Jorge Alexander Ravagli Cardona PhD Student Theology and Religion Applying for a PhD Jorge Alexander Ravagli Cardona PhD Student Theology and Religion

When did I know I wanted to continue my study to a PhD level? A PhD can meaning many things (science, innovation, spin/offs, cultural exchange, status, income, etc.). But around those social meanings (which certainly played a role in making the decision), I considered what was most important for me: enjoy. Yes, enjoy. I know this can sound very naïve, especially considering the difficulties PhDs have (money, time, emotions).

But for me, curiosity has always played an important part of defining who I am (I consider myself even a little gossipy), and it certainly drove my will to take an academic path. Because curiosity, for me, transforms the duty of knowledge into the joy of knowledge. But that joy doesn’t take you to hope to know everything there is (something certainly impossible and dishearthening).

It takes you to help knowledge advance, while simultaneously helping yourself to search for unexplored paths where to search and research. Sometimes it takes you to help understand situations, re/conceptualize problems (or even point one where people and agendas think there are not). And (why not?), sometimes it takes you to propose and design possibilities for solutions of those problems.

What steps I took to secure my PhD? Make sure of the area or sub-area to follow (don’t think agendas-money determines everything). Explore that sub-area, look for its unexpected derivations. Disciplines and sub-disciplines are not solid monoliths. On the contrary, you could find interdisciplinary, horizontal and creative thinking by deepening in what you like the most or by daring to link apparently disconnected things.

Explore possible supervisors. Read their work. Finance: looking for a job is a full-time job. Actively and tirelessly look for sources (I myself haven’t ended my search). Be naïve: if you can’t find your subject on the finance schemes (which is highly improbable given the active variety of scientific funding nowadays), keep searching. The most important thing is to expose what you enjoy to research. That passion is, for me, what makes the academic criteria.

How will my PhD support my career aspirations? Teaching me a lot about what I really want to know, and teaching me how to look it for myself. Connecting me with vibrant academic communities where to learn and actively engage in academic debates. Demanding from me my best academic capabilities. Allowing me to participate in future policy making to foster educational and cultural change. Inspiring me to start new projects to impact reality. Giving me the chance to access a more stable income situation, with all its meanings to family planning. Giving me the chance to be here with you and learn about your language, customs and culture.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? To have contributed with my research to something (I think) my country needs. It is not about fulfilling all the desires, but about mastering only one. To look back and have the feeling of having enjoyed the path.

Thank you.