Posted on by ScientistSim

Supervision: May the force be with you

Academia is first and foremost a teaching environment. Many people that pass through its fickle doors are earning higher degrees and those that mentor them must have a strong stomach. The supervisor-student relationship is a strange one. I, being a complete nerd, like to think of my supervisors as Yoda guiding the innocent clueless Padawan through the minefield of poorly devised experiments and failed controls. Of course, I am Luke Skywalker in this scenario.

jedi knights academics
From phdcomics.com – a must-read to retain your sanity!

I have been lucky to only experience only one bad mentor — an undergraduate advisor who made me so terrified of doing a PCR that I still suffer from post-tramatic stress disorder. In my Honours year I was supervised by a vibrant Cuban woman who truly has one of the best scientific minds I’ve ever encountered. She was always 20 steps ahead of me, which was excellent because I had no idea what I was doing. She spoke like a freight train and on that basis we did have some comical misunderstandings. Often I would just nod and then panic because I would realise that “Put those precious samples in the kitchen” couldn’t be what she meant. Then one day she told me to sit down (probably because she knew I was prone to the dramatics) – she had some bad news. She was emigrating to Aus and I needed to finish without her there. A lesser supervisor would have left and never looked back. But every week for the duration of my course, I had Skype calls with her. We spent time on Skype practicing for my presentations and copious emails back and forth as if she was in the next room. Other senior scientists in my lab also helped me  — It takes a lab to raise a scientist… This advisor was the one who taught me all the skills I needed to know in 3 months and it was glorious. I never felt orphaned and was grateful that I had her.  The best piece of advice I had from her is, “It’s ok to be slow now Simone but some of us remain slow. Don’t be one of those people, those people get eaten.” That last word may have been “beaten” (the Cuban accent still had me occasionally confused).

I have been fortunate for both my Masters and my PhD to have the same 2 supervisors who truly have my back. I have always been the one student doing things that are not the direct focus of our laboratory and my supervisors have always tried to give me the best resources and contacts. In a female-led lab, it has been a great privilege to see the success of my supervisors in a field dominated by males. With one supervisor rushing off to do the Duzi or climb another mountain and the other having the most incredible shoe collection with 3 very cute kids (she says I’m her 4th), I feel I have access to wide perspectives not only one in terms of science but in terms of  life.

I have realised that a supervisor is not just someone who is science smart but is someone who is willing to make time for you. Having an open door policy is imperative. Being hard on your student so that they don’t crumble when the science world gets tough is also important. Good supervisors never put their names on things that are sub-par and neither should you. The best line from my current supervisor? “Yes well science isn’t easy. Doing a PhD is like producing a really potent antibody. It’s how many mutations you can take in order to target lots of things.”(This is alluding to a process called somatic hypermutation, check out this video for an explanation.) She knows how to be tough on me. I hope it’s because she sees potential in me! It seems that supervision is a bit like parenting: you can mould and mould your little ball of clay but it is unclear at the start whether your masterpiece will be a wonky vase that your 5 year old made or a beautiful work of art.

Mentoring is something everyone has to do in academia and the truth of the matter is that not everyone is a good advisor. What you as a student need to remember is that you are ultimately the person that picks your supervisor. Don’t pick on fame/name alone; read the work your supervisors have been involved in and critically assess whether this person will want to see you grow or wilt in their shadow. You want to become part of a research family, not war zone. (For other good guidelines on picking a supervisor see this great article by Tara Brabazon.) So as is the case with most things in my life, I will end with another Star Wars reference; choose a Jedi, not a Sith lord to be your supervisor. The Dark Side may have more street cred, but the Light Side, well, they have publications.

Posted on by Aliza

Of dreams and GDP: The 2016 Science Budget

I was feeling positive about science in South Africa while poring over Minister Pandor’s budget speech. Maybe I was still basking in the afterglow of a leadership workshop that fundamentally changed the way I feel about the future of science on this continent. Maybe it was because I was watching Star Trek (the ’84 classic Wrath of Kahn). And yes, maybe there were parts of her deliberations that made me feel optimistic.

Our Minister of Science and Technology rightfully boasted about quite a few accomplishments that her Department can be proud of: boosting the number of SARChI chairs headed by (highly competent!) women, and launching new programmes supporting youth involvement in the sciences.

What excites me is that our scientific goals appear NOT to be restricted to applied research only. After all, what is more “Blue Skies” or fantastical than exploring space? It captures the imagination the same way that Star Trek and Star Wars have done for decades. Some spectacularly successful Astronomy ventures are currently slipstreaming our entire continent into the future. The globe is paying rapt attention to SKA and the African Union’s new space strategy. And, in the absence of leadership from, say, our telecoms and electricity providers, the DST appears to be ploughing funds into innovative technology that can really change the lives of most South Africans for the better.

Even better, it looks like Minister Pandor and her team of science diplomats are improving our access to international research behind the scenes. Go to the NRF website right now, and you will see funding calls open for cooperative ventures between SA and Namibia, Angola, Uganda, Switzerland, Belgium, France…

But how many South African researchers will apply for these funds?

And how many applicants will write competent proposals, on well-planned projects that will be executed well?

I’m willing to bet my front teeth that only already accomplished researchers will apply for the collaborative funds. And early career researchers, fresh off the PhD presses, are left hanging without the skills and mentorship to grab such opportunities.

This is where the NRF needs to invest more wisely in our emerging scientists.

I’m not talking about students – the NRF admirably supports postgraduate students – I’m talking about qualified, inexperienced scientists who want to go forward but lack mentorship, proposal writing skills, networking skills, and don’t know how to develop a vision, let alone follow that dream. To me, this is one vital arena where the NRF and minister Pandor need to bridge the growing gap between being a student and growing into a fully-fledged researcher.

On this front, the NRF can level the playing field between the established and more marginalised universities. I’m talking about giving early-career researchers time and access to networks of excellence. Splurge a bit on advanced skills-development workshops bringing together early and mid-career researchers across the country, across disciplines. Host writing retreats, brainstorming sessions, statistical get-aways, bring together those people who have great ideas but perhaps limited funding and experience. Offer more sabbatical support for mid-career researchers; include family support and lecturer replacement costs. Support flagship programmes that explicitly aim to develop research cultures on campuses where expertise remains fragmented. Currently, this kind of thing only happens at institutions with cash clout. And that simply sharpens the divide between the haves and have-nots.

Finally, there is another important way for Minister Pandor to set South Africa apart from others on the international stage. I firmly believe in the eye-opening value of mixing disciplines (full disclosure: I’m a zoologist married to a social scientist…). And I don’t mean slapping an “interdisciplinary” label on collaborations between microbiologists and zoologists – true interdisciplinary research spans schools of thought to create entirely new ways of thinking. Bring together epidemiologists and town planners, historians and evolutionary biologists… how else will we uncover novel answers to the world’s truly complex problems?

But it’s only through “therapy” that the DST could ever hope to join such odd couples. Minister Pandor will have to hire experts (such as these guys) whose job it is to encourage communication between experts who can’t even agree on the basic definition of “data.” Take this unconventional leap, and we may actually end up showing the world how to do it.

Let me say, I love our minister’s vision and passion. I’m delighted about the SAYAS members she highlighted, our Next Einstein Forum Fellows Tolu, Amanda and Alta, poised to change the world! So much would be impossible without our minister’s vision and drive. I hope she continues making me a proudly South African scientist, follows through on her promised Youth Assembly on the knowledge economy, and continues to listen to the voice of young and female scientists especially. That is how we can change the face of science in Africa in real life, not just during speech time.