December 20, 2024
Amrita School of Social and Behavioural Sciences started in August 2022 the first Women PhD student support group facilitated by Dr Martha Miller, Adjunct Professor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, and Faculty Director at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson Women Leadership’s Institute, USA.
The first group consists of 3 women PhD students of the School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (representing 25 % of the 13 women PhD students in end 2024). They meet at least once in a month. On 1st December 2024, already 21 sessions have been successfully conducted.
The goal of peer mentoring is to cultivate a nurturing environment of mutual support and compassion by engaging in empathetic and focused listening, being fully present in mind and heart. In peer mentoring sessions, whether conducted virtually or in person, each female PhD participant is given a designated time to speak. The individual in focus expresses their current emotional state, discusses the challenges they are encountering in their professional or personal life, and articulates specific research-related issues they are endeavoring to resolve. Fellow group members provide attentive listening, offer support, and, when feasible, suggest potential pathways for the person to progress.
“Joining Martha’s Support Group has been one of the most meaningful decisions of my PhD journey. I started in August 2022 and completed my 22nd session with Martha on December 17th, 2024. While it may appear to be a small and informal space, its impact has been deeply significant. In a research environment often centered on milestones and achievements, the group offers a rare opportunity to pause, reflect, and discuss the emotional dimensions of the doctoral process. Being able to share experiences, express challenges, and gain clarity through open and supportive conversations has been invaluable. It remains one of the sessions I most look forward to each month, both for its sense of community and for the perspective it brings to my academic journey.” Meenu P Prakash, PhD Student in Social Sciences
Martha Miller’s testimony
“During my own journey to obtaining my PhD, I discovered the process involved a great deal of stamina and weathering of a range of energy ups and downs during the coursework, teaching, specials papers and dissertation. The women students in my PhD cohort, and within the many PhD candidates I taught after becoming a professor, were significantly aided by provision of safe places to talk. In these spaces they could encourage one another, discover they were not alone in their occasional self-doubts or wondering “Why am I doing this to myself?”, and exchange tips and inspiration for what to focus on and how to handle the challenges they faced. This was the genesis of my offer to provide similar sessions for the Women PhD Candidates at Amritapuri. It was an honor to have done so for the first cadre of students. I am humbled and impressed by the topics they have chosen, each of which promises to add insight and tools to aid society in impactful ways. I am grateful to work with such talented and humane researchers.” Martha Miller, PhD Counsellor
Building on the success of the current cohort, Dr. Martha Miller has given her approval to initiate a new cohort of the PhD Women Support Group.
