I am a white British subject and I was bullied to shreds.

Just thought I'd add that here.

Hairui, please write to:
[email protected].

Thanks!

By the way: of course you can succeed with the right topic AND the right supervisor... but if your supervisor is bent on ruining you and your reputation (like mine was) then it's not possible to succeed.

But the message we should send to everyone is do not be perturbed by a one=off bad situation... and that it is possible to find another PhD and have a productive and normal experience.

RJB, I really want to echo everything you say and, from the heart, I'm with you all the way, because i had such a nasty experience, my supervisor is such a nasty piece of work....and he will definitely get his own comeuppence one day.

But don't worry, there are other things around the corner for us... I am doing something completely different at the moment and I really believe that sometimes things that look bad in the beginning are blessings in disguise.

OK, great, I'll get the ball rolling.....

If I write an article is there anyone there who can proofread it/add things to it, for/with me??

OK, I like that approach.. going to think about going the TES and giving them a story.

No worries Rick; I need all the advice/input I can get and it's talking to people like you about experiences that helps put what happened to me in perspective.

It's a good idea Rick and the institution I was at had one, but it was ambiguous to say the least. One statement was "the supervisor should give the student all the support that is needed". I mean any evil supervisor can look like he's providing support while he's stabbing you in the back!!!

Wow, I like what you've done badhaircut! That's a nice idea.

I've been chewing the cud a bit since I posted... I wanted everyone's views.

But I do agree very strongly with drwhoknows' view that it doesn't stop at PhD level and that it continues throughout academia. If we apply a procedure/system just to PhD students, then they'll only get bullied out of their jobs when they qualify!!!! I mean it makes it totally useless then, doesn't it?!

It feels like you have to tackle the whole thing.. and that is one, big, evil monster.

Thanks everyone.

I am doing exactly as you say: I'm distancing myself from the situation and I'm waiting to see what others say.

Yes, I'm upset, because I was forced out of my job. Yes, I'm upset because my supervisor got away with accusing me of a catalogue of things which were plainly untrue. Yes, I'm upset that my supervisor duped me into "exams" that were set up to put the final nail in my coffin. Yes, I'm upset that people like him win in the situation.

I'm not going to do anything at all. If others want to do something with me, that's different, but most people are afraid... especially of the bullying tag.

I didn't realise the drop out rate was as high as 50% - so I'm not in the minority then.

I'm not the only one who wishes I could do something about it: someone else is going to go through what I did.... could be someone weaker....

OK, thanks for your input.

I am fired up and having chewed the cud a bit, I feel there is not much hope: as someone rightly mentioned previously, the bullying does not stop at PhD level. It infiltrates through academia.

I was going to say, how can we apply a system just to PhD students and then not consider the academics, i.e. so it stops at PhD level, but begins again when you qualify??

That's the point. If you tackle one part, you have to tackle all of it.

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.

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.