Everyone matters in doctoral supervision
The supervision of PhD candidates should be a holistic process, recognising the needs and contributions of both the doctoral researcher and the supervising academic, according to a new advice paper from the League of European Research Universities (LERU).
The paper goes on to consider the conditions necessary for mutually productive supervision, including a positive institutional culture, beneficial structural conditions, and training opportunities for supervisors as well as those being supervised.
Its recommendations include:
- Supervisors should have the necessary skills and resources to support doctoral researchers.
- Academic performance assessment should include supervision, alongside research and teaching.
- Professional recruitment practices should be adopted from the doctoral level on.
- Mandatory supervision training should be considered for new hires.
- Doctoral researchers should also have the opportunity to develop leadership and supervisory skills.
- Consistent and realistic expectation management is needed for all involved in the doctoral process.
- A culture of appreciation should be nurtured towards both doctoral researchers and supervisors.
To find out more, read the interview with lead authors Dr Helke Hillebrand, director of the Graduate Academy at Heidelberg University, and Dr Claudine Leysinger, head of the Graduate Campus at the University of Zurich.
More on this topic from Gitte Wichmann-Hansen, trainer of the Supervision Seminar.