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Highly developed and agile learners who can clearly convey and call on their skills are sought in all walks of life. Diverse demand for these capacities has called attention to how the skills and knowledge gained during doctoral study can be conveyed, translated and leveraged in non-academic settings; however, the complex learning reality underneath doctoral development is challenging to convey.

The data set for this particular analysis was obtained from 245 in-depth telephone interviews with PhD candidates collected prior to COVID-19. Candidates were asked about learning processes, challenges and changes, and both the questions and thematic analysis were guided by theories of doctoral development and transformational learning.

For many participants, learning and development were not familiar topics, while a small proportion deflected questions about learning altogether. One fifth of participants presented rich and lucid accounts of learning in which cognisance of complexity, metacognitive processes and transformational experiences were embedded and multiple avenues of development were in evidence. They were well-placed to convey the complexion of doctoral development. Candidates more deeply engaged in learning also commented more about changes they noticed in themselves. The most identified avenue of development was in understanding and approach to knowledge.

Candidate communication about learning and development is an under-explored dimension of doctoral experience and skill that is relevant to advancing knowledge about doctoral development and illuminating graduate potential both within and outside academe. This must constitute a key element of the re-vitalisation of the doctorate post-pandemic. The salience of framing transferable skills within a learning development perspective is discussed.

Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) that operate with modest financial investments and commodities face numerous challenges to remain in business. One major philosophy used by SMEs these days is the implementation of lean manufacturing to get solutions for various issues they encounter. But is lean getting sustained over time? The purpose of this research is to design a Sustainable Lean Performance Index (SLPI) to assess the sustainability of lean systems and to pinpoint the variables that might be present as potential lean system inhibitors which hinder the sustainability of leanness.

A multi-level sustainable lean performance model is constructed and presented based on the literature research, field investigation and survey conducted by administering a questionnaire. Fuzzy logic approach is used to analyse the multi-level model.

SLPI for the SMEs is found using fuzzy logic approach. Additionally, the ranking score system is applied to categorise attributes into weak and strong categories. The performance of the current lean system is determined to be “fair” based on the Euclidean distance approach and the SLPI for SMEs.

This work is concentrated only in South India because of the country’s vast geographical area and rich and wide diversity in industrial culture of the nation. Hence, more work can be done incorporating the other parts of the country and can analyse the lean behaviour in a comparative manner.

The generalised sustainable lean model analysed using fuzzy logic identifies the inhibitors and level of performance of SMEs in South India. This can be implemented to find out the level of performance in the SMEs after a deeper study and analysis around the SMEs of the country.

The sustainable assessment of lean parameters in the SMEs of India is found to be very less in literature, and it lacks profundity. The model established in this study assesses the sustainability of the lean methodology adopted in SMEs by considering the lean and sustainability attributes along with enablers like technology, ethics, customer satisfaction and innovation with the aid of fuzzy logic.