My AUTOBarge Mission Is Now Accomplished, Or Is It?
On Friday, 27th of June, I, ESR4, have successfully defended my PhD thesis. It marks the end of my PhD journey and also my mission with the AUTOBarge project. Looking back on the journey I’ve gone through over the past three years, I would say it’s filled with unforgettable memories.
Three years ago, I, for the first time, arrived in Norway to start my PhD. It was a surprise to me how “warm” the Norwegian people are. Contrary to what the newspaper and social media usually describe, the Norwegian people are not cold at all, at least based on my experience. Here, people may not engage in much small talk, but they are always happy to help others if asked. For a foreigner like me, who is on the very first step to integrate into a new culture, every little help means much more than it may sound. The only thing that is cold in Norway might be the weather.
My second surprise is how joyful my PhD journey turned out to be. Of course, it is not as easy as walking in Disneyland, but my journey was not like many people usually think of when doing a PhD. Many said that pursuing a PhD is a long and exhausting process, during which the candidate experiences a lot of stress and works overtime. But maybe it does not apply in my case? Instead of working overtime, as a PhD candidate, I got a healthy work-life balance. Instead of stressing out trying to find an answer to my research question alone, I got help from my supervisors, who always patiently answered all of my naive and sometimes even silly questions.
Figure 1: Stressful PhD work.
Another critical factor that made my PhD even better is the support from the AUTOBarge project. The most important contribution of the funding to a PhD is usually financial. However, with an MSCA project, the support is far more than that. The AUTOBarge project provided me the opportunity to work with and collaborate with 14 other ESRs from diverse backgrounds. I have more chances to discuss my work with my fellow engineering ESRs. At the same time, I can also receive advice on how my work could positively impact the community from my fellow societal ESRs. Having a close network of ESRs from both engineering and societal backgrounds is a huge advantage for my PhD. As part of the AUTOBarge project, I participated in several scientific and technical training sessions. These training sessions were not only about autonomous ships and inland waterways, but also about developing the skills necessary for becoming a successful researcher.
Figure 2: Healthy discussion with my fellow ESRs.
Now that my PhD journey has come to an end, so has my contract with the AUTOBarge project. However, my mission of developing and promoting autonomous ships is not yet complete. My next step is to commit my efforts to a new project targeting another aspect of autonomous ships: safety assurance. But that is still an unknown road waiting to be discovered…
An article by Hoang Anh Tran
