Thread by @daraconduit

For many of us, writing a PhD was the hardest thing we’ve ever done. Now imagine doing it in the shadow of Covid-19. Isolation and navigating uncertainty have always been key challenges for PhD students, who also tend to experience higher rates of mental illness 1/

than the broader population (Levecque et al, 2017). These issues are not going to go away, and in many cases will be exacerbated by the crisis. Right now, many PhD students are being encouraged to distance themselves from their colleagues by working from home, 2/

while casual workers inside and outside the academy are having their hours cut, universities are announcing hiring freezes, and students, friends and family are getting sick. Isolation, dislocation and uncertainty grow by the day. 3/

Covid-19 is likely to be particularly acutely felt by those who are new to their PhD programs and yet to build a social network, those in insecure work (which is almost all, remembering that many PhD students are self-funded or supplement meagre scholarships 4/

by working in cafes and retail), those with family financial responsibilities, those whose childcare arrangements are collapsing, and those coming towards the end of their PhDs who may be wondering what is next in the face of widespread university hiring freezes. 5/

Those who get sick face greater stress again – thankfully @Deakin has committed to paying casuals who are forced to self-isolate, but many businesses will not, and many casuals will have hours cut or slip through the cracks. Student poverty and community stockpiling means that 6/

students might not have what they need at home to get themselves well again.

Academics: What can you do? First, reach out to your PhD students and make sure they have the support they need. This doesn’t mean just reading chapters (although you should also do this!!). 7/

If appropriate, sensitively enquire as to whether your students will be able to maintain their finances and secure housing throughout the crisis. What is their employment situation? Do they have a partner or support from family? Are they financially responsible for 8/

their extended family? Do they need groceries? Many will struggle, and the last thing we need during a pandemic is a PhD homelessness crisis. If you have research assistance funding or other funds lying around, now is the time to use them. 9/

Start that new project and Hire. Your. PhDs. 10/

For some PhD students this will be an opportunity to maximise productivity and catch up on lost time, but this won’t be universal. Some will find that their caring responsibilities now stand in the way of their ability to work. Others will get sick. 11/

Remember too that we are living in extraordinary times – many of us are exhausted and struggling to focus during this once-in-a-lifetime existential event. Others may wish to prioritise other things. These are all perfectly human responses, 12/

and supervisors and faculty need to have conversations with students to support them through this. Open and honest lines of communication will be key. 13/

Once you’ve reached out personally to your students, think of ways that you can support your PhD community more broadly. I’m the @Deakin_ADI HDR coordinator (with the sadly Twitterless Dr Will Smith), and we’ve spent the last few days thinking about 14/

how to make sure that we keep supporting our HDRs over the coming weeks and months. At a time when universities are cancelling events en masse, it’s more important than ever to use technology to combat isolation and support students. 15/

This plan is ever evolving, and we welcome suggestions. So far we will be: (1) Moving our in-person workshop program online using Zoom. Many PhDs will feel their completion clocks ticking, so it’s important that we continue 16/

to run optional skills workshops to build their research skills and job readiness. The timing couldn’t be better for our long-arranged workshop next week on ‘Building an academic profile on Twitter’! We’ll also be keeping up our monthly ‘hands-on publications workshop’ 17/

in which we workshop PhD papers for journal submissions – last year the students had great success! (2) Establishing an optional WhatsApp chat group in which students can discuss issues that they’re worried about, check-in during the day to let one another know what 18/

they’re working on and how they’re progressing, and to share pet photos. (3) Establishing an optional weekly virtual coffee meet-up from our kitchens for PhDs to drop by for a chat via Zoom. We’ll have pets and kids running around in the background, 19/

but it’s an informal way to build a sense of inclusion and community. (4) Updating our wiki with additional resources, including links to our favourite PhD blogs and Twitter profiles, resources on imposter syndrome, publishing, public speaking, technology, 20/

and time management, job market advice and more. As a stressed-out, uncertain PhD, I as always madly thinking about the future, and would have spent covid-19 trawling the internet for answers on these sorts of topics. 21/

(5) An optional weekly virtual Shut Up And Write session via Zoom.

That’s it for us right now. We’re only in week one of working online – some of these ideas will work, others won’t. Some students will already have these supports, others may not have access to the technology 22/

We’ll be keeping a close eye on our students and checking in regularly. We welcome any suggestions, and will modify things as we go along. Our most important message right now to PhDs is: stay safe and stay connected. 23/

And to academics: keep your PhDs close. Right now your biggest contribution to their doctorates might not co-authoring an A* publication with them, but taking steps to make sure they’re safe, well, and have a roof over their head. 24/24