It must seem very odd. Just occasionally, trained, experienced professionals choose to return to the academic arena from whence they came to study a PhD. Despite the fact that, as we revealed a few weeks ago, research is highly necessary for the Translation and Interpreting industries, it still might seem puzzling why people would voluntarily decide to do it. To help explain why, and perhaps even inspire you to do research yourself, we quizzed a few of the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies‘ own PhD students to discover their reasons.

1)
There are multiple reasons as to why I choose to do a PhD.
To start with, my husband is doing his PhD in Rome, therefore, it would be very practical in terms of distance and time difference if I can find a place in Europe to do a PhD since I graduated this year as an MA student and really don’t want to go to Rome as a dependent.
Secondly, I want to find a job in a good university as a lecturer and a PhD degree is required to enter that profession in Chinese universities.
Most importantly, Chinese Deaf signers need attention from the academia, the society and the government. Yet researching into Chinese sign language interpreting is just at its beginning, therefore, a lot of exciting work can be done in the field.

2)
I do my PhD because of I can do it in UK. My field of research (Public service interpreting) is underdeveloped in China. While it is still in the stage of initial development, UK has established relatively sound system and training program in this respect. China needs the know-how in this field to catch up with the global trend. And because I received sponsorship from the Chinese government, I will have ample time focusing on exploring the development of this field in UK. Furthermore, I have never been abroad before, so I want to have a look at the outside world and make more friends and promote China’s culture here.

3)
I left my academic position in the US to come to Heriot-Watt to do my PhD. Technically, I don’t need a PhD for my current position as a researcher. What I was compelled by was the opportunity to do the particular research that I wanted to do. It could be argued that I could have accomplished this by seeking out a PhD program in the US; but Heriot-Watt is positioned within the field of translation and interpreting studies like no other university in the States. I wanted to study alongside those within my field but not necessarily interested in the same aspect of the field. I came to Heriot-Watt to get the kind of exposure that you just can’t get in your home country – to be around different types of people and to live a different experience. You can’t learn those things in the classroom; you can’t learn those things through research. You can only learn those things by doing them.

4)
My passion for Filmmaking follows close on the heels of a sustained interest in the idiosyncrasies of Film Theory and Film Philosophy. After my tenure as a Documentary Researcher with Channel 4, I decided to juxtapose both realms-the hands-on praxis of constructing cinema, and the theory that constitutes the foundational bulwark of any such creative undertaking.  I was consequently impelled to immerse myself in an academic pursuit contingent on an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach. Enter, Heriot-Watt University (on cue!), to grant me a wonderful opportunity to do a PhD in their department of Languages and Intercultural Studies (LINCS). Ever since embarking on this journey (September 2011), I have been astounded but the multifarious dimensions of experience and learning that are part and parcel of a PhD!

So there you have it. The reasons for doing research are as varied as the people doing it. Still, the two things that all researchers have in common are passion and a whole bunch of unanswered questions. That’s why we do research!

Authors: Lots of people!