In the Promood PhD Questionnaire 2005 (the results of which are published in 2006), it was revealed that almost 40% of the respondents expect delay in finishing their thesis. It is also mentioned in the questionnaire results that this has been a common and major problem not only in Delft, but also in other universities in The Netherlands (this problem gets even more complicated if the PhD student is a foreigner, because the residence permit then needs to be extended to accommodate the delay). Two major reasons for the delay, cited in the questionnaire results, are “inadequate supervision” and “an unclear project description”.

Both reasons mentioned above point to promotors (or/and daily supervisors) as the ones who should improve themselves to resolve the situation. To comprehensively tackle this problem, it would be useful to also hear from the other side of the story. This can be done by making another set of questionnaire, circulated particularly to the promotors. From the questionnaire, we can see whether the promotors realize that finishing PhD thesis in time is not only good for the PhD students, but also for the promotors. Several exemplary questions that can be asked to the promotors are:

1. When you hire a PhD student, do you expect him/her to defend the thesis within 4 years after starting his/her project?
2. Does it matter at all for you whether your PhD student defends the thesis in time or not?
3. In cases of delays, what do you consider as the main cause?
1. Inadequate scientific capability of the PhD student.
2. An unclear working and planning by the PhD student.
3. Procrastination habit of the PhD student.
4. Others.
4. What are your suggestions to help eliminating such delays?

One method to solve the problem is by providing rewards to the promotors and universities (yes, like PhD students, they also tend to work more efficiently if they get more rewards.) It is noticeable that a Dutch university gets EUR 80,000 from the government every time a PhD student graduated, while there is no extra incentive awarded to the university if the thesis is finished and defended in time. By providing this extra incentive, the government would ensure that promotors, and also universities, sufficiently care whether the PhD student can finish and defend the thesis before the end of the 4-year research period or not.

Clearly defining the expectations, and the boundaries of the research period, would also be helpful. When a PhD student signs an employment contract and starts the research, it is not common for the student and the promotor to clearly define what is meant by the “4-year research period”: does it mean 4 years of full research, or perhaps 3.5 years of research concluded by 6 months solely dedicated for thesis writing? For PhD students who just started his/her project, it might not be apparent that such definition is required. The clear definition, however, can be crucial to avoid misunderstandings between promotors and students in the fourth year of the PhD research.

Another hurdle related to the delays is the pregnancy leave (a.k.a. maternity leave). It is true the questionnaire result mentioned “other factors like pregnancy leave, and work facilities seem to cause little or no delay.” However, as written in Merle de Kreuk’s article “The science of motherhood” (in Promood’s 2005 edition of “Het Proefschift”), taking the 16-week pregnancy leave is obligatory, while getting the 16-week extension to the PhD contract is not automatic! It is only logical that Dutch universities are obliged to ensure that their employees obtain not only the pregnancy leave but also the extension automatically. The current system dictates that the promotors have the prerogative right to grant this extension. This system is flawed, especially because it is the government, instead of the universities, that pays the full salary of the PhD student during the pregnancy leave.

Another aspect that keeps the problem from being solved is the habits and culture in Dutch universities. When studying for their BSc-MSc degree, many of Dutch students take more than 5 years (the official time required for finishing the degree in The Netherlands). This is compensated by obtaining extra-curricular experiences and part-time jobs, which is admittedly important for their future career as well. But this habit and culture is only suitable for a student-life, not for a full-time working-life as in PhD research, where the project should be finished and the thesis should be defended by the end of the contract. We observe that there are many PhD students who write their thesis while doing full-time day-jobs after their PhD contract expires.

Finally, it is also worthy to mention that the delays mainly persist to exist because most of us, not only PhD students but also promotors, think that those delays are common (and hence “normal”). This circle has to be broken, sooner than later. PhD students have to start thinking that defending the PhD thesis within 4 years after the research started is normal (and possible!). Promotors also have to start regarding themselves highly when they are able to guide their PhD students to finish and defend the thesis in time.

Gea Oswah Fatah Parikesit (PhD student at the Faculty of Applied Sciences)

Indraswari Kusumaningtyas (PhD student at the Faculty of 3ME)