Dear Pradeep
I appreciate it very much when people attempt to better design programs and am not
trying to discourage it. I don't think it is new or so controversial to say that
university now is running more and more like a McDonald. (It is more like a Big Mac
than a 3-level lasagna, Ed! - smile).
There are good sides of McDonald: it is efficient, has high quality control, and serves
many hungry customers at low price; although its menu is limited and not to everyone's
taste; and nutrition value and link to obesity are problematic. The challenge and the
opportunity (especially for European institutions), it seems to me, is how we can
cultivate (i mean cultivate) Ph.D. rather than producing McDoctor in a McDonald.
I believe, the personal and professional integrity of individual supervisor is vital.
The rest is necessary but not sufficient.
Rosan
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