ACADEMICS SHOULD pursue higher studies not just to boost their credentials but to conduct research that would benefit the public, an Artlet educator said.
Research Center for Social Sciences and Education assistant research director and journalism faculty member Jeremaiah Opiniano said a doctoral thesis must not end with the holder benefitting from it.
According to him, researchers should strive to bring the findings of their study “back to the people.”
“A Philippine university must be a hub for people to be motivated to discover new knowledge and change the world,” Opiniano said during a lecture hosted by the Faculty of Arts and Letters Dean’s Office last Sept. 25.
The lecture recognized three Artlet educators who finished their doctorate degrees overseas during the pandemic, including Opiniano, who earned his doctor of philosophy (PhD) in human geography at the University of Adelaide.
English department Asst. Prof. Pia Patricia Tenedero, who obtained her PhD in linguistics from Macquarie University, said publishing a study in a peer-reviewed journal is important but “is not the only way to share one’s research.”
“I really hope personally that universities will broaden their view of research productivity beyond journal publications. I think that the essential theme is to share what we have discovered and there are so many creative, meaningful ways to do that,” she said.
Tenedero, who conducted a study about the communication practices and ideologies of globalized accountants in the Philippines, said obtaining a PhD is not enough and it is essential to anticipate life after obtaining the degree.
Philosophy instructor Darlene Demandante, who finished her doctorate degree in philosophy also at Macquarie University, said a PhD does not define a person. She also emphasized the need to strategize while pursuing one’s degree, saying people who fail to do so would get “lost.”
“A lot of people who did their PhD experience a deep dive after the whole process because they thought that the PhD defines who they are,” Demandante, whose doctoral thesis focused on French philosopher Jacques Rancière’s key writings about politics, said. F – A. N. Apostol
