VA

This is why: 1. Funding decisions for PIs must take into account recommendation letters from former PhD graduates and postdocs. Because funding is used to pay for more students and postdocs, it should be allocated only if the PI knows how to manage people correctly. 2. Universities should hire senior professors only after collecting 5-10 recomm. letters from their former graduates, randomly selected. 3. Students should get university-level (or country-level) training in how to select advisors and avoid toxic PIs. 4. Universities should create internal funds and programs for the students who need to switch groups or get financial security while they’re trying to find a new employer. It should be mandatory if the university wants to receive funding from the government (that comes from taxes). 5. Private funders should stop funding “hot research topics” as much as they do these days. Instead, if they start helping students who are already in crisis (by offering fellowships or other support), they will make A LOT bigger impact on the academic community and entire society. 6. In any department, fellow professors should HELP students who got into toxic groups and need support. Not avoid them. 7. At department meetings, the topics of toxicity and mismanagement must be discussed as often as possible. Believe me, your students don’t care about the “strategic plans for the department”, “teaching rotations”, etc that you keep discussing there. All they care about is wellbeing. Everything else comes second. Ensure you are raising awareness and making the right emphasis on what is truly important for the students. 8. Finally, reduce tenure requirements. A lot of issues stem from the load the young PIs have to withstand. Reduce the load on PIs and you will reduce the load on students and postdocs. Don’t ignore mismanagement. Don’t ignore toxicity. Even if it doesn’t happen in your lab. @AcademicChatter #AcademicTwitter #phdchat