I have criticisms of Go too, but your statement is factually incorrect. Robert Griesemer did a PhD under Niklaus Wirth.
I am not saying that is the case here one way or the other, though.
Having a PhD means you studied for years to push boundaries, nothing more, nothing less. Lets not forget that the bosses usually decides exactly what should be done with sprints and standup, especially in teams that are not research focused.