On Friday 10th February I met with Emeritus Professor John Goddard OBE to discuss PhDs, careers and the future of universities and Higher Education. John undertook his doctoral studies in the 1960’s, in what may be claimed to be a very different environment to what we find ourselves in now but his career has been overwhelmingly successful due in no small part because of the range of skills and knowledge, which is so often pressed upon us during our postgraduate research. He founded and led Newcastle University’s Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS) as a centre of excellence 1977-1998, subsequently he was made Deputy Vice Chancellor (1998-2008), and even in his retirement has been awarded the Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship to continue to co-author The Civic University: the Policy and Leadership Challenges (2016) with Dr Paul Vallance. During these years John has also been a key contributor to research and policy making internationally.
For more information on John and his work at CURDS visit:
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/gps/staff/profile/johngoddard.html#55017
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/curds/about/history/
[The following article has been written based on this conversation, and although not verbatim, it has been approved by Professor Goodard as true to our original conversation.]
There is a lot of data about the careers of undergraduates, and even taught postgraduates, but there is probably very little literature or research available on the careers of post-doctoral people. Many seeking to undertake doctoral research probably have not considered the career prospects and have dedicated more of their concentration into their field of study. Subsequently, there are a lot of people who enter into quasi-academic careers, ending up on a series of short term contracts, moving from pillar to post, and never managing to get a tenured academic position.
We need to be aware that there is a lot less money in the humanities and social sciences, either in comparison to medical sciences or previous decades, and funding for post-doctoral positions has nearly all dried up. In many respects it is considered a natural route for the Post Graduate Researcher (PGR) to move into an Early Career Researcher (ECR) role because that is the nature of the environment that we find ourselves in. However, we need to consider the broader context in which we and our research exist.
What is the PhD for?
The purpose of a PhD is not to produce ECRs to increase the population of the university campus. The university has a responsibility to contribute to society through its teaching and research. We educate students so that they can get better jobs and work more effectively for their employers and their community (as well as being critical and thoughtful citizens). We undertake research that brings forth innovation, contributes to policy and challenges the nature of the world we live in. However, this is what universities are for (a subject I shall revisit in future blog with John) not the PhD itself.
Many of us in the humanities and social sciences will be undertaking lone scholarship, focusing intensely on our specialist subject to be the expert that we need to be to achieve our PhDs. We read and cite the works of the greatest thinkers that ever put pen to paper, and we desperately try to attain our own greatness in the light of these works. So often so that we forget these works are the result of a lifetime of study and not the result of their PhDs. Maybe you will go on to write your own master piece in your area of study but most likely this will be the result of many more years of study after your PhD.
So, what is it we are expected to achieve in our 3 years of study? Certainly, our research must be new, contributing to the body of knowledge, and we should emerge as the expert in our field but the real purpose of the PhD is to prove that we can operate at the highest level in undertaking our research. We delve deeply into our narrow specialist subjects and can too often fail to recognise how close we are to another’s specialist subject. When we regard this from an external position we can see how such in-depth lone scholarship can seem ridiculous and trivial. We must consider this external position to be occupied by an employer, collaborator or sponsor, and must adjust our manner and scope accordingly. Our research is proof of our knowledge within our narrow specialism; our PhD is proof of our abilities as a researcher.
What does it mean to be a researcher in the 21st Century?
An issue of the lone scholar is that they have no evidence of an ability to collaborate and work with other people’s ideas, and this is not a desirable quality in an employee. Often this can result in PhDs entering into low level positions after their studies in which to get this experience of working within a team. However, universities have reacted to this issue by creating the Doctoral Training Programme, which exposes the doctoral candidate to a broader range of contexts and experiences as well as providing opportunities for networking and collaboration.
The DTP gives us the opportunities to meet researchers from other fields, to share ideas and collaborate on research projects. The Researching Our Futures is a case in point, where the committee is formed of PGRs from Newcastle University from a range of disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences. In participating in creating this event we have proven our abilities to work within a team of other researchers, to reach out and collaborate with academics within our university, and network with others at other institutes, academic and beyond. We have developed and proven our entrepreneurial skills in creating a unique selling point to our conference beyond our own specialisms, marketing through various media and managing a budget. All of which was made possible by our engaging with the Doctoral Training Programme.
Perhaps it is unfair to imply these skills of networking, collaboration and entrepreneurship are unique to the 21st century. John’s career certainly shows how all of these have been incredibly effective and how he has instigated them within CURDS to be a centre of excellence. One of the fundamental philosophies in CURDS was to create a collective culture, an environment in which students shared ideas in lectures and seminars, collaborating on research projects, and welcoming guest speakers through which the purpose and reality of the research can be given context.
Critical Mass
John states that a lot of the success of CURDS came from having a critical mass of academics behind the idea, under the banner of CURDS, providing validity and weight to the research undertaken, and the researchers who undertook it. This is the other issue with the lone scholar, a lack of critical mass. Although there may be a significant number of us across the HaSS faculty we too often isolate ourselves within our schools, departments or even just ourselves.
The university should not be run as a business but as an environment which facilitates the conditions for success. However, we as PGRs can take some valuable ideas and practices from business to influence our potential for success. Thinking as entrepreneurs we can consider what are our unique selling points (knowledge, skills or abilities) and how can we utilise them to the greatest effect. Thinking of our department/school/faculty as our employer, how can contribute to their success, thereby proving our value. We must network to find connections and collaborators, through these collaborations develop our research and ideas, and as a team (of stakeholders) sell these ideas to our colleagues and society beyond the academy.
We hope you will join us at Researching Our Futures to start these networks and collaborations.