2020. How are we only halfway through?

On top of catastrophic wildfires, US-Iran saber-rattling, the rebirth of eugenics, the death of my favourite athlete and a global pandemic, racism remains a timeless pursuit.

Never has the Lenin quote, "there are decades where nothing happens and weeks where decades happen" been more apt. I will return to the other events of 2020 in future blog posts as well as chronicle the path that led me from a life sciences PhD student in Dublin to a life sciences Venture Builder in London. 

For now though, my thoughts are focused on white privilege and systemic racism. These words are often used but I think poorly understood, in particular by white society.

In essence, systemic racism is not being a full participant in society because you are denied social, political and economic representation. It is the colour of your skin placing an extra hurdle in front of life's other obstacles. Below are some examples of how this can manifest itself:

• Systemic racism is a wealth gap because you are denied access to capital to buy homes or build businesses 
• Systemic racism is an employment gap because you have a non-white sounding name
• Systemic racism is being over-policed and over-incarcerated
• Systemic racism is facing the brunt of a global pandemic because you're denied access to quality healthcare
• Systemic racism is the acknowledgement that no matter your achievements, you're never immune from racial slurs
• Systemic racism is holding yourself to an impossible standard because there are few representations of your community
• Systemic racism is the hyper-sexualisation of your body 
• Systemic racism is the casual questioning of your intelligence
• Systemic racism is living among commemorations of slave traders and white supremacists
• Systemic racism is having to march and protest to prove your life matters
• Systemic racism is having to deal with bigotry on a daily basis and never get angry
• Systemic racism is constantly speaking about the injustices of your lived experience and being ignored or told to leave

​In contrast, white privilege is never having to deal with any of these challenges. White privilege is benefiting from a society built in your image. White privilege is being able to succeed while being average.

A phrase that resonates is that "to the privileged, equality feels like oppression." It is not surprising there exists an inertia to dismantle the injustice of systemic racism. It benefits those at the top and those at the top are white. 

Yet defeat it we must, if ever liberal democracies are to live up to their ideals - a democratic system of government in which individual rights and freedoms are officially recognized and protected, and the exercise of political power is limited by the rule of law.

In the past, I have ignored explicit discussions about race and racism. I will do so no longer. In the powerful words of American journalist Charles M. Blow, "I do not exist to provide you with comfort; I exist to provide the world with light. It comes from fire. Sometimes it burns."

Short blog post this time. In fact it's not really a post, just a great video from Steve Blank, one of the leading figures in accelerating lifescience research and biomedical innovation. Will have more on my thoughts on his process later.

For those who are interested you can find his lean launchpad class for lifescience here.

Some time ago, I was in a gathering of colleagues discussing the finer points of Marvel’s new blockbuster trailer Guardians of the Galaxy, (if you haven’t seen the trailer check it out here…who doesn’t like the idea of a talking racoon?) when a question arose that had significant impact among the gathered audience.

"What is a PhD?"

Seems simple enough, and in a room of PhD students one might imagine the question was easily answered…Not so much. Oh don’t get me wrong, we offered our suggestions and in typically long-winded academic fashion to boot, but through all our conversation we found ourselves unable to distil the essence of what a PhD actually represents…so we dropped it and moved onto Age of Ultron.

Since then I've found myself turning that question over in my mind, trying to drill at the core of the PhD dilemma. Naturally, I turned to google for the answer (first page search only, come-on I have actual work to do) and was met with a variety of responses, ranging from “a union card for an academic position,” to “a demonstration of research competence,” and of course “a complete waste of time.” The last comment notwithstanding, there seemed to be a consensus forming around the PhD as some combination of research education, academic rite-of-passage, and job requirement. So case closed right?...Not so much, because if you spoke to any current PhD student and told them those answers, they would most likely growl at you…and even after offering them a free lunch they would probably still say you were wrong. To me and my colleagues, those answers ring pretty hollow. Sure they may adequately describe the outputs of a PhD but they do not get at the heart of the PhD experience.

