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really clever in their research area but have
minimal or no training in supervision.
Some of them don’t even believe in the
need to be worried about the ‘person’ side
of the business. They’re content to just
get the data out and get more work done.
And again, they will have an impact on
students. Although not as extreme as toxic
supervisors, they will have high demands
and be very critical when giving feedback.
They’re very busy, so they’re not around
much, and they leave the student alone, but
they get upset when things don’t happen.
Again, I’m not blaming these supervisors;
they haven’t had the support and training
they need.
The next issue that comes up all the time
is the isolation. Research students often feel
that no one else is interested in their work,
and they don’t want to talk to the supervisors
because that’s a bit scary. So they’re very
much left on their own. In terms of mental
health, if you’re concerned or worried being
left all by yourself, the worries will multiply
and become more extreme.
Then, when students do seek help,
maybe from the graduate school, they
don’t get very clear answers or much
support, and they feel nobody cares about
their situation.
In addition, they’re under a lot of pressure
to finish within time, to publish papers, all
these things. And they’re also wondering:
“Will I get a job at the end of all this?”
So, if a student experiences all these
things – bad supervision, no support,
feeling isolated, things going wrong with
their research – that’s a good mix for
developing mental health issues.
Has this issue become more prevalent over
time, or are we just more aware now?
There’s a couple of things going on.
Sometimes people will tell me: “This is
the way it’s always been. There’s nothing
we can do. These are our policies and
procedures. We’ve done PhDs for decades
and this is nothing different.”
However, the argument I’m putting
forward is that things are not the same, this
is not always the way it was.
In Australia, over the past 25 years, the
number of PhD students, or beginning
research students, has increased sixfold. The
number of international students in Australia
has tripled in about the last 10 years.
Also, the types of people doing PhDs are
very different now – they’re people who
are working, large numbers of international
students, people who have less academic
backgrounds. We have many more
students now, but the supervisor support
hasn’t changed. They haven’t kept pace
with that at all. The pressure to publish
during a PhD wasn’t there 25 years ago;
now you have to be publishing papers as
well as doing a PhD.
What’s happened in Australia in more
recent times is the huge pressure to finish
on time. We have to get people out in three
years, and that wasn’t there before, and the
reality is almost nobody does finish in three
years, but there’s this huge pressure to do
that. That’s why I’d argue the system has
changed a lot, and that’s one part.
As to the second part of your question,
there’s no doubt we talk about it more
now. There was no doubt that there were
mental health issues before, but now,
fortunately, it’s more acceptable to talk
about that. It becomes more public, and
so that’s part of the reason as well.
What can students do to address this?
The one important resource which I’m
very supportive of is the Council of
Australi an Postgraduate Associations
(CAPA). Postgraduate associations are
really important; they’re available across
the country in terms of support and
funding and things like that, but a good
postgraduate association would be an
advocate for the student, where someone
could go and talk to them in a confidential,
secure place and get advice.
Many students are reluctant to complain
through official channels because they’re
worried they’ll be discriminated against,
that it will come back to haunt them and be
career-damaging. That’s where I think the
postgraduate association or some student
head body is a really good support.
The key group I was talking to today
are in graduate schools, and I was saying
to them that they need to be open to
students, to go out and talk to students,
to make sure they know it’s okay to raise
these types of issues. When students are
not meeting milestones or hurdles, when
things are going wrong, don’t just send
an email saying, “You’re falling behind.”
Contact the students and ask, “How
are things going? Do we need to do
something about this?”
Use those early warning signs to pick up
on some of the issues.
As for the students themselves, it’s hard
for them because they’re isolated. When
you’re doing a PhD or research degree,
it’s just you and your supervisor, so you
don’t have cohorts of people around you.
That’s why I think postgrad associations are
important as a way of doing that.
Is there anything else about this issue that
you would like to mention?
In the UK earlier this year, a group called
the Higher Education Funding Council
for England (now called the Office for
Students) gave out £1.5 million ($2.7 million)
in grants, spread over about 17 universities,
to look at mental health issues and what
could be done to prime the pump and get
things going.
We should be doing something similar
in Australia – raising the issues, putting
some funding into looking at options and
solutions, and getting this on the agenda
and talking more about it.
Most people are very aware of these
problems, but that’s not enough. They have
to do something about it, and to argue for
more funding from government bodies,
the university or whatever group may have
funding or an interest in this topic.
Were the people who heard your talk today
receptive to that message?
Yes. I was a bit concerned about how
they were going to feel because I was
basically telling them, “You need to do
more.” But I think most people nodded and
agreed yes, this is a problem. They’re very
aware because they see it day to day, but
sometimes it’s not very clear what needs
to be done.
My suggestion was that you have to start
arguing for more support. Start lobbying
within your own university and then more
widely to say, “We have to put some effort
behind some of these things.”
According to a study published by Ghent
University in Belgium last year, about a
third of their respondents had symptoms
of mental health issues. That’s a lot of
people. So I was saying to the audience
today that when you’re sending out an
email to a student, or sending them
information, remember that a third of
those people might not be in a very good
place, and might not respond very well if
you’re telling them, “Things aren’t going
well, here’s your problem.”
So be aware of that, and be a little more
thoughtful in the way you communicate
your ideas – bear in mind that there’s a
person at the other end. ■
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