We were told at an induction event that getting a doctorate is like climbing a mountain. It is not something that you can rush. While it may be motivating to imagine the view that you’ll get at the top, the wise climber focuses on one step at a time. The footing can be treacherous in places, and you don’t want to fall.
I’ve been climbing this mountain for a while now. The end is in sight. I’ve made a lot of progress, and avoided the worst of the pitfalls. I’m starting to feel a bit more confident that this is something that I can do. And yet. There are still a lot of things that can go wrong. The end is in sight, but it is still distant.
The big question now is what I write my thesis on. When I applied for the EdD programme I wrote a research proposal that promised to evaluate the impact of Grand Challenge projects in higher education. Grand Challenges is a term used to describe initiatives that identify and address key global problems, such as those that relate to health and wellbeing, climate change, security and sustainability. I defined three initial research questions:
- What do participants gain from taking part?
- How does the disciplinary background of the participants inform their engagement with the project?
- How successful are Grand Challenges in delivering positive economic, cultural and social change?
I’m still interested in Grand Challenges, but my focus has shifted and broadened. I certainly no longer want to do an impact study. Three years of EdD has shown me that demonstrating the impact of educational innovation is like searching for the source of the Nile (i.e. will cause great mental and physical harm if done alone). Therefore, I’m going to switch my attention from impact to expectations.
What is it that those that fund, design and participate in Grand Challenge projects hope to get out of the experience? To put it more simply, who benefits the most? Is it students, who gain transferable skills? Is it universities who can demonstrate their public purpose? Perhaps it is the project partners who benefit in term of idea generation? That is what I want to find out. My next step in this very long journey is working out how.
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