In our country many students who study in local schools learn all subjects including science in their local language. The scientific nomenclature remains the same whatever the language of instruction for example – molarity, normality, amino, carboxy are the same in Hindi as well as in English. However, when one is educated in vernacular schools, it is often a bit daunting for the student to switch to English as a language of communication. So it is not surprising that when these students join college they can understand instruction in English but they have a preference for the regional/vernacular language. Writing papers, or presenting is English is often an unnerving task. The shy ones tend to go into a shell and refrain from exhibiting their knowledge of the subject lest they are brought into the limelight, which would display their un-comfortableness with the English language. Though, there are mild hiccups comprehending instructions in the class during the early days it doesn’t last long though.

I distinctly remember myself in the same situation almost 17 years back and correlate to their discomfort now. At that point of time and same as today, I was a keen observer and avid learner yet this feeling as to whether I understood the instructions in English correctly was persistent for some time. Luckily, I was not alone many of my classmates felt the same. Sometimes we felt the need for a mentor who could understand what we were facing and lend a hand of appreciation and support. It also helps to have some English language classes for beginners at the undergraduate level for those of us still uncomfortable with the language.

I have often wondered why we learn things in the local language if we have to succumb to English later. Though my classmates and I did not find a quick answer, our initial concerns and irritability to the issues faded rather quickly. It did take effort from our side but we soon became comfortable with communicating in English. My experience at TIFR and NIH further strengthened my grip on the language and slowly I began to appreciate my earlier schooling in the vernacular tongue. The first time I realized this was when I visited my village near Banaras and found it very easy to talk to all about my scientific work, explaining it in a manner that those who had no experience whatsoever with experimental science could understand and marvel at it. It was obvious to me that here I had an advantage of being able to communicate science in a language that masses understand. My ease with Hindi was essentially due to my primary education in that language.

This was one of the major reasons why I was invited to translate English papers into Hindi. In a country where the majority of the population still resides in the villages that haven’t been penetrated by the wonders of science. Further, this population cannot comprehend other languages well. It is therefore, important to communicate science to the general people in the vernacular language for its farther and deeper penetration and appreciation in the society. It will have its own advantages in educating and exciting people about science at grass root levels. In my opinion for science to flourish in our country we must promote science at school and grass root levels in the vernacular tongue.

Science however is beyond the constraints of any language. Studying at higher level requires a set of skills that includes intelligence, aptitude, logical reasoning and knack towards learning, qualities that are by no account slave to any particular language. Science is more of a curiosity and understanding based passion not a language driven obsession.

My colleagues have proven this beyond doubt that language plays no barrier in comprehending and succeeding in science however every one will probably vouch that a mentor would have helped them make a rather smooth transition from school to college. Colleges should encourage mentors; maybe even designate one for the students who do require them. And students might need mentors for different reasons, for language, transitioning from different states/cultures, or moving from a small town to the city.

I must finish by saying that I am an earnest supporter for science teaching in vernacular language and press for the need of volunteers to help get rid of early hiccups that a school to college transitioning student has.

If you are choosing between reputed programs in excellent Institutions, then this is one decision in which it doesn’t help to make a list of pros and cons. Students often ask me if there is an “exit option” for getting an MSc degree mid-way in the IntPhD course, for example, or what the hostel charges are, whether students get leave for festivals, whether they can change labs mid-way...while all these are certainly good to know, I do believe this is one decision you make on “gut instincts,” going with what excites you, taking a deep breath and jumping in. The keep-your-options-open approach makes for a very superficial assessment, and in fact prevents you from seeing what is truly important. If all the programs you are choosing amongst are in top-notch places, then the overriding decision factor for a research degree is what kind ofresearch question *you* want to work on. If you have made a thoughtful and *informed* decision about this, then you should join whichever place has openings in research labs working in those areas.

However, it is an unfortunate fact that students in India rarely have the opportunity to explore their interests effectively, particularly at the undergraduate level, and often even at the postgraduate level. It is because of this that students appear to try to seek some sort of security measure rather than putting themselves through the unsettling process of finding out what their own interests are! So, my primary advice is to join a program that has a diversity of research labs, and one that offers some element of rotations or student choice. When you rotate in a lab, you have the best possible chance of making an *informed* decision about whether to join it. To make the best of your rotations, you should join with an open mind….a preconceived idea of what you want to do will actually LIMIT your options for no good reason. What if there is something out there that you had never encountered before, that could be the question that truly excites you, but you never knew that area existed?

