Professor Acram Taji

PhD- How do I get one?

What will I cover?

• Some background• Global picture• The Australian situation • QUT status• What is a PhD?• Why do we do a PhD? • Skills required to do a PhD• What makes a PhD student successful• Skills to be developed during PhD• Supervisor’s role• The changing nature of PhD• Questions to reflect on

Our place under the sun

Background

Brisbane • Australia’s fastest growing city with a population of 2 million • 26% of residents born overseas• Over 15% speak a language other than English

QUT

• in the top 10 universities in Australia

Total number of students 44,327

International students 7,093

Domestic students 37,234

Global picture

• China is world leader in producing PhDs- surpassed US in 2008• In US >1.35 million PhDs produced between 1920 to 2000. 62% in STEM• Asian giant have awarded >240,000 PhDs in the past 30 years • Brazil doubled the number of doctoral students in the decade to 2010• Number of science doctorate in OECD member countries increased by 40% in the

decade to 2010• Egypt PhD enrolments doubled in the decade to 2010• Zimbabwe wants every university lecturer to have a PhD by 2015• Malaysia has a target of 60,000 PhDs by 2023• India’s plan is to graduate 20,000 PhDs per year • EU plans to create 1,000,000 research jobs by 2020• Sri Lankan Status?

The Australian situation

• 1970s Australia had 11 universities and ~500 PhD students• Today >25000 PhD students in Australian universities• Last year >7500 PhD graduated from Australian universities• Federal government largely controls the number of PhDs via available

scholarships- e.g. APA

International students in OECD countries

The percentage of all tertiary students in Australia who are international students is one of the highest among OECD and G20 countries with available data (2010). (OECD average = 6.9%)

Australi

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Finlan

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United St

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Spain

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Poland

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10.0

15.0

20.0

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% of HDR graduates

The percentage of today's young people expected to graduate from advanced research programs in Australia ranks as one of the highest among OECD and G20 countries with available data. (2%, rank 9/36)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 20100.0

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1.0

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AustraliaCanadaGermanyJapanSwitzerlandUnited KingdomUnited StatesOECD average

HDR load as a proportion of total student loadSC

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%

Higher degree research students at QUT over the years

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

TotalDomesticInternational

HDR enrolments at QUT

Top countries for enrolments in 2012 are: China (84), Malaysia (57), Saudi (49), Sri Lanka (42), Iran (39)

Year Total HDR Domestic International % Int.

2008 1601 1219 382 24

2009 1726 1262 464 27

2010 1873 1296 577 31

2011 2189 1486 703 32

2012 2362 1590 772 33

HDR completions at QUT

Year Total Domestic International % Int.

2008 248 196 52 21

2009 231 182 49 21

2010 277 193 84 30

2011 294 178 116 39

2012 325 204 121 37

• Highest number of completions are in Science and Engineering• For 2008 to 2012 the top 5 countries (other than Australia) are: China (119), India (54), Taiwan (49), England (40), Malaysia (39)

QUT status

Faculty Total Domestic%

International%

Business 175 63 37

Creative Industries 300 88 12

Divn R&C 7 100 0

Education 197 86 14

Health 499 69 31

Law 86 84 16

Science & Engineering 918 54 46

TOTALS 2,182 67 33

At present 721 IHDR students are enrolled at QUT

% IHDR Completion to total HDR in 2012

Across QUT 37% of all HDR completions in 2012 came from IHDR

2%4%

3%

5%

1%

20%

BUS CIF

EDU HLTH

LAW SEF

Sri Lankan HDR statistics

Year Enrolments Completions

2008 22 0

2009 33 4

2010 41 6

2011 41 10

2012 42 7

2013 72* Unavailable

• As at 16/11/2013• The highest number of enrolment (55) is in Science and Engineering Faculty

Status of Sri Lankan applicants for QUT scholarships

Year Number applied Number successful %

2011 32 16 50

2012 35 18 51.4

2013 46 15 32.6

2014 62 13 21

• Total number of applicants has increased but % of success has declined• More applications from other countries • Number of scholarships remained the same

The changing nature of PhD?

• PhD remains the pinnacle of formal academic qualification- its “elite” status is being eroded

• Changes in research environment- greater emphasis on large scale interdisciplinary research managed to achieve outcomes identified in advance- as distinct from research whose major aim is to advance knowledge

• Mismatch between supply and demand- too many STEM PhDs for the available jobs

So what is a PhD?

