Humanizing science: seven actions for PhD students to become next generation, future-proof scientists.
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Open Access
Type
Article
Language
en
Date
2023-10-23
Research Projects
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Title
Humanizing science: seven actions for PhD students to become next generation, future-proof scientists.
Translated Title
Published in
Open Res Eur 2023;2:119
Abstract
This article highlights the importance of including a personal development program in a research training program, particularly, one that employs PhD students. A survey conducted by Nature (2019) shows that PhD students work for over 40 hours every week and that they ranked their work–life balance as a main concern throughout their PhD project. Additionally, academic pressure, uncertainty, and the amount of workload also play a role in mental health problems amongst PhD students. PhD students struggling with mental health problems are reluctant to seek treatment. This is caused by the fear of stigma or the fear of potential negative impact it might have on their future careers. Supervised skill-building programs have shown to improve the lives of university students and to boost their professional influence ( Conley et al., 2015). These programs have helped minimize mental health problems such as anxiety and depression and can improve social and emotional skills. Within the OrganoVIR Personal Development Plan, OrganoVIR’s PhD students, also known as early stage researchers (ESRs), were guided through seven actions to help them become the next generation of scientists. These actions include taking care of their personal well-being, achieving a better understanding of their purpose in life, discovering their own identity, having an excellent understanding of how values and beliefs impact internal and external communication, boost emotional competences, integrating insights in personal and professional life as well as experimenting with new leadership behavior, and recognizing and leading ethical dilemmas.