The Importance of Peer Support for the PhD with Milensu Shanyinde

This week’s episode is all about the importance of friends on the PhD journey!   Milensu Shanyinde is a PhD candidate at University College London.  Her research examines the complication of managing HIV in relation to Hepatitis C in persons seen for routine clinical care in Italy. She also works part time as a clinical trial statistician at Oxford University and was one of the team working on a nationwide study to find COVID-19 treatments.   Milensu talks about how her friends helped her in her decision to undertake a PhD.  She describes how connecting with people from a similar African background provided her with a strong support system to face the challenges of a PhD.   She talks about how, as a black woman, imposter syndrome has a particular cultural currency - particularly with the lack of black role models in academia.  Milensu shares how she has sought out a range of role models as part of her journey.  She also recommends connecting with a PhD buddy so that you have someone who you know is there for you through the ups and downs of the process.   The YouTuber Milensu references is Jennifer Kempson:  https://www.youtube.com/c/MamaFurFur   She also mentions The 5am Club by Robin Sharma: https://www.amazon.co.uk/5-AM-Club-Robin-Sharma/dp/0008312834/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1633275596&sr=8-1   You can connect with MIlensu here:  Email: [email protected] IG @milensu_k If you would like to receive a useful weekly email from the PhD Life Raft you can sign up here for ‘Notes from the Life Raft’: https://mailchi.mp/f2dce91955c6/notes-from-the-life-raft