Please bear with me, this is a long story....
I am an academic working in a London university, with a visiting position at a Chinese university. I regularly visit China as part of an active collaborative research programme. A couple of weeks ago, when I was last there, I discovered that one of my colleagues in China had arranged for a PhD student to start on our joint research project, but for various political reasons, was unable to be the primary PhD supervisor... so he put my name down. Now, I met her for the first time a couple of weeks ago and despite my reservations about taking on someone I knew nothing about, she is a very motivated and able student, with experience in some relevant areas of her PhD topic. In the end, she was someone that I wanted to work with. So, rather than rock the political boat, I agreed to supervise her.
Now, she is very keen on coming to the UK for an extended period of time - 12 months, possibly even 24 months, so that she can take advantage of being in close contact with me in the first part of her PhD (when supervision is most needed), and the laboratories. This will solve many of the problems associated with a long-distance supervisor. She will apply to the Chinese government for a scholarship for a 12 month visit, and I have enough independent research funds to support her stay here for 12 months.
Now, this is where it gets complicated. She is a single mum and wants to bring her 13 year old son with her (this is actually a contributing factor in me agreeing to take her on, despite the fait accompli on her recruitment. There are simply not enough women in science and she has overcome many hurdles to get to the position she is in now; grit, determination, hard work, the wish for a fresh start all go a long way).
And there lies the problem. I have absolutely no idea how to help her find a place to live, a school for her son, childcare, somewhere which is cheap enough for a PhD student on a relatively small wage (I think I have about £16k per year, tax free, that I can give her) etc..... Where do I even start? I don't live anywhere near London, otherwise I would suggest that she moves close to me as I can introduce her to lots of families with kids a similar age (I have two children) and have a good idea about the schools, but it's easily £5k per year in commuting plus rent/living. Is £16k enough (she won't be eligible for benefits)? Should she even be contemplating such a huge change, with a son of 13? Would a house-share with another single parent be appropriate, and if so, what will that cost?
So many questions....
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Visiting single mum PhD student....
18 replies
ChineseWhispers · 30/06/2016 12:44
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