This said, the MOST important thing is to try to evaluate the performance of each faculty member as best as you can before just jumping in because the work excites you. Again this sounds like a heretical thingfor an Indian student to do, brought up as we are to respect seniority. But the truth is all faculty are *not* equal. Things to evaluate, to the extent you can, are the following:

a) How well have they published? This is a usually ballpark indicator of the quality of what your publications will be, too. If several students of the faculty member you are considering joining haven’t managed to publish, or need to wait till the last year and then submit a paper with difficulty, then you will probably have such problems too. If students usually get lots of papers in average journals, then that’s the level your publications might have too. If students in that lab typically work in pairs or collectively on huge projects, then you should find out how authorship conflicts if any are resolved. Otherwise you risk finding yourself in the middle of one.

b) how well students do when they leave the lab in question ie how well can the faculty member place his/her students in postdoc positions? This is something that will matter hugely when you are ready to graduate, so worth spending time on, even though graduation seems far away when you are a new student.

c) Is the advisor you are considering joining enthusiastic about his/her science, about training students, are they motivated to explore new questions, or do they risk stagnation in their field? The energy they bring to their science will influence your science in a big way.

d) How do they run the lab- is a diversity of views encouraged and aired, are they fair in their criticisms, can they take criticism themselves, are they professional in their dealings? This approach will rub off on you, too. Often it seems as if the priorities of new students are to find a lab in which they’ll be comfortable (this is code for “a lab in an area they “know,” because fear that they won’t perform well in something new and make a bad impression). And of course, a lab where the advisor is “not strict!” Again, a security-seeking approach. PLEASE, pause and consider whether you can communicate with the advisor you are thinking of joining? Do you see yourself growing into a situation in which you can argue scientific matters with him/her on equal footing? This is a necessary and invaluable component of every student's scientific training.

e) how engaged are they as mentors? This crucial, because your scientific training- not only the techniques, but the planning, the organization, the communication and the ETHICS of your research activities will be hugely influenced by your advisor's engagement and mentorship. You will reflect a good deal of your advisors’ values and traits by the time you emerge a trained scientist from his/her lab. So, ask yourself whether this scientist you would like to have as your primary role model?

The brand-name of the institution you join is something that carries a lot of weight for undergraduate programs, but it carries only so far in graduate school. A program that has a diversity of research labs covering several areas that you find interesting, or are willing to explore, one that allows some element of student choice, and one in which there are several faculty who would be potential "good advisors" would be the one to join. So, deciding which research institution to join actually involves exploring what types of labs or advisors that institution has, assessing them to the extent possible. Make a visit, talk to the faculty and to the students discuss these issues as thoroughly as possible. Then, go ahead and take the plunge. Making a well-considered decision is really all you can do- the important thing once you’ve decided is don’t hold back- give your very best so that it has the best possible chance of working out very well for you.

Good luck!

I wanted to move into infectious diseases reseach or public health and epidemiology but it was not easy. I was lucky that my advisor had sufficient funds to support me for nearly a year and a half till I found the exact fit. During the nearly three years I spent as a postdoc at the National Institutes of Health studying sRNAs in Bacillus anthracis, research was definitely a uphill task for various reasons – being trained in yeast – a eukaryote I had to not only get used to the nomenclature but also learn to think in terms of prokaryotes (no nucleus, or organelles, different gene regulation) but the worst was moving from yeast to B. anthracis. Yeast is easy to manipulate, hordes of tools exist in it, but B. anthracis has hardly any tools and even simple cloning is hard. Thus, when I came across the video on ibiomagazine by Sandra Schmid about postdocs experience, it really struck a cord.

In retrospect, I think my advisor was correct (at least for me), my postdoc definitely helped me to grow not just as a scientist but to mature as a person and understand my goals/aims in life as much as my own abilities. Granted not everyone would be like me – but I do feel that as a student, our focused view is pretty biased. As one matures, we see the intricacies of each field and are able to make a more informed decision on where we can see ourselves in the next few years.

Having said that, it is always a good idea to start thinking of about your postdoc / alternative career options at least a year before completion of your Ph.D. Networking is essential in the world of today, so go to conferences, interact with scientist, know about their work and present your work to them. Choose a mentor carefully – someone who may not necessarily be the best in the field, but someone who would mentor you and help you grow into a mature and successful scientist. If your interests are more non-academic, then choose a lab that has precedence of such career tracks and would be open about your interest without bracketing yourself into it – after all you can always change your mind, similarly if teaching is what you aim for, then choosing a lab/institute where you would get the opportunity to gain some experience in teaching is advisable.

