“In recent years, a chorus of former PhD students have broken their silence over abusive behaviour suffered at the hands of their supervisors. Their horrifying accounts variously relate being belittled and humiliated in front of colleagues, having supervisors explode with anger upon hearing of scientific setbacks, even supervisors sullying their students’ reputations in the eyes of prospective employers. The toll of this sustained torment on students’ mental health can be devastating, with reports of anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and even suicide having emerged.
Supervisor bullying deters talented students from pursuing academic careers. It can also compromise academic integrity by pressuring students to falsify data to avoid provoking backlash. This is a lose-lose situation for all of academia.”
Timothy Ijoyemi. “Bullying by supervisors is alive and well – now is the time to tackle it”. THE Campus, 11th November 2021. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/bullying-supervisors-alive-and-well-now-time-tackle-it. Accessed: 20th June 2022.
Click here if you want to learn more about supervisor bullying of PhD students and the call for action by Institutions and other stakeholders to mitigate this issue.
● What are your views about allegations of bullying in academia?
● Do you think all Higher Education Institutions should have mandatory anti-bullying policies?
● How and by whom should allegations of bullying be investigated?
● What measures do you propose to protect bullied students?
● What sanctions do you propose for abusive supervisors?
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