Researching your workplace: UL confers world’s first doctoral apprentice

In a landmark moment for flexible learning options in Ireland, University of Limerick has conferred the world’s first doctoral apprentice on a candidate who has a unique story of overcoming life’s challenges.

Dr Bikash Guha from Athenry in Co. Galway became the first apprentice graduate of the Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng) programme at UL, earning his four-year doctorate while working in the medical devices industry.

His doctorate was funded via the Principal Engineer apprenticeship programme which the University of Limerick has been running since 2020.

Originally from Delhi in India, Bikash came to Ireland in 2016 to complete a Masters in International Management & Global Business at Kemmy Business School, UL having completed an undergraduate degree in engineering.

“In India after working for five or six years there comes a point where you are expected to do an MBA, and if you want to go to a good university you will be competing against millions for a couple of thousand places with no guarantee that you will get in. This led me to study abroad in Ireland. In 2017, I got my first job with Boston Scientific and moved to Galway.”

While working, Bikash had the desire to continue his education journey and began looking for options to complete a PhD.

“In 2020, I was looking around to see if you could complete a PhD part-time, but the problem with part-time PhDs is that you seldom find a programme that will be funded; most of the funding is reserved for full-time researchers.”

During his research, Bikash found the PDEng apprenticeship which was launched by UL that year and is focused on solving organisation-specific problems and making graduates technical experts in their field.

“One of the requirements of the programme is that you do it for your employer; that is the idea of the apprenticeship programme so it is really tailored to people working in industry.”

Now working with Aerogen, a medical devices company headquartered in Galway, Bikash is using the expertise gained during his doctorate to help the company be more digitally focused in a heavily regulated environment.

“In my field it is important to know what new processes or advancements are coming in digital manufacturing, what are the implications of these advancements and how might the company respond and adapt.”

Little did Bikash know that this mindset of responding and adapting would be necessary in his personal life too. He hadn’t progressed far into the programme when COVID-19 sent the world into lockdown and having just bought a new home in 2020, he began to develop a bad pain in his back. At first, he put this down to working remotely without proper equipment due to delays with furniture etc.

“I went to my GP and different physicians as I couldn’t sleep at night. It got to a point where I couldn’t keep my head up. I was misdiagnosed for the first six months and kept doing physio until suddenly I lost my voice.”

Scans revealed that he had a bacterial infection in his cervical spine, which was extremely close to his central nervous system.

“When the doctors saw me in the emergency room there after that scan, the consultant said, ‘you're literally two millimetres away from being paralysed for life’.” 

Following surgery to remove the abscess that was affecting his oesophagus and impacting his voice, Bikash spent two years in a neck brace recovering the effects of the condition—all while continuing to work and conduct his research. He also became a father during this time.

Despite this incredible story of perseverance in difficult times, Bikash is very modest about his achievements.

“I was able to finish it in four years is because I was working full time, my job was my research and my research was my job. I jokingly compare taking on an education programme to trying to put on a pair of trousers. Once you put your leg inside, you know your foot must come out the other side, so you just have to keep on pushing.”