A good measure of any institution is how it treats its youngest members, i.e. students. If institutions implement progressive measures to better support students in Ph.D. programmes, it will create meaningful change in not only the quality of their research, but also in how the scientists of tomorrow perceive the future of Indian science. Ph.D. students usually have a handbook of rules and requirements to guide them, but they have to figure out the rest via conversations with senior students or faculty what to expect from a Ph.D. training, what their roles and responsibilities are, and what to do when things are not going well. The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) implemented several new initiatives as a result of examining our own graduate school (GS) programmes from new perspectives, or incorporating practices from other academic institutions, which I describe below. Our country's education system would benefit from a nationwide discussion on these topics to consciously promote an empowered next generation of scientific leaders.