{"id":114523,"date":"2020-06-10T16:53:09","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T14:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=114523"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:58","slug":"phd-students-feeling-the-squeeze-its-quite-solitary-as-it-is-and-covid-has-only-made-it-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/06\/10\/phd-students-feeling-the-squeeze-its-quite-solitary-as-it-is-and-covid-has-only-made-it-worse\/","title":{"rendered":"PhD students feeling the squeeze: \u2018It\u2019s quite solitary as it is \u2013 and Covid has only made it worse\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

All sorts of measures have been taken to alleviate the Covid crisis for regular students: a share of their tuition fee is refunded in the event of delays, and the university is digitalising as many parts of its curricula as possible. But for PhD students the burden has only become heavier: they are forced to teach students online rather than face to face, and in many cases they\u2019ve had to put their experiments and studies on hold.<\/p>\n\t

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The PhD students are asking the university for measures. Last week they published an open letter in which they explained their problems and possible solutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Visiting concerts is impossible<\/h2>
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Femke Vandenberg<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Femke Vandenberg (ESHCC) is studying the current phenomenon whereby more and more people are listening to locally produced music. The Irish researcher has Dutch roots, but growing up she knew nothing about the Netherlands\u2019 musical landscape. This didn\u2019t stop her from including the Dutch levenslied<\/em> in her doctoral study, and just before the Covid crisis, she could even be found attending a Trijntje Oosterhuis concert at the Ziggo Dome.<\/p>\n

During such events, she asks concertgoers whether she can interview them about the factors that have formed their musical preferences. \u201cI had already rounded off the interviews for my first case study, about levensliederen <\/em>(the Dutch version of schlager music). So I could still publish about that. But I had just started on my second and third case studies when the crisis started.\u201d This meant Vandenberg had to skip the next three concerts on her list. And it\u2019s still very unclear when large-scale events like concerts will be allowed again. She has around 18 months left until her presentation. \u201cI\u2019ve tried to contact people via online concerts, but this proved harder than expected.\u201d In the concert stream chat rooms, no one responded to her requests for an interview.<\/p>\n

In fact, Vandenberg has been forced to acknowledge Covid in its own right. \u201cI\u2019ve been rewriting my research proposal to include a comparison between people\u2019s online and offline concert experiences.\u201d She isn\u2019t sure to which extent this will lead to delays in her programme. It\u2019s hard to deal with that kind of uncertainty. \u201cMost PhD students are in a similar situation: you don\u2019t know whether you can start planning field research, or a trip to the archives. Nor can I be sure that I\u2019ll ultimately be writing the best thesis I could have come up with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another thing that makes the current crisis harder for doctoral candidates is the lack of interaction with colleagues, according to Vandenberg. \u201cPhD research is quite solitary as it is, and Covid has only made it worse. I wouldn\u2019t call it lonely per se, but you do become a bit of a hermit. And now you don\u2019t even have the opportunity to walk over to the coffee vending machine and chat about your work with a colleague. I\u2019m lucky enough to have a boyfriend at home who doesn\u2019t mind hearing about my research. But not everyone\u2019s that fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

'It would be nice if the university was a little more flexible'<\/h2>
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Gabriela Dankova<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

For her doctoral research into genetic identification, Gabriela Dankova (Erasmus MC) has to visit the lab almost daily. But the facility was forced to close its doors at the start of the lockdown \u2013 with Dankova half-way through an experiment. Fortunately, the lab reopened some six weeks later, in early May. \u201cWe still need to keep our distance, but that isn\u2019t too big a problem for my department, thankfully: it\u2019s a small department and the lab itself is quite spacious,\u201d explains Dankova.<\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean her worries are over. \u201cFor my experiments, I\u2019m also dependent on other people being present at the hospital, and they don\u2019t always work on location.\u201d In addition, she was planning to supervise a student project at the lab in May. \u201cBut these students aren\u2019t always allowed in \u2013 and it remains to be seen how long this ban will remain in place.\u201d Of course, this has given her more time for other matters, like writing up lab results. \u201cStill, this isn\u2019t what I was supposed to be doing, so it has messed up my planning to a degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hardest thing to deal with for Dankova is the uncertainty. \u201cI get it that the university can\u2019t avoid delays, but it would be nice if they were a little flexible in for example the number of publications required, or if they alotted some more time.\u201d The most important thing in her view is that the university recognises the challenges faced by PhD students and listens to what they have to say.<\/p>\n

'Stress, I tend to notice afterwards'<\/h2>
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Zouhair Hammana<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

In his doctoral programme, Zouhair Hammana (ESHCC) researches diversity-related issues at various secondary schools. \u201cFor example, I am studying how teachers handle specific situations in the classroom as well as outside.\u201d He originally planned to conduct interviews on location in March and April. This had to be called off when the crisis broke. \u201cOf course, you could still interview people via Zoom, but this is hardly practical with a target group that works in education. To start, teachers working in secondary education have generally had their fill of Zoom, and they have to put a lot of extra work into online education for their pupils. On top of this, video interviews ultimately don\u2019t work as well as talking face to face.\u201d With secondary schools starting to reopen, Zouhair can try to arrange new interview appointments. Still, he\u2019s a bit pressed for time: the summer holidays are coming up.<\/p>\n

As a doctoral candidate, Zouhair also supervises student work groups. Right now, this is still done via digital channels, making the process more demanding than usual. \u201cI never know exactly how much stress I\u2019m going through \u2013 I tend to find out afterwards. I start to feel physically tired and see a drop in my output.\u201d He isn\u2019t entirely sure how much he\u2019ll fall behind due to the Covid crisis \u2013 right now, Zouhair is half-way through his doctoral programme. \u201cIt prevents you from doing your fieldwork. Of course, you try to get back on track as soon as possible. But looking at your planning, you can definitely see delays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, hundreds of doctoral candidates called on the university to take steps to alleviate their situation. After EM<\/em> reported on this letter, the Executive Board invited the signatories to an informal consultation. The doctoral candidates will be sending several delegates to this meeting, which will be held on Thursday. During Tuesday\u2019s broadcast of Erasmus TV<\/em>, EUR\u2019s Chief Diversity Officer Semiha Denktas already argued for an extension to PhD students\u2019 existing contracts.<\/p>\n\n\t

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