Imagine a circle that contains all human knowledge

By the time we finish primary school, we know a little bit

By the time we finish high school, we know a little bit more

With a Bachelor degree, we gain a specialty

A Master or an Honours degree, deepens our specialty

We start our PhD by reading research papers, which takes us to the edge of human knowledge

Once we are at the boundary, we focus

We push at the boundary for a few years

Until one day, the boundary gives in

And, that dent we have made is called a PhD

The world now looks different to us

But we must not forget the bigger picture

Why do we do a PhD?

Some of the reasons are:• We want to learn a lot about a given topic and become a scholar• We are passionate about inquiry and intellectual discovery• We have an interest in actively shaping knowledge and a

fascination in new leading edge knowledge that unites teaching with research

• We want to become analytical and strategic thinkers • To help us with credibility in our work environment• To enhance our career opportunities • We like the title of Doctor…

Sigmund Freud said

Scholars are people who give up power, riches and romance for the pursuit of knowledge- through which they may gain power, riches and romance

The PhD Process

Understanding the PhD form

• Background theory• Gained through undertaking a critical evaluation of the literature in the field

• Focal theory• What we are researching and why. Establishing the nature of our problem and set

about analysing it

• Data theory• Appropriateness and reliability of our data sources. In sciences it will entail the

establishment of a theory supported by evidence and justifications of the experimental approach used

• Contribution • The importance of our thesis to the development of the field of studies

know yourself Myers Briggs Personality Test (MBTI)

• There are 16 personality types.

• Take time to do a test to find your personality type. Then work on the weaknesses of your character.

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

I am an ESJF:

• Observant

• Cooperative

• Informative

• Expressive

By becoming more self-aware, we can become more comfortable with who we are and the changes that are taking place in us and around us.

Skill audit- How can I assess my skills?

• Undertake a SWOT analysis- strength/ weakness/ opportunities / threats

• Check the following website- Key skills for PhDs: • http://www.portlandpress.com/pp/books/online/fyos/083/0105/0830105.pdf

Top 6 key skills for successfully completing a PhD

• Intellectual curiosity • The ability to work independently and as member of a team• Organisation/ time management • Communication• Academic skills

• IT skills• Numeracy skills• Statistical abilities • E-literacy skills

• Belief in ourselves • Tenacity• Persistence

What makes a PhD student successful?

• Perseverance- PhD is full of:• Uncertainty• Rejection• Frustration

• Tenacity- thick skin• Cogency

• Ability to clearly and forcefully articulate our ideas- PhD is about the science of discovery and the art of persuasion

• Balance between clarity and precision

• Your supervisor • Understanding one’s supervisor

• Their goals• Their skills• Their likes and dislikes• Their inadequacies

What students expect from their supervisors?

• Strength in relevant content and disciplinary domains • Understanding methodology and data analysis relevant to the field• Open-minded about different perspectives • Communicate with student openly and frequently with sensitivity and respect

• Avoid derogatory comments• Avoid meaningless statements-e.g. Rephrase this

• Good listeners • Critically evaluate student’s work not the student as a person • Supervisors are their collaborators

Setting expectations but expect the unexpected too

Important to set the expectations as early as possible in candidature • Expectations about milestones • Expectations of each other • Expectations about the nature of research • Expectations about writing and turn around time • Expectations about meetings• Expectations about communication • Expectations about the extent of support • Expectations about publications/ authorship/ IP

Supervisor roles and attitudes

An effective supervisor serves many roles:

• Director (determining topic and methods, providing ideas)• Facilitator (providing access to resources or expertise, arranging field work)• Advisor (helping to resolve technical problems, suggesting alternatives)• Teacher (showing research techniques)• Guide (suggesting timetable for writing up, giving feedback on progress, identifying

critical path for data collection) • Freedom giver (authorises scholar to make decisions, supports scholar’s decisions)• Friend (extends interest and concern to non-academic aspects of scholar’s life)• Manager (checks progress regularly, monitors study, give systematic feedback, help

plan work)

The four ‘I’s of success

• Imagination• Innovation • Improvisation • Imitation

Skills to be developed during PhD

• Research skills and techniques • Research management and leadership • Personal effectiveness• The ability to communicate with public- art of explaining our complex work to a

friend • Networking and team working nationally and internationally• Negotiation • Career management • Cultural understanding• Dealing with and understanding political circumstances

Questions to reflect on

• What is your interpretation of a PhD?• Why do YOU want to do a PhD?• What are the characteristics and skills you have right now that will help you

succeed in your PhD?• What characteristics and skills you would need to develop further along your

PhD journey?

Thank you for your attention

Professor (Mrs) Acram Taji Queensland University of TechnologyGPO Box 2434Brisbane, Qld., 4001, AUSTRALIAPhone: +61-7-3138 6800Email: acram.taji@qut.edu.au CRICOS No. 00213J