PhD stories

‘Everyone warned me that PhD is a lonely job’

Students or researchers? PhD candidates fall into a category of their own. What is it like to navigate the sometimes lonely road towards a doctoral degree? In this monthly series, we put the PhDs of the University of Twente in the limelight. This episode gives the stage to Anouk Geenen, a young scientist from the Human Centred Design group.

PhD stories
PhD stories, episode 1: Juliane Schillinger

‘At some point, you will get frustrated with your research’

Students or researchers? PhD candidates fall into a category of their own. What is it like to navigate the sometimes lonely road towards a doctoral degree? In this monthly series, we put the PhDs of the University of Twente in the limelight. This very first episode gives the stage to Juliane Schillinger, a young scientist at the BMS department of Technology, Policy and Society.

News

P-NUT: ‘There should be serious consequences to misconduct’

Four in ten PhDs say that they have experienced misconduct, reported Dutch news medium NOS last week. ‘The issues were known to us, but the extent is not something we recognize,’ reacts PhD Network of the University of Twente (P-NUT).

News

‘Cultuur, ras en religie spelen rol bij ontwikkeling asielbeleid’

Radu Triculescu (31), promovendus aan de faculteit BMS, verdedigt vandaag zijn proefschrift over de invloed van ambtenaren op het EU-asielbeleid. In zijn onderzoek vergelijkt hij onder andere de implementatie van de asielwet in Nederland en Roemenië.

Science

Promotie UT-onderzoeker werpt nieuw licht op prostaatkankerchirurgie

UT-onderzoeker Judith olde Heuvel (29) verdedigt vrijdag haar proefschrift, dat zich richt op een chirurgische ingreep bij prostaatkanker met behulp van Cerenkov-licht. ‘Ik ben de eerste wereldwijd die deze techniek onderzoekt.’

News
Include-U platform

‘PhDs don’t feel connected to the university’

P-NUT (PhD Network of the University of Twente) has started Include-U, a project to facilitate inclusion of international doctoral candidates at the UT. As its first step, P-NUT conducted research into experiences of international PhDs. ‘Based on these interviews, we see there’s a problem with inclusion. The sense of belonging to the UT is missing.’

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News

‘Promoveren heeft niets feestelijks meer’

Menig promovendus ziet de verdediging met alle ceremoniële poespas als een feestelijk hoogtepunt. Het is de bekroning op vier jaar hard werken. Maar nu, in coronatijd, rest er slechts het digitale alternatief. En dat voelt voor veel promovendi niet goed.

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News

'PhD defense has nothing festive about it anymore'

Many PhD students regard the defense, with all its ceremonial rules, as the grand finale of his or her research. It is the crowning glory of four years of hard work. But now, during the corona crisis, there is only the digital alternative. And that doesn't feel right to many PhD candidates.

News
Winners of the (PhD) Best Supervisor Award

‘Don’t forget that PhDs are human beings’

UT researchers Anna Sperotto and Massimo Sartori are joint winners of the first edition of the (PhD) Best Supervisor Award. ‘As a supervisor, you need to understand that your student is a whole person, not a machine producing academic papers.’

News

P-NUT: ‘Working overtime is considered the norm’

‘The university should be more proactive, not just extinguish fires,’ says P-NUT, the PhD Network of the University of Twente. It’s their reaction to the latest Arbo Unie’s Annual Review 2019, which also mentions the recommendation to ‘offer PhD students readily accessible, ongoing support’.

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News

PNN: ook promovendi gaan gebukt onder hoge werkdruk

Promovendi aan Nederlandse universiteiten werken zich een slag in de rondte, met soms burn-out en psychische klachten als gevolg. De druk moet van de ketel, zegt het Promovendi Netwerk Nederland.

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News

PNN: PhD students also suffer from heavy workload

PhD students at Dutch universities often burn the candle at both ends, working long hours that sometimes result in burnouts and other psychological problems. Something needs to be done about the workload, says the Dutch network for PhD students, Promovendi Netwerk Nederland (PNN).

News

Half of PhDs report mental health issues due to corona

The PhD Network of the University of Twente (P-NUT) has conducted a survey to assess the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on UT doctoral candidates. Its results show that 50% of them expect delays due to mental health issues and that 75% of the respondents are less productive working from home.

News
PhD researchers worry about extension of deadlines

‘It is stressful, there are so many uncertainties’

The corona crisis has put research on hold. This impacts all science, but especially PhDs and young researchers are concerned about the situation. Many share the same fear: not being able to finish their research on time. ‘Most PhDs worry about the situation. None of them know if they will be allowed to extend their deadlines,’ says the PhD Network of the University of Twente (P-NUT).

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