A University Professor who gave me the right direction in my Ph.D. as a Supervisor
The most important person who you interact with during your Ph.D is your supervisor. Any Ph.D cannot be completed without a supervisor. She or he is a motivator, an advisor and a mentor who guides a research scholar, develop research interest and makes the research fascinating. In this essay, I have explained how my university professor (supervisor) gave me the right direction for my Ph.D.
Introduction
Doing a Ph.D is not an easy job. Most of the students, when starting their Ph.D fears that how will they do this. Because it is one of the hardest and the lengthiest degree courses that require lots of dedication. Obtaining a Ph.D degree is like a marathon. One who is determined that she or he will complete it, then only she or he can complete it. But if a good Ph.D Supervisor is there to support you, it is not only made easy to complete the Ph.D but outcomes of the research are also good. She or he plays a vital role from synopsis submission to thesis submission and award of degree.Qualities of my Ph.D Supervisor
A Ph.D supervisor is a person who is responsible for the progress of ongoing research, timely completion of research work and submission of the thesis. He must have some qualities like he must have thorough subject knowledge. He must be a good researcher himself. He must be polite, a good listener, cooperative, selfless, compassionate, inspirational, flexible, supportive. He should be able to understand the problem and finding its solution. We all know that all these qualities cannot be embodied in one person, and I felt lucky because my professor, who guided me in my Ph.D (Zoology), had many of the above-mentioned qualities. He was a good listener, a good speaker, and a good advisor. Supportive in each task
My Ph.D supervisor not only guided me but also supervised me in the laboratory and field. However, he used to remain very busy because he was also supervising other Ph.D scholars. Yet, he had kept enough time for discussion with his researchers. The best thing that was with him was his availability when I needed it. He had published many research papers in journals of national and international repute. He was a good reader also and used to read the latest research published in many journals and communicate with me regularly. He always encouraged me to submit my research writing in good journals. He took me to some big conferences with him where I learned some helpful research tips. He helped me to analyze, and interpret the results of my research work and also helped me to write down the results and discussions in an impressive manner. He had improved my presentation skills with his valuable suggestions. He was a good advisor. He used to discuss the comments received from the reviewer on my research paper and suggested improving my research skills and write a better thesis.My overall experience
I had an overall great experience during my Ph.D My research topic in Ph.D (Zoology) required a lot of fieldwork as well as laboratory work. It could be more frustrating to complete all these tasks together. But because of my excellent tuning with my supervisor, it was not so difficult, and I was able to manage these whole things. He guided me at each step in my Ph.D right from research topic selection, preparation of presentation for Research Development Committee (RDC) meeting, quarterly and half-yearly reports preparation and submission, literature survey, fieldwork, experimental work and research writing. By the end of my research, I have published several research papers in co-authorship with him. Conclusion
Usually, most students share their Ph.D story as a horror story, but my Ph.D was not like that. My Ph.D research was a very fulfilling experience. I completed my research work in areas of my interest and published some research papers in good quality journals. But this was possible because of my Ph.D supervisor, who encouraged me every time and appreciate my all even smaller efforts to complete my research in time.
After reading this article I felt that I should also share my experience during my PhD and the greatness of my research director who helped me in all the ways to complete my PhD. While I was doing my M.Sc, my research guide called and explained to me the importance of doing PhD after UG. He made me apply for a fellowship,
My Professor is a very well known scientist internationally and authored some books along with some foreign authors. Unlike other research guides, he used to encourage students to complete the work fast and he always used to convert work done into good publication. He never allowed students to submit the thesis without having at least four or five publications in reputed journals. But the way he supports the students and directs the students getting publication was not very difficult. When I was doing my work. we were 5 scholars working under him and he used to give specific times to each scholar to discuss the progress and suggest future work. Fortunately, he always used to keep me with him when he was discussing with other students. He used to ask me to review the papers written by other scholars before he scrutinises the same. Many times he took me with him to various seminars and workshops and made me present papers there. I am very grateful to him for the support he gave for completing my PhD in a minimum period of 3 years.