Supervising PhD Research

As a daily supervisor or (co)promoter you are a content expert, but also a (co)researcher, coach and assessor. Supervisors learn to handle these roles more efficiently and effectively in this course. Topical questions are raised as: “How do you help the PhD candidate to become an independent researcher?,” “How do you signal problem behavior in time and how do you deal with it?”, “How do you take different personal work and learning styles into account?” and “How do you communicate about mutual expectations?”

The approach of the course is focused on mutual exchange of experiences and sharing of good practices. In this course you will build upon your current supervising practice by evaluating what already works and how you can elaborate on that. The challenging situations that you encounter in daily practice will be analyzed together to search for suitable (intervention) strategies. You will practice with effective communication with your PhD candidate and formulate a supervision plan with goals that are clear for you as well as the candidate, taking into account the limited time available for supervision. You will exchange tips and tricks with your colleagues and reflect on your own supervising practice. In addition, (semi-)scientific literature in the field of supervision of PhD candidates will be used to explore the implication of the theory on your day-to-day practice.

This course is primarily intended for daily supervisors and (co)promoters of PhD candidates at Utrecht University, but is also open for supervisors of other universities and research institutions.

8 - 13 participants

• Participants must supervise at least one PhD candidate during course.
• Your presence is required at all course sessions.

The course will be taught in English.

The course price is €1.505. This includes the book: Supervising PhD Students. A practical guide and toolkit.

Lecturers of Utrecht University can use O&T units (if available and in consultation with their own faculty). This course costs 9.1 O&T units.

The course consists of five sessions of approximately 3 hours, spread over two to three months. In addition to these sessions, the participants work on assignments linked to their own practice. The program covers a range of subjects. The level of detail will partly depend on the needs of the participants; the precise program is designed based on a self-assessment the participants complete before the course starts. The definitive program will be established before the first session.

The following components serve as the building blocks for the program.

• Exchanging “tricks of the trade” with peer supervisors and reflecting on the implications for your own supervision practice.
• Developing a supervision plan including the planning of the PhD trajectory and how to guide your candidates towards specific learning objectives.
• Assessing the progress of your PhD candidate: discussing content and procedure, but also recognizing risks and warning signals.
• Creating clarity about the mutual expectations of PhD candidates and supervisors .
• Analyzing concrete challenging situations from your own supervision practice, and discussing suitable intervention strategies with your peers (peer consultation).
• Applying insights from practice-oriented core literature in the field of PhD supervision. Topics included are motivation and feedback, differentiation in supervision styles, selection and monitoring, and supervising in supervision teams.
• Practicing with new supervising strategies (for example effective conversational skills) that can be used directly to improve your own supervision practice. One session will focus specifically on intercultural communication skills.
• Formulating, implementing and evaluating concrete action points for the improvement of your own supervision practice.

The course will refer to international scientific publications in the field of PhD supervision, and use the book (costs included):

Kearns, H. & Finn, J. (2017). Supervising PhD Students. A practical guide and toolkit. Adelaide: ThinkWell.

• Thursday 30 January 2025 (13:30 - 16:30)
• Thursday 20 February 2025 (13:30 - 16:30)
• Thursday 13 March 2025 (13:30 - 16:30)
• Thursday 3 April 2025 (13:30 - 16:30)
• Thursday 24 April 2025 (13:30 - 16:30)

Utrecht Science Park

We also provide this course incompany, and customized if desired. Are you curious about the possibilities? Please contact us. We are happy to think along with you.

Enrollment for this course is not yet possible. Would you like to be notified when it is possible to register? Sign up for the waiting list with no further obligations.

Do you have an (educational) question, or are you curious about in-company and customisation options? We would be happy to explore the possibilities with you.

Please contact us via:
onderwijsadviesentraining@uu.nl
030 253 2261

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