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stolen phd project
G

Hi, rewt!
Thank you for taking the time to write this message. I just needed to know I wasn't overreacting because I got really upset and angry.
I talked to our advisors and they recognized that she should have mentioned me in the project and in her presentation. They also said that I'll be a co-author in every paper that she publishes on the subject, so at least there's that. I won't be completely ignored. But all in all it serves me as a lesson.
Thank you once again! I really appreciate it :)

Approaching deadline to submit the manuscript of my thesis and feeling overwhelmed
G

Hi! I don't know if you're already over it, or if you're still struggling but I think we all struggle with writing and once I talked about it with my therapist and she said something quite interesting that it helped, so maybe it can help you.
She told me that when we're in the process of writing and we can't actively write the words, deep in our brain we're working on our ideas. Therapists call that "contemplation time" which is defined as that period of time when you think you're not really doing anything, but your brain is working and when it's ready you'll be able to put all those ideas and thoughs into words. In my case it helped to relieve my guilt of sometimes going on for days without writing a single word.
Writing is a process and academia is hard enough without it - and without us feeling guilty and blaming ourselves for absolutely everything. When we let go of that guilt and that need to be working all the time is when our brains become free to do what it needs to do.
I hope this gives you some peace of mind and that you have been able to finish your thesis :)

stolen phd project
G

Hi, everyone

I'm here to ask for opinions on a matter that I'm not really sure how to handle.
Last year, while finishing my master's, I had an idea for an extra experiment and I consulted a post doc about it because it required an equipment/technique that she was familiar with. Long story short, we did have the required equipment but there was no standard protocol yet to perform the experiment and I didn't have enough time on my master's to do everything. So I kept that idea for my PhD project, which I wrote by myself.
This said post doc lost her scholarship due to lack of publications and early this year - after I had already written my PhD project - she emailed me and my advisors asking for help on her new project because she was using my idea, but according to what she wrote on the email, it would not be with the same goals than my PhD, so I told her of course I could help because I think it's a great idea and we should work on that. But in the end she didn't ask for help. I only learned that she had already written the project when she told us that she had gotten the scholarship and then presented the project on our labmeeting.
And during her presentation I realized that her project was basically my PhD and she didn't mention my name once. SHe talked about the results I got on MY master's, but did not mention my name, nor that it was my work. And when she directly talked about my PhD project and goals she failed to mention that it was my PhD. She basically made it all her idea and work and invalidated my PhD because there's really no reason for my work now since she's going to do everything.
I'm really, really upset about it because I really liked my project. I wrote it, I worked for it and now she just comes along and takes it.

So I just want opinions on how to talk about this to my advisors, if I have the right to feel how I feel and if anyone has ever been through something similar because I'm really lost. Also, the submission for the PhD program ends on the 30th this month and I'm not sure I'm applying now because I don't have a project anymore.
Thanks!