In this PhD cafe article, Aditi Jain, Development Editor, ACS Publications, emphasises the importance of empathy in academic settings, particularly research labs, for fostering a supportive and innovative environment. Cultivating empathy enhances relationships, supports colleagues during challenging times, and ultimately contributes to a positive and successful academic experience.

Parul Anup recently completed her PhD from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. In this next article in our PhD Cafe series, she talks about the expectations that graduate students and Principal Investigators (PIs) have from each other, and how keeping these in mind can help in building a healthy mentor-mentee relationship.

Zill e Anam is a PhD student at the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University. In this next article in our PhD Cafe series, she discusses some of the speed-breakers in her journey, solutions that helped her, and what she learned from each episode.

Debdutta Paul is a PhD student at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. In this article, he writes about a few myths often believed by graduate students throughout India, which often prove detrimental to their scientific journeys. He also discusses a few good practices to follow in order to ensure an efficient, productive and healthy PhD journey.

In this next article in our PhD Cafe series, Pushp, a recent PhD graduate and science writer, discusses the importance of learning how to give effective scientific presentations as a graduate student and shares some tips and strategies from his personal experience during his PhD.