This one is for my student. She said that the students write many emails to professors requesting for project work but no one ever replies and it is very disheartening.
I too am guilty of not responding to emails, especially if they are from students requesting for project work.
With multiplication of Universities and courses offered, one thing most Universities, colleges, institutes seem to have jettisoned is the laboratory work. It does not matter for theoretical courses but for subjects like basic sciences it matters terribly. Compounded with this is the fact that many of the small universities, colleges, and institutes do not have a viable research program. These institutions, therefore, have found a neat solution to the problem- have the students do a 3-6 month project work outside the institute. On paper it looks so attractive! Oh, the students will do a project work. The reality is little different. Most of these institutes take no responsibility on placement. They ask the students to write to various professors across the country and find for themselves a placement. So I, for example, will get at least one or two such request on any given day. This is an addition to the students wandering into the office asking for permission to do project work.
Most of us do not want to have these students. For one, we do not get paid by their Universities to train them. On average I have to spend at least 1-2 lakhs per year per student. So if a student comes to my lab for 6 months project work, it means Rs 50,000 to 1 lakh consumable money. Where would I get that money from? Secondly, most of them have to be trained from the very beginning. As most of us do not work in the laboratory anymore, we have to depend on our students for the training part. Some PhD students are good and they will take pains to teach. Some are pretty bad. They will agree on principle to train another student but will not do so. Many times, and this has happened even in my lab, the trainee will be in tears. So I have to see, before accepting a trainee, who is available in my lab to train them. Finally, even our own M.Sc program insists on a project work/laboratory training. This means that in my lab at any given time would be 1-2 M.Sc students. So if I taken any student from outside, it means in addition to these M.Sc students.
Therefore, when emails come to me from students they are deleted. I guess what I should have is some sort of an automatic reply system where it says sorry but no space is available or some such thing. I should set it up so that the person who writes to me at least gets a reply. But what I want more than this is that the Universities should have viable research program and it is the responsibility of the University to ensure that there students are trained in laboratory techniques.
PS: I should clarify. The UGC has given us money to train students. Each one of us can take up to three students per year and for each student we will be given Rs 30,000. This eases situation little bit. But the number of applicants is so large that 3 per faculty is peanuts.
2 comments:
Yes, I have received a few emails of this variety myself. The idiotic thing is that the students - almost all - think that flattering me is going to do the trick for them. Is this the norm in India? Or is it that some professors in India actually desire such flattery? (If so, how pathetic!)
As for me, such letters only remind me of William's famous begging letter. Perhaps someone should tell the students that if they want to write begging letters, at least learn from the Master :-)
Oh, I think it is kind of expected- the knee grovelling kind of letter. I was in fact horrified when I saw a letter written by my student. I had asked him to write to a lab in US for some reagent that they had. The letter went to say something about how poor we are and how difficult it is to get the reagent and whether they would be kind enough to send it to us. It finished with how eternally grateful the student would be!
Needless to say I made him rewrite the letter but I was shell-shocked for some days.
I forgot to ask him to take lesson from William but then I do not think he knows William.
So the short answer to your question is, yes, many do require such flattery. Otherwise how can they feel great? Yuck!
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