Course PhD Supervision (supervisors)

The course A132/25 PhD supervision (supervisors) is being offered by the Graduate School of Health, Aarhus University, fall 2022.

Criteria for participation: University degree in medicine, dentistry, nursing, or master’s degree in other fields and/or postgraduate research fellows (PhD students and research-year medical students).

Recommended knowledge for participation: Criteria for participation: Postdocs, assistant professors, clinical associate professors, clinicians at AU HE or AUH that currently undertake supervision or co-supervision of enrolled PhD students or research year students at AU HE.

NB! Please note that the course is mandatory for main supervisors.

Aim: The quality of PhD students’ education is largely dependent on the PhD supervisor’s competencies as a supervisor. The aim of the basic 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:

• Describe and give reasons for own supervision practice.
• Analyse and consider actual dilemmas in supervision.
• Identify and argue for individual choices in managing one’s supervisor role.
• Write a supervisory letter to explicate values and traditions in the researcher community.
• Apply communicative methods that underpin progression in the supervision meeting.
• Give constructive text feedback and thus promote the PhD-student’s writing process.
• Describe and give reasons for how talent identification and talent development takes place in the supervisor’s research environment.
• Adapt the rules and regulations of the Graduate School of Health.
• Discuss the asymmetric supervisor-supervisee relation and responsible conduct of research.

Workload: The full workload of the course is expected to be 51 hours.

Content: The course is about supervision in research education, including supervision of PhD students and research-year students. The course aims at developing supervisors’ competencies and flexible approach in the actual supervision process, thus the course emphasized hands-on training, exchange of knowledge, and sharing experiences across the faculty. The supervisor’s ability to approach the supervisee flexibly is a key issue in the course. Flexibility in supervision is a matter of knowing how to adjust the guidance of students with different needs, different challenges, and different backgrounds. The content of the course focuses on the following basic elements.

Module 1: Roles and expectations in PhD supervision

• Clarifying supervisor and student expectations in PhD supervision
• Supervisor roles – teacher, master, colleague, supervisor, mentor
• What is successful PhD supervision – according to research?
• Identifying and fostering talent in research – the supervisor’s role

Module 2: Rules, regulations, and research integrity

• Introduction to rules and regulations
• Framework and Information
• How do you get into the PhD program?
• What requirements are there along the way?
• How do you complete a PhD program?
• What kind of support is available, if you have an international PhD student?
• The asymmetric supervisor-supervisee relation.
• Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

Module 3: Communication, feedback, and training

• The process of writing and giving text feedback
• Peer-feedback
• IPTO – Intended PhD Training Outcome
• Communication, active listening and feedback on dilemmas in supervision: applying a four-stage dialogue model

Working methods: The course comprises three modules (one day per module) with in-class activities. In addition to the modules, the participants are expected to conduct out-of-class activities such as written assignments, collection of exemplars of students’ texts and supervisors’ feedback, and/or observation of supervision. The participants’ working methods at the course vary from small group exercises, small group discussions, individual training and reflection, and plenary discussions. To stimulate collegial network and cooperation the participants are grouped in learnings groups of 4-5 persons per group. These groups are recurring groups throughout the course.

NB! Please note that parts of the course content and working methods might change.

Venue: Building 1910, room 228 at Centre for Educational Development, Aarhus University, Trøjborgvej 88, 8000 Aarhus.

Course dates:

• 09 November 2022 09:00 - 16:00
• 15 November 2022 09:00 - 16:00
• 29 November 2022 09:00 - 16:00