Posted on by ncubekn

Being a SAYAS blogger – a worthwhile experience for young scientists

“Dear SAYAS blogger 2021, oh yes, you are among the four chosen ones! I would like to welcome you to the 2021 SAYAS blog team! Congratulations!!!” – This is one of the best emails I have received in the year 2021. Little did I know that it was the beginning of an interesting journey as a science blogger.

For many of us in the academic space, communication of our work and experiences is limited to the peers in our respective fields of study. We communicate through publication of research articles, and when we meet in conferences. We barely get the opportunity to discuss our work with a large audience outside academia, or indeed even outside of your specific field! In 2020, I was excited when I heard of a blogging competition by the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS). The competition set out to identify young researchers, who will form part of a team to publish monthly blogs on the SAYAS blog website. Since 2016, this platform has served as a voice of scientists that helps to bridge the gap between science and society. I submitted my documents for the competition, and I was fortunately selected to be part of the 2021 blogging team.

Though it feels short-lived, this has been an interesting journey with a lot of valuable lessons. My first task was to write a blog to introduce myself and narrate my academic journey. This was not much of a challenge, as I often have to write bios when applying for various opportunities in research. However, the second blog we had so submit was a mammoth task. We had to create a vlog showing how a typical day of a researcher goes. This was particularly challenging because, as academics, we often never document what we get up to beyond the academic environment. With guidance from the blog editors, I filmed and published the vlog, which I shared on my Facebook and got an overwhelming response. This vlog remains the major highlight of my journey with SAYAS.

Subsequent to this, I published more blogs relating to:

Without the help of SAYAS blog editors, these blogs have not been a success, I value appreciate their assistance. The editors were helpful in guiding us on how to write in a manner that can be easily understood people outside academia. Blogging for SAYAS has been a great platform to improve written communication skills, and I really encourage other young scientist to participate in this or similar blogging platforms. This is my final blog on this platform, it has been wonderful sharing my thoughts and life experiences with you. Please do, however, look out for more posts from the 2022 SAYAS bloggers next year, as they share their various thoughts and experiences in science.

Taking on new challenges and exploring new activities like blogging is necessary for personal growth. However, it may come at a cost of consuming time for mainstream activities such as work and studies. In addition to blogging, I also took part in assisting at the University of Pretoria’s COVID-19 vaccination site. Although taking part in these new activities did consume a little bit of my time, it did not have a drastic effect on my work activities and PhD progress. With blogging, I could use my spare time during weekends to write monthly articles, and with vaccination, I used my off days to assist at the vaccination site. Therefore, both these activities perfectly fit into the typically busy journey towards obtaining my PhD. Looking in retrospect, 2021 has been a great year full of new experiences, and given the chance, I would do it all over again. I am looking forward to take on more interesting challenges in the coming years, and I recommend you to do so too.

Posted on by Maseteditshego

Getting a postgraduate qualification is challenging, but the end results are exciting

“We” look like we have it all under control. But postgraduate studies are hard and at times frustrating. You would think we have it all planned-out. That is not true. The process of getting a postgraduate degree is tiring, circuitous, hard and at times a little depressing. Choosing topics, writing proposals, approaching prospective supervisors, choosing institutions and applying for funding… it is just a lot.  We are forever hopeful that it will get better after completing a certain degree, but it never does. It feels like the higher you go the ‘crazier’ it becomes.  When I completed my Honours, I though it will be easy to get into a Masters programme with funding but it was never like that, I struggled for a while without any funding. I only got funding towards the end of my first year of Masters.

I am saying all this in relation to my plans to enrol for a PhD. These are plans which have been in motion ever since I got my Masters. According to my timeline, by now I was supposed to have already been registered and progressing through my PhD, but it is only now that my registration processes are about to be concluded. There is still a question of funding, which is a headache. I realised during my Masters that pursing a post-graduate degree without stable funding can take its toll on a student. You worry simultaneously on your research and your finances – how to pay for accommodation, fees and your everyday upkeep. Its stressful and I hope to never go through that pain again.

I honestly think these factors and all the others we often also shy away from should be talked about more openly, not to scare prospective student away but to give them a heads-up. Often, post-graduate students struggle, especially financially, and this affects all the aspects of the student’s life.  We do say that completing a postgraduate qualification is difficult, but usually we only focus on the actual research, the dissertation that we must write, and not the financial implications of being a postgraduate level students. These two are inseparable. We must talk about them as one.

In all honesty, completing a post-graduate degrees takes a lot of courage, will, determination and passion for research. But of course, with all these ups and downs and all of that, there are those of us who never think about giving up. I guess this is the will and determination I am talking about. Getting the qualification, against all odds. I am the first in my family to get a Master’s degree and I have seen how it has brightened up those around me and have given them hope and a reason to go to university, and I am not going to stop until I get my PhD. Despite the many challenges that come with pursuing a postgraduate qualification, I want to be counted among the strong and brave, the go-getters and the intellectuals. I want a PhD and I am going to get it. Do not get me wrong, this is a two-sided coin. There are exciting and thrilling moments too.