Drs. Binnert Boeke, student psychologist/psychotherapist, concurs, 'As an AIO, they work for a Doctoral degree; this is very individual. As an employee, they work for the benefit of somebody else.' As students, AIOs often follow courses and study dissertation-related material. But as employees, they may be funded externally, working for a major scientific enterprise, which is of vital importance to the department but which is completely unrelated to their own dissertation project. 'The University should be a place of scientific discovery. It ought to be a breeding ground for scientific ideas, not a place for making people useful for international corporations,' stresses Boeke, admitting woefully that this view is quickly becoming an antiquated notion of how universities function.
Graduate students themselves corroborate these ideas. One EL student finds that having duties outside of his final thesis takes him away from his own scientific work, but 'It cannot be defined as stressful...I define the PhD stage itself as long-term stress and other duties intermingled in the way as short-term stress. I think I can handle short-term stress before it affects my work.' He also thinks that this stress could be avoided by 'proper planning'.
For one WB student, stress comes from the multiplicity of responsibilities :'To deal with several jobs in the same time is not an easy task...Work on extra activities like teaching interferes with the main goal: research within the PhD project.' However, for him changing tasks is a matter of priorities: 'When I have to do something I put everything aside and try to focus on that problem for several days. As long as the extra activities do not became the main time-consuming task, they can be not only an additional stress but also beneficial for a PhD student.'
Another TN AIO avers: 'As a PhD student, one might find himself in the situation in which he is demanded valuable scientific results (as a student), but in an automatic factory-line-like rhythm (as a regular employee). This is felt even harder by the first year students who have to find their paths among countless dead ends. I believe that here the supervisor comes into his role. While he can easily become a demanding boss, he should help you in getting a good start on a safe path that leads somewhere.'
Being pulled in opposite directions conflicts with AIOs' own research and ambitions. What these stressed graduate students seek isa balance, but how to attain it? First, as soon as AIOs begin a program, they should devote serious thought to the subject of their eventual thesis. 'Find out what you want to know and develop related hypotheses,' advises Drs. Boeke. In this way a graduate student will be more valuable as a scientist and as a department member. In addition, graduate students can find to ways to blend their own interests with those of their department before duties diverge.
Drs. Boeke also offers advice to AIOs who are stretched between diametrically opposed responsibilities: 'Focus on yourself. Safeguard your own identity. Try to explore your own ideas first and foremost.' But at the same time he warns that an AIO is part of a team. Thus it is essential to communicate with peers and mentors concerns about balancing one's own priorities and those of the department. He adds that graduate students should set their own limits, organizing their time carefully and realistically. Drs. Boeke works with students of all levels helping them learn how to help themselves, how to guide their advisors and not just follow them blindly, how to determine their priorities.
PhD students confirm this, insisting that genuine communication with one's supervisor is imperative. In addition, the supervisor must guide his students, acting as a patient, helpful mentor rather than a demanding boss.
Even trying to investigate this issue a pertinent problem arose: where does an AIO go for counseling? To the Bureau Studentenpsychologen (BSP) or to the Arbodienst (AMD)? In this case, AIOs are considered employees of the university and thus are directed to the Arbodienst, but they often seek psychological guidance at the BSP along with undergraduate students. For more information call BSP tel. 053 489 2032 or AMD tel. 053 489 8030.
