Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur’s student journalism body released an investigative study based on the survey conducted among PhD students in July 2023. The study delves into the academic challenges, lab dynamics, and institutional policies affecting over 2,000 surveyed PhD students.
The survey shows that 44 out of 63 individual respondents have faced favouritism from their PhD guides in the lab, while eight of the respondents reported facing casual sexism. Other than this, a few respondents also alleged facing casteism, elitism and Quid Pro Quo, meaning an advantage granted in favour of something.
Speaking about discrimination faced by the PhD scholars by their peers, 28 of the 55 respondents said they have faced elitism among their peer sphere while five respondents alleged facing sexual harassment in the lab by their peers. As many as 14 respondents said they have faced casual sexism from their peers.
As per the survey, 38 per cent of the 197 respondents said that they meet their PhD guide only three to four times a month while 18 per cent responded with ‘rarely’. About 30 per cent of the respondents said they meet their PhD guide two to three times a week, while 10 per cent said that they meet their guide almost every day.
Similarly, when asked about how difficult it is to change PhD guide upon request on a scale from 1 to 5, 59 out of 199 respondents gave a five-pointer as very difficult while only 11 respondents gave a one-pointer as very easy.
Future prospects, aspirations
As many as 60.7 per cent of the PhD scholars at IIT Kanpur wish to pursue a career in academia in future, as per the survey. This has been calculated based on 196 individual responses received by the student journalism body.
Apart from this, 23.4 per cent of the respondents seek opportunities in the industry, corporate or public sector.
However, 39 per cent of students agreed to have limited opportunities for PhD graduates. The survey adds that around 37 per cent of the students were unsure or said it would be difficult to find deserving work.
