Professor Hadaś: – UPWr Doctoral School is a true revolution

• The supervisor and doctoral student share a mutual responsibility for their work leading up to the doctorate,
• The number of candidates recruited to the Doctoral School for whom science is a life choice is increasing
• The Doctoral School – science and universal competences
• Stepping out of your comfort zone as an investment in the future

Professor Tomasz Hadaś, from the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics, a supervisor at the UPWr Doctoral School, and a winner of the Minister's award for outstanding young scientists, admits that a significant role in the recruitment process of candidates to the Doctoral School is played by the supervisors' academic backgrounds.

Evaluation and accountability

– This is especially important for candidates from abroad, who usually know little or nothing about Poland and our university, and it is the academic background of a particular supervisor, in which their achievements are visible, such as the subject of research and doctoral theses, that attracts new students – says Prof. Hadaś.

– Of course, such an academic background, followed by the recruitment process, and finally the selection of a specific candidate, requires a certain level of responsibility on both sides. On one side we have a doctoral student, often aware of what they are lacking, but with a little courage and determination they should be able to expand their knowledge and develop new skills. On the other side we have the supervisor, who invests their time and has certain goals and visions for the doctoral student. For both sides it would defeat the purpose if they ended their cooperation early, i.e. without defending the doctoral thesis - explains Prof. Hadaś, who expects doctoral students to have the basic programming skills necessary to develop algorithms for developing GNSS satellite observations.

After returning from an internship at the Institute of Navigation at the University of Stuttgart, an opportunity he gained thanks to a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – MSCA grant under the Horizon 2020 programme, the professor obtained PLN 750,000 in funding for the project titled 'Simultaneous estimation of the troposphere using the Precise Point Positioning Technique'. He’s looking for a PhD student for this project.

– When information about the project and the recruitment for a doctoral student appeared in social media, I received several e-mail inquiries requesting more details. The candidates were interested not only in the scholarship, but also in the recruitment procedures, competition requirements, and opportunities to travel abroad. The project starts in May, and the PhD student will not be able to start work until October, with the start of the new academic year, so doctoral students, graduates and even current final-year undergraduates can therefore apply. Depending on the competition rules and the candidate's status, they will either receive a research scholarship, in addition to the guaranteed doctoral scholarship at the Doctoral School, or a doctoral scholarship financed entirely by the project – says Prof. Tomasz Hadaś.

Doctoral school candidates – who are they?

In the recruitment process for the UPWr Doctoral School for the academic year 2021/2022, the chairman of the recruitment committee was a scientist from the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics. According to him, the candidates can be divided into three groups. The most numerous group are those who consciously want to pursue a PhD degree, but who started thinking about scientific work seriously relatively recently, usually in their final year of studies. Hence their limited achievements, such as participation in only one or two student conferences. The second stage of recruitment to the Doctoral School is the perfect opportunity for them to convince the recruitment committee about their potential or suitability for the role. There is also a group of candidates who seem lost, without a clearly defined concept of what their career path should look like. There are also a growing number of people who have been planning their post-graduation scientific work for a long time.

– Candidates with passion seem to be the most motivated and well prepared to talk to the committee. You can feel their fascination with chosen topics and, moreover, they are able to charm the commission with this fascination in their own way. They also usually have very specific expectations and choose our university because they know that they will have access to knowledge, equipment and technology. They know the achievements of their supervisor and are well aware that during the four years of joint cooperation they will be able to build an impressive CV, establish international contacts and become legitimate scientists – explains Prof. Tomasz Hadaś, admitting that from the perspective of his own doctoral studies, the UPWr Doctoral School is a revolutionary project.

PhD studies at the Doctoral School – a revolution

The member of the Council of the UPWr Doctoral School worked as a surveyor for two years after graduation, to then return to the university equipped with professional experience, but also focused on carrying out a specific research project.

– While working as an assistant and implementing the project, I also took compulsory classes as part of my doctoral studies. These classes were not directly connected with my scientific discipline, or at least as a doctoral student involved in technical sciences I did not understand the connection at the time – Prof. Hadaś admits that only with time could he assess the meaning of philosophy classes, which were intended to broaden the horizons for future doctoral graduates.

– Today, doctoral students at the Doctoral School also have courses that are compulsory, but ones that teach more universal competences. They therefore learn both the statistical analysis of results and the principles of writing scientific articles and preparing project applications. This knowledge is useful for everyone regardless of whether they are working on a doctorate in satellite geodesy, veterinary medicine or waste management – says Prof. Tomasz Hadaś, adding that Doctoral School students can also choose additional subjects and even implement them outside the university, thus building competences according to their own needs.

Networking

Prof. Hadaś also stresses that the internationalisation of doctoral studies is still underestimated, especially among Polish students, who neglect the importance of building a network of contacts, getting to know other cultures, languages and, simply put, feeling comfortable in a global environment following their studies.

– Although it requires leaving your comfort zone, you should not put it off until the last minute. After graduation I also thought that I would not really need to speak a foreign language. I worked in the field and put English aside for some time, which proved to be a mistake two years later when I returned to the university, as current literature was only available in English. Science today involves work with scientists from universities around the world – admits Prof. Tomasz Hadaś, who not only worked at the University of Stuttgart, but also took part in scientific internships in Canada, Luxembourg and Spain.

– Such trips and new contacts change the way you look at things, allowing you to confront your own experiences with those at the best international institutions. They opened my eyes as to in what an open and stimulating environment I had begun my scientific work. We have nothing to be ashamed of. Whether the professor addresses the doctoral student by their first name or as ‘Mr’ or ‘Ms’ is of secondary importance, what counts is the partnership, the exchange of experiences, inspiring conversations and discussions. On the one hand it allows you to verify your own knowledge, but on the other hand it gives young scientists a sense of confidence, allowing them to share their achievements – says Tomasz Hadaś. – Building healthy relations between the doctoral student and the supervisor is equally important. Many supervisors at the UPWr Doctoral School are certified tutors, and more training courses on building student-master relationships will start soon. If a doctoral student becomes a contributing member of the team rather than a voiceless assistant, they feel a sense of shared responsibility for achieving the team's goals while boosting their commitment to their work.

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