PhD students rarely have a lot of free time, the same as employees. During a PhD, there is the pressure to teach, publish, research, organise conferences, network for the future etc etc, on a learning basis (some with relationships and families to nuture as well) all of which contribute to high stress etc, just the same as in ordinary academic jobs. Completing a PhD is more than a full time job in itself. I don't know any PhD students who are 'happy' to volunteer for unpaid extras, particularly given the low salaries that PhDs encompass. Some will do it as a necessarily evil to build the appropriate experience for an academic career. Given that teaching stipends are often low, publications and helping out conferences etc don't usually pay, there is no justification for compulsary volunteering. A small amount of er 'voluntary volunteering' where there are clear benefits to an up and coming researcher's portfolio of experience, may be tolerated, but not demanded. All work which demands a person's skills and time should ethnically be paid.

Dr Cathy Baldwin, [log in to unmask]
Post Doctoral Associate,
Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford
http://www.meccsa.org.uk/pgn/pages/excom/cathybaldwin.html

From: psci-com: on public engagement with science [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Hickman Mat (RW3) CMFT Manchester [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 27 April 2012 12:32
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PSCI-COM] Support from PhD students

Dear all,

Vaguely related to Laura Walker's question... I'm interested in people's thoughts on using PhD students to support public engagement activities and whether they should be remunerated for their time?

Many PhD students will be expected to undertake PE activities as part of their PhD, so might be happy to donate their time for free, but others might feel that their expertise and the responsibility being entrusted to them should be recognised.

So: should PhD students be paid when they help out at an event? Perhaps it is a spectrum -- some activities should be voluntary (for example...?), some should be paid (for example...?)

Be good to hear what you think.

Thanks in advance and best wishes,

Mat

Matthew Hickman PhD
Education Project Manager

Nowgen, A Centre for Genetics in Healthcare

Manchester Academic Health Science Centre
The University of Manchester
NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Nowgen Centre
29 Grafton St
Manchester M13 9WU

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