Postdoc is a time for you to discover yourself, know your skills, your interests, try different things and find out what you enjoy the best and where you fit in. At least in the U.S.A., most universities and research institutes would allow their postdocs and students to ‘detail’ in the different streams of science – policy, patent law, technology transfer, science writing and so on. ‘Detail’ means you can spend sometime in the respective department maybe do a small project and interact with the experts there. This helps you gauge the field from personal experience and decide if that is something you would like to pursue.

Finally, when applying from India to other countries, check and ensure that your pay is at par with that of established standards. For example – in the U.S.A postdoc pay scales generally follow National Institutes of Health-suggested scales. For Europe there are websites such as EURAXESS that have sufficient information.

It all began the first week of March when we resumed classes after the mid semester recess. I was busy with my teaching assignments and following up on what was pending in the purchase and accounts section. It’s a known fact that the financial year ends in March, though the real meaning and its effect on me remained illusive till I realized that I must clear dues, bills and reimbursements and projected approved purchases for current financial year by the end of March.

Having joined only in November, I had ordered many things for my lab. My list for accounts proved to be pretty long - multiple instruments/ equipments, consumable items, settling the payments of things that I had already received, reimbursement of office related stationery, medical bills to count few. I submitted multiple claims for payment release for purchases received, processed new approved purchases and medical reimbursements. If you have been with me in my journey in this new venture you will appreciate how much of non-academic work is involved in all this. My only mode of satisfaction was teaching and regular interaction with students.

At this point, a yet another interesting dimension of the March madness was introduced to me by one of my more experienced colleagues. I was till then oblivious to the fact that any balance remaining in your account for consumables or equipment will lapse and hence become unavailable to you after the current financial year. Of course no one likes this money to lapse. However, it is a big challenge to spend that money in wisely and timely manner. I still hadn’t spent even half of my start up fund, hoping to have it in ample for this year. So of course, I was a bit taken aback. Finalizing what you can buy, where you can buy from and submitting all relevant documents in time gave me no time to overcome my shock/surprise keeping me on my toes the entire month.

Slowly but constantly, I am learning many things, much of it the hard way. Apart from science there is a lot of skills required in this job, which I hope will help me in lab management. These can well be the positives that I can take from March madness. I am yet to receive my first grant and have heard from others that similar managements skills need to be applied to projects sanctioned by various funding bodies. I can positively say that I am getting a rehearsal for something that is in the future. Ideally, I would love to deal more with this madness indicating more funding to do research in future but practically how feasible is it to handle on a more regular basis, is very premature is to say the very least.

I should not deter from drawing your attention that this chaos is also felt at non-academic strata where you manage the income tax related last minute investments/ purchases in the month of March.

“March Madness” is something that all of us in the fraternity have to live with but I wish to ameliorate its extent in future years to come.

If applying and finding a job in academia is a monumental task that teaches a lesson in patience then the process of setting up laboratory is like appearing for an examination for that lesson.

Within the last few months, I have realized that it is rather easy to apply for grants and accumulate funding than ordering things required in your laboratory. Being eligible for institutional funds to support my research before any grant funding comes through makes it a bit easier for me than for others who need might need the initial grant capital to set up their lab. However, procuring the materials needed to start research in the lab is a whole another story. Approval for procuring reagents and instruments from the competent authority was rather simplistic but the process of procurement was way too complex for my imagination.

Our graduate and post doctoral training prepare us for tackling the scientific problems not the administrative one. In this regard, few privileged ones get simultaneous training in the art of chasing the fate of a file in purchase and accounts department in their respective institutes during graduation. However, most of us loose this acquired trait during post doctoral period reminding us of Lamarckism- we lose traits which we don't use.

We join an institute with full awareness to basic requirements for setting up a lab. Apparently we forget to factor in inherent administrative hassles and delays. Institutes must positively help new faculties understand the complexity in procuring stuff by running a workshop like "How to navigate ordering procedure?" This course must focus on and help us understand the nitty gritties of ordering and identifying people who control our research indirectly. An orientation to accounts and purchase section of the institute may precede such a workshop.

In the absence of such a workshop I am learning intricacies of the system by trial and error method. As a consequence, I spent a lot of productive time catering to non-productive issues. I am learning a lot in the process and gaining experience but alas this cannot be added to my CV neither will it be considered when I come up for tenure.

What I realized and probably everyone in my situation will agree with, is that setting up new lab requires understanding of indenting, ordering and material procurement process. We all need some orientation in that direction and institutes, universities or where ever we work can come to our rescue. I am more fortunate enough to have really cooperative set of people in accounts and purchase department in my institute yet a system of orientation undoubtedly help.