A blog on blogs!

A blog on blogs!

I guess people blog to make a conversation, to share, for fearless expression, to make an evolutionary step, to make a new style or boundless imagination, to have eternal happiness….

I love sitting down to blog. I love the freedom of it. Blogging is like going for a walk. I start a blog with bits and pieces and then I go into the wild and at the end when I stop I realize that it is done. I feel happy and satisfied for having prepared another note in the bottle for my children and grandchildren. Gee!!! :0, :D.

I rarely reread my posts, so it may contain typos, grammatical or other errors at times. For me the most important thing is to share my thoughts. I remember reading a poem written by a ‘net’ friend of mine, a genius girl with high imagination. It contained ‘n’ number of grammatical errors, I pointed them for her and she did appreciate it. But I should say that the poem as such was lovely and couldn’t stop appreciating her.

I can imagine that some people can find such ‘scars’ and ‘flaws’ in my writing too and I do appreciate if someone comes with such corrections. I also do appreciate the time that person spent on reading it.

At the end what I gain is self satisfaction and by any chance if my thoughts can connect with someone in any corner of the world, let it be on anything, I am glad and then I have the feeling of having accomplished. :-)

PhD PhD…this is all about the doctoral degree ''The PhD''

A general discussion on ''long and short PhDs'', thought it is worth discussing!!!

The topic is all about the doctoral degree ''The PhD''.....let it be in Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Maths, Engineering, Economics, Commerce, or Literature....Here my discussion is mainly focused in getting a PhD in Science. If you do a PhD in UK, Germany or France you need to finish your work in 3-3.5 years. So, one has to be pretty much organized and lucky to get the degree. In Switzerland it takes 4-4.5 years. In the US it is 4-5 years and if it goes longer, one can be kicked out of the program. In India it could take from 4 to 10 years. :-)

Having done a PhD, I have many friends who did, are doing and who would like to do a PhD. Many of my friends who graduated with me are now at different parts of the world as Assistant Professors (there is one I am most proud of), Researchers and Post Doctoral Fellows. The one I am most proud of for having gotten this degree is someone who graduated from ETH, Zurich who is now an Assistant Professor in the US, who used to work for IBM before. I know a friend of mine from Cochin University who finished his PhD in 3 years with 13 publications who is now a Lecturer at one of the Universities in India. Another friend who did his PhD from Indian Institute of Technology, IITM, in 4 years is now a Professor at one of the IITs in India. Many other friends finished in 4-5 years from different Universities or Institutes in and out of India with quite good quality publications who are now Researchers or Post Doctoral Researchers at different parts of the world. I also know some others who have taken 9 to 10 years to finish their PhD studies from Indian Universities.

How can it be that some can do the same degree, in similar fields, with similar number of publications in a short period while others cannot? What is the difference here, what are the criteria/circumstances to have this difference? At the moment when the saying is ''the world is moving faster and the competitions are becoming tougher'' is it good to do a long PhD? I open this for a discussion.

According to me the number of years does not matter, but no country should allow PhD to stretch out for 10 years. I am sure if he or she would have been better organized could have finished the same amount of work in 5 years or even less. I assume that people taking 10 years to finish their PhD is just stretching out their work by sleeping off half the time or are there some other factors behind a long PhD?I think it is high time that India or any other country has to change this scenario completely. One of the reasons I can think of is stated here: The number of years one took for doctoral studies become important if one is keen in having an academic position in India, and when the requirement for applying for an Assistant Professorship in India is a minimum of 3 years of Post Doctoral experience. Besides this minimal requirement, Institutes/Universities prefer to have candidates below 35 years old, so if you take 10 years time to finish your doctoral studies, you will be 32 years old when you finish your PhD. That means, one will be 35 years old by the time he/she reaches this minimum requirement for applying for an Assistant Professorship in India, whilst, your colleagues, those who have done their doctoral studies in 4 or 5 years time could have more experience and, therefore have more chances entering academics by that time.

For those who would like to do a PhD, never take it for granted and finish it fast and efficiently.

Recently there was also a similar discussion in Nature medicine about ''long and short PhD'' which is worth reading.

http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v13/n11/full/nm1107-1265.html

''Ode to Joy'' ...Adding to my memoirs...

''Be embraced, you millions! This kiss for the whole world! Brothers, beyond the star-canopy Must a loving father dwell.''

How wonderful the words are...How exuberant the music is... The music of Joy and Love.

Don't know whether I can explain here what I felt on that Saturday evening...A night's amusement pierced my heart and made a mark which will never fade away. Let me tell you, it was just breathtaking, the ninth and the last Symphony of Beethoven, the greatest of all compositions for orchestra, performed by ''Durham Choral Society & Orchestra''. That moment I became the happiest person. The whole world just smiled at me from then on and I smiled back.

That Saturday evening, under the high roof of the cathedral of Durham (one of the first world heritage sites of UNESCO in United Kingdom) will be one of the memorable days in my life.

Be the change...Make a small step...Make a change...

A STEP....Support Lives...

Description:

…First Step…...A fundraising photography exhibition-cum-sale to support lives…This photography exhibition-cum-sale is the 1st fundraising event of ‘A STEP…Support LIVES…Exhibition to be inaugurated by Shri Kantibhai Patel (Eminent Sculptor & Artist) & Marked by the bright presence of the Children from Manav Sadhna…Through this event we will support a Mumbai based NGO, Touching Lives......‘if you ever wonder how to make a difference, touch one life’...…Touching Lives Welfare Trust is an organization with vision and mission of love and humanity. Its mandate is being touching lives through educational, health, entertainment and other support projects contributing towards universal consciousness. It runs an open school in Mumbai, affiliates itself with mental rehab center with Atma viswas Vidyalaya in Gujarat, supports individuals with therapies for better living and projects related with entertainment as music, radio etc. It believes in creating ones own path towards serving our world...

For more details: http://www.touchonelife.org/