Dr. Rinku Prajapati

Postdoctoral Researcher, IITAlumni , Photography ✨✌️

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

Accelerating science @CERN, Switzerland🇨🇭

[Andrew Akbashev @Andrew_Akbashev]

Postdoc time is often harder than PhD.

You have little time. Competition is higher. And you MUST stand out.

+ Your contract may end any moment.

+ Your salary is often low (for your age/education).

+ You’ve just relocated and prepare to relocate again.

No wonder that Max Planck Society survey showed that depression and anxiety of postdocs is rising.

Interestingly, Max Planck Institutes have substantial internal funding. So, in theory there should be less pressure to apply for grants, and everyone should be enjoying science. And yet the pressure on postdocs is immense.

📍 Many postdocs want to stay in academia.

They want to apply for faculty positions or become senior scientists.

Some of them achieve it. Others don’t.

❗️Why things don’t work out:

In a recent workshop Q&A session, I discussed various scenarios and behind-the-scenes processes that PhD students should keep in mind if they’re considering a postdoc:

“Postdocs: Competition, Hardship and Faculty Positions”

Watch it on here: https://t.co/nlwF8WaLJP

(I’ll appreciate if you ‘like’ this video - you will GREATLY help it reach more students.)

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

@renu_dhadwal 🤣

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

@VsPsych Looks cool pattern. What’s this in 3rd pic?

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

Glad to share that my first “single author” article has been published online in The European Physical Journal A (published by Springer Nature).

https://t.co/wV3SFDlFbw

#EPJA #SpringerNature

[V. Ramgopal Rao, Ph.D. @ramgopal_rao]

A recent study (shared below) reminded me that 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐏𝐡𝐃 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Over the years, I have supervised 53 PhD students, and I can say with conviction that 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 that works for all. Each student is different, and every PhD journey has its ups and downs.

With some students, I spent a disproportionate amount of time helping them gain confidence. With stronger ones, my role was to 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻.

𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. Unless a student gets genuinely interested in what he or she is doing, great work rarely happens.

A good 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀. I never restricted my students from seeking advice from other faculty. In fact, I always encouraged it and built a network they could freely approach. I also followed an 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻-𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 - any student could walk into my office anytime for advice.

I never had a lab of my own in any institution I worked at. Instead, I built common labs, shared by all, to promote collaboration and collective ownership. I have always believed that the 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱.

I have always taken 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗣𝗵𝗗 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Since most of them worked on industry-supported projects, this was never a problem.

Nearly 90% of my PhD students wrote their first peer-reviewed paper with me.

Unlike in the US, where professors often get students with prior research experience, 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. Faculty in Indian institutions (at least in the institutions where I worked so far - IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi and BITS Pilani) often put in far more time and effort per student than many of our counterparts abroad.

The 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. That makes everything worthwhile.

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

@mehek_uppal Even without color, black-and-white photos can tell powerful stories!

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

Just a fish doing its thing in Beijing, China.
#Beijingtrip #China
#Photography

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

@VsPsych Indeed, a PhD requires way more commitment and personal time. Wishing good luck for you and your students 😄!

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

That’s why science is a beautiful gift to humanity, and a tool for understanding the universe !
#scienceforeveryone
#NobelPrize

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

Post a picture of seasonal fruit that you captured 😍

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

@VsPsych Nice shot and more greenery ☘️

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

@VsPsych Reviewer 2 😂

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

@HarmeenSoch Beautiful click!

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

🍁

[Varsha Singh @VsPsych]

Generic excuse holds true for the instructor, 'stuck in rain without umbrella, late for tutorial'.

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

@VsPsych @10 Haha, take a break in between and start again:)

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

@payal_jos Really? Whole presentation in French?

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

Perfection is the enemy of progress either in research or in life. Research thrives in the space between what we know and what we're still struggling to understand. It’s always an ongoing learning process!!

[Prof Lennart Nacke, PhD @acagamic]

Your thesis has flaws.

So did Einstein's.
Marie Curie's.
Darwin's.

The difference?
They understood that limitations aren't failures.
They're features of real research in an imperfect world.

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

Drop a picture you love…😍

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

@uoka69 @drramyamurali Indeed and background looks pretty!

[Dr. Rinku Prajapati @rinku_physics]

Something pretty for your feed ✨

[Ramya @drramyamurali]

Something pretty for your feed ✨