Dear all,

I've been in a PhD programme for one year now that was supposed to be an application of engineering to medicine, specifically auditory implants. I started for 9 months at the university, everything went well and then I moved to another city to actually work in a hospital lab. What I have seen since then is a total abandoned and dirty lab in which there is no assistant (which is essential for my work) and the interest of the people in the hospital who are supposed to support my project (they are actually the grant holders) doesn't exist. I am thinking about giving up my PhD because I don't consider it to be a PhD, it's more working as a stupid technician for the salary of a PhD and it's not taking me anywhere.
Has anyone ever given up a PhD and had to return the funds that have been already spent? I didn't sign any document in relation to this but I'm afraid I could be in trouble because of this and that is what worries me most.

Thank you