to change. You go for it QTPie.

Is this specific to certain (perhaps the "traditional") institutions? I probably sound naive, but I have really never experienced or even heard about any of this stuff. I have had one horrible colleague, but that's always a risk in any profession.

I would say from my experience at my institution that academics are generous, supportive types.

Industry: now that's a different story. Ugh.

I have been saying this for a long time and QT you have my support!

However, I think you need to think quite broadly. Getting in contact with the press may be one aspect, get in contact with the industries that work alongside universities, write to MPs, just anything to raise the plight of PhDs.

I started thinking outside the box, and I started writing a play based on PhD exploitation that a few actor friends were interested in staging. Taking some time because a) I want it to be accurate (and not about "BadHairCuts shitty supervisor", b) I have to do it between temping.