And there, in my mind, is where the answer lies. To understand the PhD is to understand the experience of obtaining it. Yes, a PhD is an education on research competence in a classical sense, but in practicality it’s an education on life; a life-lesson taught through research. In an environment where the subtleties of personal and professional relationships with our peers play a significant role, the PhD teaches how to deal with failure and turn that into opportunity; we learn how to handle disappointment and turn that into renewed vigour. Critically, we learn how to stand on our own two feet and prove the strength of our convictions by generating an idea developing that into reality.

So yes the PhD is a rite-of-passage, as any life-lesson is a rite of passage, and yes it is a job requirement, as the skills and coping mechanisms learned can be equipped for the trials and tribulations of a life-long career. In my opinion, the most successful PhDs are those that can look beyond their research and understand how the PhD impacts them as a person, those that can learn from their experience and use it to guide their development both personally and professionally. It is by no means perfect, nor is it the only way to learn these lessons, but it does present a unique environment to not only discover the secrets of the world but of yourself as well.

In recent years there has been a curious trend by governments of the western world to redirect their resources towards building a so-called knowledge economy. This is seemingly intended to signal our revival from the bleak depths of the Great Recession and herald a new age of information aimed at creating jobs for the future. Chastened by the unrestrained might of rival economies in Asia and South America, many western nations recognise the shifting ground beneath them and are evolving to remain relevant in today’s globalised world.
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At the forefront of this resurgence is the focus placed on science education as a champion of economic and social progress, delivering an innovation-driven culture supported by high-calibre academic institutions and an increased production of highly capable PhD graduates. Recently, we’ve seen the granting of the largest research excellence award in European history, providing €2 billion in funding for “Future and Emerging Technologies” aimed at supplying a decade of “world-beating innovations at the crossroads of science and technology.” Across the pond, the US government have similarly backed plans for billions of dollars of funding towards developing novel technologies essential for understanding brain function and providing a lift to the economy through “job-creating investments in science and innovation.”

In Ireland, the trend persists with the recent pledge of €300 million towards scientific endeavours to “help deliver the quality of jobs of the future for Ireland,” across a wide range of areas. This fervour for novel and innovative scientific research was in full display at my recent attendance of the Molecular Medicine Ireland (MMI) annual scientific meeting, where MMI scholars (of which I am affiliated) presented the topics of their research at the event hosted by Trinity College, Dublin. The keynote address was delivered by Professor Patrick Jackson of Queens University Belfast, discussing what he believes to be the evolving paradigms of scientific research in the United Kingdom and Ireland and the need for leading academics to meet these challenges head-on.

One might imagine that given the attention shown toward academic excellence as a model for future socioeconomic development and job growth, current and prospective PhD students should feel ecstatic about their opportunities for success and career development. Yet the reality for many graduate students is one of dissatisfaction and disillusionment. Somewhat paradoxically, students worry most about their career prospects and whether they will find jobs of high quality and satisfaction. There is valid reason for their concern; traditionally, a doctoral degree was pursued as a stepping stone to an academic position but in modern times, the number of job openings is unrelated to the number of PhD graduates produced. This imbalance forces many graduates to pursue positions in industry, where they are woefully underskilled due to lack of transferrable knowledge. 

While a lot of attention has been placed on the top-end of the academic spectrum, the plight of the PhD experience has been largely ignored. This represents a grave mistake as I strongly believe the success of a knowledge economy that stimulates competition and economic growth is mediated by the quality of the graduates driving this progress. In addition to the core competencies of their research thesis, students need to be given the opportunity for personal development in complimentary skills such as teamwork, communication, innovation and entrepreneurship. These skills not only improve the quality of academic work but also provide useful attributes that are transferrable into the labour market.

Earlier this year, Nature highlighted the emergence of structured PhD programmes in Europe, citing Ireland as a prime example. These programmes are focused on developing a new breed of graduates with the knowledge and skillset to work seamlessly across the academic and industry divide, pioneering innovative solutions for the future. As a graduate student in such a programme, I truly believe this approach is the best approach for students to achieve real value from their PhD education and for universities to re-tool for the modern age, anchored as vital centres of excellence that harness the brightest talents to tackle social and economic challenges and broaden the frontiers of knowledge in the 21st Century.