In a commentary, SMU Professor of Computer Science Robert Deng opined that the PhD path is often paved with ambiguity and rejection. Prof Deng believes that supervisors need to take a more bespoke, multidisciplinary approach to bring out the best of their doctoral candidates, and outlined a a supervisory framework built on four principles: aligning research with innate strengths, designing collaborative ecosystems rather than isolated projects, encouraging bold, first-of-its-kind enquiry, and embracing multidisciplinary thinking when progress stalls. He added that these principles can transform the research struggle into intellectual maturation.