A podcast series, such as ours, has been a great way to showcase our fellow Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Candidates’ work and passion. For us editors it has also been an opportunity to collaborate with our colleagues in a way that is quite rare while doing independent PhD projects. In the series we discovered more about our fellow PhD candidates lives and work, and learn from their expertise and experience. We dove deep into the different PhD projects, what inspires the candidates, and we discussed the hobbies and practices that spark their interest aside from their research. The series allowed us to form interesting connections (and a few tangents) which have sparked new avenues of thinking in our collective research areas. Also, the series allowed us to see how interdisciplinarity occurs in practice and the different approaches the LTDS candidates have to it. As it turns out, no one is safe from interdisciplinarity! Not even those who feel comfortable in the boundaries of their own disciplines. In this note we detail just some of the takeaways which will remain with us long after we put away our microphone.
The conversations we have had have shown us once again that research is a collective endeavour which is impossible to carry out completely independently as it thrives on exchange. This is important not just for the nuts and bolts of doing research such as discussing concepts, methodologies or particular cases, but also for the more human and personal side of research such as working patterns and routines. Relatedly, our colleagues stressed the importance of having a supportive academic community, in particular of fellow PhD candidates. This community is critical as it provides a collaborative and supportive environment where passionate discussions can take place openly and advice is given, be it for the difficult junctures in the PhD process or otherwise.
Talking to our colleagues has been a great way of confirming and debunking some of the common (mis)conceptions about what doing a PhD is ostensibly like. First, somewhat comfortingly, there really is no ‘one size fits all’ way of approaching doctoral research projects. For some of us, it is helpful to think of it like any other 9-5 job, with set timings, short term tasks, and sanctified weekend breaks. For others, the PhD merges into different aspects of life, this is appreciated precisely because of the flexibility and creativity it can afford. We have discussed repeatedly that while a collective approach to research is helpful and even necessary to overcome certain hurdles, comparing ourselves to others is often a risky trap. Each PhD journey follows a unique trajectory and people’s achievements look different and, importantly, come at different times. Comparing oneself to peers without this awareness might lead to setting unrealistic expectations or putting excessive pressure on oneself.
We also wondered at how seamlessly PhD journeys seemed to be woven into our colleagues’ daily lives and backgrounds, shedding further light on how life and personal experiences shape our research and our perspectives. We found that research interests often lead to newly-found political practices and interest in activist or volunteer work, blurring the ostensible lines between the different roles we play in different settings. Some of us are researchers but also activists and practitioners, and we juggle these roles and commitment while treading a fine line between all of them. This has been extremely valuable as it places our research in a greater and richer context, highlighting how the questions we ask and the answers we seek are always part of a bigger picture and not (only) fruit of intellectual curiosity produced in our ivory towers.
A last, and at times, nerve-wracking takeaway is that research has its own life. We can, and ought to, plan our research in detail. Yet, unpredictable things always come up, and so research outcomes and the research journey are often far from what is expected. There is comfort in this takeaway as unpredictability is part of the research process and in most cases, our fellow PhD candidates highlight how the unpredictable changed their projects for the better.
Ultimately, it was a pleasure and a privilege to listen to our fellow PhD candidates discuss their projects passionately, especially as their research ideas were often multiple years in the making. Whether they are in the midst of their first year or in the throes of writing up their thesis, the drive and heart for their research project and the people with whom they work is always clear.