Chief Assist. Prof. Iva Doycheva, PhD, of BAS to "MONITOR": Many young colleagues will leave if the attitude towards science does not change
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The Doctor of Botany and representative of the young scientists in the General Assembly of BAS gives an interview to Monitor newspaper
- Dr Doycheva, you are the author of a petition addressed to the authorities, in which you state that the young scientists of the BAS no longer wish to be discriminated against by Bulgarian statesmen. What was the reason for launching the petition?
- I felt that we are invisible, despite the results and the efforts we make to increase the productivity of research work in Bulgaria. The facts show that we produce half of the country's scientific output, that since 2009 we have been an established leader in Bulgaria in the ranking of the research evaluation platform SCImago (SIR), and that in recent years individual BAS institutes with a scientific staff of 90-150 people have also found a place in the national top 5. Nevertheless, for the second year in a row there will be no increase in the Academy's budget. This is a policy in which a different, biased attitude towards two groups of people is evident – university lecturers and those working at the BAS, who differ only in the attribute "place of work". What is this called? Discrimination. And I cannot understand what we have done to provoke it.
- Does the lower pay compared with your colleagues at universities demotivate you from continuing to engage in science?
- It offends me, it angers me and, in the end, it would motivate me to leave my job. But it could not demotivate me from engaging in science. My motivation in this work is connected with my innate idealism, with the admiration for and satisfaction from the work of discovery, and with the feeling that I am useful not only to myself. This means that I will look for opportunities to continue with science outside Bulgaria, and without feeling remorse that I am a deserter, but with the feeling that I have been driven out. Such management decisions offend me, because they provoke me to ask myself why my work is less significant than that of a lecturer. Why, as a young and critically thinking person, have I not deserved the attention of those in power, who have brought many young people into politics and see change precisely in them? These illogical actions confuse me, so I do not understand them and I find a way out in another guiding principle that I apply to people – to believe in deeds, not in words.
- Do you have colleagues who are leaving the Academy and turning to the universities, or directly seeking a position there solely because of the pay?
- Yes, I have colleagues who left and began working at universities. I have not observed the reverse phenomenon happening. The situation suggests that we will not observe it either. Here we do not even mention how many talented and promising colleagues have given up science because they cannot live normally on the salary they were receiving. I also have quite a few colleagues who left because they started a family and had a child whom they cannot raise on their BAS salary.
- It is often said that, despite the lower salaries of scientists, they manage to obtain additional income through projects. Is this sufficient, and how would someone who does not work on a project cope with their expenses?
- The extent to which a project brings additional income depends on the possibilities provided for in the requirements of the organisation that funds it. Participation in projects does not necessarily mean a good additional income. At the same time, a person has neither the physical nor the bureaucratic capacity to work on many projects. Leading or taking part in them is important for another reason. For example, I recently completed the leadership of a youth project under the Scientific Research Fund. It was a valuable experience for me, because if you do not have a project with which to finance your work, there is no way to work. This is something that people do not know. What is necessary for research work – consumables, materials, equipment, business trips, participation in scientific conferences, fees for publishing articles – we secure through projects. The better financed a project is, the more serious and competitive the research work you can afford. There is something else that people unfamiliar with the field cannot accept. It is true that we pay a fee to some journals in order for our articles to be published, and not the other way round. Scientists do not receive payment from journals for a published article, nor do they receive payment for reviewing.
- Do you think that scientists are sufficiently appreciated by society? If not, what is the reason?
- I often encounter incomprehension, which shows that many people not only do not value people in science, they do not properly appreciate science itself as something worth engaging in. I have been asked more than once: "What is a young person doing at the BAS?" or "Are you still working at the BAS, haven't you left? Your youth will pass there!" – this is the perception people have. They consider it normal for young people not to develop in science, that it is a waste of time, a ruin of oneself. For them it is something temporary that you pass through, but not something in which to invest time, effort and youth. This is due to the devaluation of the arguments of science by political authorities. How many times have we witnessed scientific conclusions on contested issues being met with disregard. They have instilled in society the notion that reasoned statements are of no importance. In this way they have undermined science.
- Funding is the first step towards change. What should the next ones be?
- Sustainability in what has been started, and meaningful, long-term programmes that are intended for all scientists, not only the young, because if the overall situation remains unchanged, the young will stay only as long as there are programmes for them and then will leave again. It will turn out that if the state does not take a far-sighted view of the future, it is merely squandering money. But all this will happen gradually, with a rise in standards, and only when pay allows the best to be selected.
Greater activity among the young, a greater sense of community and unity in causes are vitally necessary. My observations show that many of them have been lulled to sleep. This is also true at the national level. The reason is that there is often only talk, without specifics, empty promises are made, energy is dissipated and in the end there are no results at all. This kills the desire to act. Even before they have begun the battle, they have lost it in their minds, because they have lost faith that they will win it.
- What will be the consequences for science if the attitude towards young people is not changed? Do you think that your colleagues will prefer to pursue their careers abroad?
- In my opinion, the consequences for Bulgarian science will be catastrophic and ruinous. I am convinced that many young colleagues will leave. Some will invest their talent in the service of someone's private business, instead of working for the prosperity of the state, while others will take their talent abroad, to benefit other nations. Bulgaria already has a small number of scientists compared with other European countries. I will not exaggerate if I say that this is a policy of genocide towards Bulgarian science, because without young people it is doomed. At the same time, the formation and establishment of a researcher takes years. I want to emphasise strongly that the shaping of a young researcher rests on the experience and knowledge of older colleagues. It is much easier to progress and learn if you have an example before you. Someone who can explain to you in 10 minutes how to conduct an experiment or what to improve in a project, instead of your investing weeks in reading literature or years of trial and error when applying for a project. Otherwise, even a more talented young scientist will progress more slowly than one who has the better teacher. That is why I am categorically against underestimating experienced colleagues and disregarding them. Age is not a vice; every age has its advantages.
- What was your motivation to stay and develop your scientific career in Bulgaria?
- The atmosphere and attitude that I sensed from my colleagues at BAS when I began my doctoral studies. I found myself in a different environment; serious scholars treated me, a novice, in such a down-to-earth and approachable way. I had felt something similar before in another scientific organisation, but one belonging to the Agricultural Academy – the AgroBioInstitute. Recently I was again moved by the respect shown to me by a world-renowned Bulgarian scientist from BAS. Respect for the individual gives wings. We people have forgotten to fill our souls, at the expense of filling our hands. On top of that, this is encouraged, while lately we increasingly talk about the education of children.
- What difficulties did you have to deal with?
- The difficulties began at the very start of my doctoral studies. For two years I had to finance my business trips from my own funds, because we had no project. Within three days I had to travel the entire Bulgarian Black Sea coast, collect materials and return home. I had drawn up a strict plan, because I could not afford more. For the experiments, my scientific supervisor provided consumables left over from earlier, and my scientific consultant from another institute gave me laboratory glassware.
- What would make you seek a career abroad?
- To see that the young and educated, who declare that they are untainted, continue to pursue the policy of those who have proved themselves corrupt. Then I will understand that there is no future for professional fulfilment in Bulgaria, not only in science but in general. Then, offended and embittered, I will turn my back.
PROFILE: Graduated from Sofia University with a degree in Biology, among the top graduates of her year.
Works at the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at BAS
Winner of the BAS award for the youngest scientist "Ivan Evstratiev Geshov" for 2017 and of the second award for young scientists in the natural sciences and mathematics named after "Lyutfi Zade" for 2021.
Representative of the young scientists from the field "Biodiversity, Bioresources and Ecology" in the General Assembly of BAS
Link to the interview in the newspaper "Monitor"