… a huge and frequently unaddressed problem in science and academia is that people feel that they are faced with the task of climbing a huge mountain, all by oneself. Mentors can be the sherpas who lend a helping hand and share some of the burden, so that one no longer feels quite so alone.
Interpersonal relationship is the basis of a mentee-mentor relationship, and hence there can only be broad guidelines, but not rule-books, on how to nurture the same.
Throughout the period of film-making, we emphasize the point that the process is as important as the product: maintaining harmonious relationships within the group, learning from each other, engaging with subjects in an ethical manner that respects their dignity, privacy and right to choose is more important than making a ‘good’ film.
Why is there variation in the degree of independence that mentees have in terms of their research? What are the consequences of this variation for both the mentors and the mentees? Should institutes take this variation into account while hiring or promoting faculty?
This is a call for articles that explore different perspectives of the Mentor-Mentee Relationship in Academia.
Teacher’s Day by Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti
Problem Solver by Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti
Over the decades the research ideas have become more intricate (as expected) and consequently, more expensive. Therefore, to carry out justified research, a scientist needs to jazz it up with fancy buzzwords and high-sounding goals. Otherwise, it falls flat, and therefore, there is no funding for it. On the other hand, somewhere down the way, we (scientists and science administration) seem to have forgotten that research is mostly boring laborious repetitive jobs to reproduce and re-evaluate observations. Therefore, the first thing to be discarded along the way has been the due rigor of the work.
Guru Poornima by Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti
Announcing “One Among Us” a cartoon series by Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti
