Course PhD Supervision (supervisors)

The course A132/31 PhD Supervision (supervisor) is being offered by the Graduate School of Health, Aarhus University, 2025.

Criteria for participation: PhD supervisors currently supervising enrolled PhD students or research year students at AU HE. PhD main supervisors who are employed as Associate Professors or Professors at AU HE or Clinical Associate Professors at AUH will have first priority.

Requirements for participation: Participants are reminded to allocate time for all course activities, which includes preparatory work prior to and between the two course days, as well as the final assignment.

Aim: The quality of PhD students’ education is partly dependent on the PhD supervisor’s competencies as a supervisor. The aim of this course in PhD supervision is to expand the participants’ repertoire of supervision strategies and methods to provide a flexible approach to supervision, strengthen their reflections on practices, roles, and relationships in the supervision process, and share experiences and new knowledge for advancing PhD supervisors’ competencies.

Learning outcomes: 

• - Take measures to negotiate supervisor and supervisee expectations.
• - Analyze and consider actual dilemmas in supervision.
• - Identify and argue for individual choices in approaching and managing your supervisor role(s).
• - Apply communicative methods in the supervision dialogue.
• - Provide constructive text feedback in a way that facilitates the PhD student’s writing and learning process.
• - Adapt the rules and regulations of the Graduate School of Health.
• - Discuss and reflect on the asymmetric supervisor-supervisee relation and responsible conduct of research.

Workload: The full workload of the course is expected to be 26 hours

Content: The course is about supervision in research education, focusing on the supervision of PhD students and research-year students. It aims to develop supervisors’ competencies and flexible approaches to the supervision process, including professional, practical, moral and emotional support for the PhD student. Participants will work individually and in learning groups with activities and exercises on feedback, communication, and negotiation of expectations between the PhD student and the supervisor. Material from the supervisors’ own context, such as text feedback examples and actual dilemmas in their own supervision, will be included in the course.

Participants are expected to spend approximately 12 hours of preparation as part of the course. This preparation includes writing assignments, reading course material, providing online peer feedback via Brightspace, and conducting collegial sparring.

Instructors: Mette Krogh Christensen (course organizer) and colleagues from the Centre for Educational Development, AU, and Graduate School of Health, AU.

Venue: The Conference Centre, Aarhus University, Fredrik Nielsens Vej 2-4, 8000 Aarhus C.

Participation in the course is without cost for employees/supervisors at HE, AU.

Course dates:

• 09 September 2025 08:30 - 15:00
• 07 October 2025 08:30 - 15:00