Thesis Advisory Panel (TAP)
Your Thesis Advisory Panel (TAP) consists of your supervisor(s) and your TAP Chair. The purpose of TAP meetings is to discuss your progress and training needs and to give advice on the direction of your research and your professional development. You and your TAP will document your meeting on the TAP meeting form, highlighting your progress and any goals that you should be working towards for the next meeting. This record of your TAP meeting will be kept on SkillsForge and must be signed by you and your TAP members.
For PhD students the first TAP meeting takes place within 3 months and the second within 9 months and just prior to the first Formal Review of Progress (FRP). Meetings occur every six months after that with the second meeting of the year just prior to a Formal Review of Progress. Your Formal Review of Progress (FRP) will be conducted by a Progression Panel which is independent of your supervisors, and students do not normally need to attend it.
For Masters by Research students the first TAP meeting takes place within 3 months and the second within 9 months. There is no FRP for Masters by Research students.
You are required to convene your TAP meetings to take place in the appropriate time period, and to complete the appropriate pre-meeting form on SkillsForge ; these meeting records must be signed by both you and your progression panel.
You must complete, with your supervisor, the TAP preparation form on Skills Forge at least one week in advance of the meeting date.
Enter all TAP meeting notes directly into Skills Forge and take a copy of the review of supervision form to EVERY meeting.
You and your TAP will document your meeting on the TAP meeting form in SkillsForge, highlighting your progress and any goals that you should be working towards for the next meeting.
The record of your TAP meeting will be will be kept on SkillsForge and must be signed by you and your TAP members.
To assist the progression panel with FRPs, students are asked to upload their TAP reports and Personal Development Plans onto SkillsForge as part of their TAP meeting records.
For further details about the TAPs refer to the Research Student Webpages
Timing of TAP Meetings
Programme TAP Meeting (Month)
MSc by Research 3 & 9
PhD (3 Year) 3,9,15,21,27 & 33
PhD (4 Year) 3,9,15,21,27,33,39 & 45
Actions for you:
□ Complete the Research Integrity Tutorial (RIT) before your first TAP meeting.
□ Complete the Being an Effective Researcher Tutorial (BERT) before your first TAP meeting.
□ You may complete the Review of Supervision form with a member of your TAP following every TAP meeting. This is to be done in absence of your supervisor and will not be shared without your consent.