Yogyakarta, 21 February 2025–Pursuing higher education is not easy. Students, including doctoral or PhD students, often face various problems or challenges, from financial to mental health. Responding to this issue, The Conversation Indonesia held a webinar entitled “The Doctoral Road: From Financial Difficulties to Mental Stress” with academics and doctoral candidates. The event invited Pratiwi Utami, PhD (Lecturer at the Department of Communication Sciences UGM) and Herman Yosef Paryono (Doctoral Candidate in Organizational Behaviour, University of Groningen) as webinar speakers.
Doctoral candidates must bear heavy burdens such as education costs rather than income, pressure from supervisors/promoters, the risk of failed research, pressure to publish in scientific journals, and the dual role of caring for the family. Pratiwi Utami holds a PhD through a funding scholarship from Monash University, namely the Monash International Tuition Scholarship (MITS), while carrying out her dual role as a mother. She recognises that the challenges of financing a doctoral degree in the country are more significant, so many postgraduate candidates work. Reflecting on her experiences and observations, Pratiwi recommends a financing scheme from the university or research funding that can be used flexibly to cover the costs of conferences, fieldwork, proofreading, and child daycare.
In addition, Pratiwi remembers the challenges she faced while undergoing academic and domestic responsibilities, so the learning process becomes very attached to her doctoral experience. It is essential for a prospective student who wants to pursue a doctoral education to be competent in managing expectations. Since doctoral education is an individual research, each research will have different topics and challenges. So, it is possible to feel like you don’t have anyone who can understand you because of various research, experiences, and family conditions. Therefore, acceptance of these challenges is also essential. Remembering that doctoral studies become a privilege because of the experience of exploring an issue or topic in depth for 4 years so that there is a process of deepening knowledge and abilities.
“So first, set expectations. Second, accept the challenges and undergo a valuable learning process amid these challenges,” Pratiwi said at the event.
The event aimed to encourage a better system for doctoral students through the reflective experiences and recommendations shared by the speakers. It is an effort to create quality education that facilitates the dual role of mothers as students in navigating a challenging academic journey.