From challenges to perspectives

A t the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), the PhD students organize an international symposium every 2 years. The authors of this article were all members of the organizing committee this year, and we are proud of the programme on offer, which includes a Nobel Prize winner and many other eminent speakers. Organizing the symposium has been a valuable experience for us, and a worthy addition to our CVs, but not everyone we have spoken to feels that way about extra-curricular activities. When we advertised the symposium among our fellow PhD students, we often received comments that people were “too busy” to attend, or “had no time for these things,” or, perhaps worst of all, that their supervisor “would not allow them to come.” Those who did manage to come along this year showed a great deal of interest in one of our optional workshops: “How to stay sane during your PhD?” Overall, the behavior of our peers suggests to us that PhD students are under an unhealthy amount of pressure.