I'm a freelance journalist researching a piece on postgrad supervision. I'm looking for someone to talk to me about their experience.(I'm also an ex-PHD student in English myself so am well aware of the trials and tribulations of the PhD experience!) Please post a reply if you are interested!

contact email address for anyone interested in having a brief chat to me is: lynch.suzanne@gmail.com

Also, this will be quite a big feature in a national newspaper - an opportunity to highlight important postgrad issues!

*Snigger* A big feature might include Olivia's favourite fish recipes...

i'd be interested in reading that. will you let us here on the board know when it appears, and where?

Yes, I'll email you. BTW, are you aware that QTPie wants to address the issue of BULLYING? I've emailed him/her. Maybe we could all meet up for a chin wag?

do you mean speak with in person?

hi, i would be interested but would it be annonymous?

I think it is a good idea to meet up with fellow cyber characters, don't you?

People, don't be so naive.

That scumbag (new word, found it on some other thread) is only here to exploit you and not to represent your views or reality in a balanced way. Plus, saying "will also be featured in some national newspapers" sounds annoyingly arrogant, like if the survey is only needed to confirm prefabricated positions.

Yo Jouri,
Stop being a sceptic! Something good might come out of this. Suzanne is making an effort and we should all support her. What's the point in moaning and not doing anything about it? Infact, there are quite a number of articles out there which address rogue academics. This is the 21st century and things HAVE TO change but it won't happen unless we stick our fingers out and do something about it. So there!

You might be right, things have to change. The question is, will we live to see the changes? Given the bueraucracy in academia, the arrogance of evil and the hierarchical position of Ph.D students it seems to me that the change will take centuries to happen. That's why I'll be out of this once I graduated.

How could the article be complete without the famous mouthbreather trout recipe??!

Hey Jouri,
Quite right, the red tape will just kill anybody's determination. However, that does not mean we don't do anything about it. Seeds have to be planted and indeed we will not see the fruits of our labour. But if we chip away slowly, the dam will collapse. Afterall, Rome was not built in a day. Like you, I do not want to mix with the slimeballs in academia and will do a runner on completion of the PhD. But whilst I'm in it, I want to make a contribution.