A day in the life of a Walsh Scholar with Rumia Basu
Rumia studied Chemistry at the University of Delhi, India, before completing a master’s degree in Geoinformatics at TERI University, New Delhi, India. After this, she joined the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) as a researcher. She joined the Walsh Scholarship Programme in 2020.
I started off as a student of Chemistry and majored in the subject for my undergrad degree in Miranda House, University of Delhi, India. When I was in my final year of my undergrad degree, I no longer wanted to pursue Chemistry for my Masters. Although, I thoroughly enjoyed learning Chemistry during my undergrad, I felt that I wanted to study something different. I started researching for courses and finally decided to pursue a masters in Geoinformatics from Teri University, New Delhi, India. After my masters, I joined International Water Management Institute (IWMI) as a researcher. I also worked at MaREI, UCC for a few months before finally joining the Walsh Fellowship Programme for a PhD in 2020. I am now in my third year of PhD, working on soil moisture and it has been a great journey so far.
What made you decide to undertake a PhD?
It was during my masters that I first thought of doing a PhD but wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it straight away. Like I mentioned before, I started off as a researcher at IWMI, it was here that I learnt about the nuances of being an independent researcher and also started enjoying the process. I also like to teach and I feel that I have a knack for speaking. So, at one point I decided that I would probably want to be in academia and become a lecturer. That is when, it became all the more clear that PhD would be the way to go about it. Also, I had realised that it was important for me to choose a career path that gave me a certain amount of freedom in the way that I want to work, and academia and research are sectors which would be able to provide me with this freedom.
How did you find about Teagasc and the Walsh Scholarship Programme?
I was looking for PhD positions and would refer to various academic websites while I was still in India. Then, my husband got a postdoc offer in UCC and when I knew that we would move to Ireland, I specifically started searching for PhD positions here. I came across the Walsh Scholarship programme and particularly this project that I am currently working on, in one of the websites where PhD positions are advertised.
What does your research focus on?
My research is aimed at studying soil moisture using remote sensing and machine learning techniques. I use both optical and radar remote sensing data to study soil moisture in Ireland.
What does your typical day look like?
On a usual working day I normally start working at about 9 am. First and foremost, I check my emails- both my university and Teagasc emails. I then start working on any unfinished work from the previous day. This may involve downloading new satellite data or finishing up an analysis. Since, I am in my third year and I have started writing my first paper. Therefore, these days, I also work on the draft manuscript, making corrections as according to the suggestion of my supervisors. For the most part of the day, I sit in front of my laptop, analysing data. During semester time, I also take lab classes for fourth year undergrads in basics of Earth Observation and Remote Sensing.
What do you enjoy most about doing a PhD? and least?
What I enjoy most is that I get to learn something new each day, be it from journals, books, or even a new result that I get from my analysis. I also get that freedom, which I was talking about earlier. I have the freedom to conduct new experiments to make my research sounder. PhD also gives me important lessons in life such as patience and perseverance, so in a way I have enjoyed learning to be patient. That helps in managing the household as well, especially when you are doing a PhD post marriage.
However, this journey can also be very frustrating at times. I get upset and sometimes scared when I do not get the expected results. This means repeating the entire experiment. Since there are no known answers, I have had to learn how to deal with such “failures”. This is something that I had difficulty in accepting, but I am more mature now, hopefully!!!
What are your future career goals?
Overall, I enjoy research and teaching so I would love to remain in this field. I envision taking up an academic position in a university so that I get to teach as well as continue doing my research.
What advice would you have for anyone considering a PhD?
I would say that think well before deciding to do a PhD. Ask yourself why and if A PhD is important for your career goals. A PhD is a very fulfilling journey, however it can be very difficult at times. On most days, you would be stuck with something, you might be reading the same paper over and over again to understand something and on most days you wouldn’t get the expected output. Patience and perseverance I believe are the key to doing a PhD. It is also a long journey so think twice and do a PhD only if you think you would be able to enjoy researching the same topic for a certain number of years.
Where are you based during your Walsh Scholarship? Who are your supervisors and host organisations?
I am based at Teagasc, Moorepark, Fermoy for my Walsh Scholarship. My Teagasc supervisor is Dr. Patrick Tuohy (Animal and Grassland Research) and my supervisor at NUI Galway (my host organisation) is Dr. Eve Daly who is a lecturer at the School of Earth and Ocean Science at NUIG.
I would like to end by saying that these three years as a Walsh Scholar have been wonderful. I have learnt so much, not just about my topic but in general about research. I have received immense support from my supervisors. I have also had fun doing all the EPE activities as part of VistaMilk.
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