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- Oct 21, 2011
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Hi everyone,
My former supervisors, two female academics, have always been very supportive of me and engaged in my academic life. We are also friends - we have enjoyed many lunches, dinners, etc together. I was initially a research intern with them, and then they offered me a role as a research assistant. From there, I undertook my honours year with them as my supervisors. We always got along very well.
I then began planning for a PhD, with them as my supervisors. Unfortunately, however, I was forced to take some time off due to chronic health problems and lost contact with them for a short period. I then initiated contact again (in 2018), and they were still supportive.
I am now at the tail-end of a masters degree, and am hoping to begin a PhD. They are still academics, but at small universities, where students cannot enrol in PhDs. They still expressed in person, however, that they would like to be involved.
I have found a primary supervisor at another university, and they are able to be involved, but they seem hesitant. I sent an email about a few months ago, which they never replied to, so I prompted them, and asked them what was going on. I explained that they didn't need to worry about offending me if they would like to take a step back, and that I understood if they did not have the capacity to be involved at the moment. All I really wanted was honesty. They assured me they were still interested in being involved.
I sent another email about a week ago, and received no reply. I'm not sure what to do. I would like to collaborate with them, but more than that, I want to maintain our friendship/mentorship.
What should I do? It seems that they are no longer interested in collaborating, but I don't want to end our professional or personal relationship via indirect, passive means, like ignoring emails - it seems immature. I would prefer to have a direct conversation, and settle things.
Thank you for any input!
My former supervisors, two female academics, have always been very supportive of me and engaged in my academic life. We are also friends - we have enjoyed many lunches, dinners, etc together. I was initially a research intern with them, and then they offered me a role as a research assistant. From there, I undertook my honours year with them as my supervisors. We always got along very well.
I then began planning for a PhD, with them as my supervisors. Unfortunately, however, I was forced to take some time off due to chronic health problems and lost contact with them for a short period. I then initiated contact again (in 2018), and they were still supportive.
I am now at the tail-end of a masters degree, and am hoping to begin a PhD. They are still academics, but at small universities, where students cannot enrol in PhDs. They still expressed in person, however, that they would like to be involved.
I have found a primary supervisor at another university, and they are able to be involved, but they seem hesitant. I sent an email about a few months ago, which they never replied to, so I prompted them, and asked them what was going on. I explained that they didn't need to worry about offending me if they would like to take a step back, and that I understood if they did not have the capacity to be involved at the moment. All I really wanted was honesty. They assured me they were still interested in being involved.
I sent another email about a week ago, and received no reply. I'm not sure what to do. I would like to collaborate with them, but more than that, I want to maintain our friendship/mentorship.
What should I do? It seems that they are no longer interested in collaborating, but I don't want to end our professional or personal relationship via indirect, passive means, like ignoring emails - it seems immature. I would prefer to have a direct conversation, and settle things.
Thank you for any input!