Your Supervisor

Supervisors play a fundamental role in supporting postgraduate researchers throughout their programme. Your supervisor or supervisory team is responsible for helping you to manage your research, as well as being your primary link to your department and the University. Your main supervisor is your first point of contact for any issues that arise throughout your programme.

Formal Supervision meetings with your supervisor or supervisory team should take place at least eight times per year, with an expectation of one meeting at least every 6-7 weeks for all full-time and part-time postgraduate researchers. At these meetings your supervisor(s) should give detailed feedback on the work you present and help you make plans for your next steps. A detailed record of your formal supervisory meetings and actions agreed will be kept through SkillsForge, and must be signed by both you and your supervisor(s).

Within three months of the start of your registration you and your supervisory team are expected to sign that you have read the 'Principles of Supervision' document, which you will find in your SkillsForge account. This summarises aspects of the Policy on Research Degrees, extracting the points which are most essential to a successful supervisory relationship. You can therefore expect your supervisor to discuss these with you in your early supervision meetings.

We typically enjoy good, productive relationships between student and supervisor(s). However, if you have any problems with supervision or with turning to your supervisor(s) for pastoral advice, you are welcome to contact the department Chair of GSB, or the Head of Department if the Chair of GSB is your supervisor, to discuss the issue. Supervisors also have the right to consult the Chair of GSB (or the Head of Department) in the event of unsatisfactory relations developing between supervisor and student.

SkillsForge is an online system which allows both students and their supervisors to arrange and keep track of Supervision, TAP and Progression meetings. Students are also able to sign up for University research training events as they become available through the year via the Development Activities section of the SkillsForge site. It is the responsibility of students to create supervision meeting records and TAP and Progression Preparation forms in SkillsForge, in a timely manner. Supervisors or TAP and Progression Panel Chairs will add comments and electronic signatures after the form has been initiated by the student.

A detailed record of your formal supervisory meetings and actions agreed will be kept through SkillsForge, and must be signed by both you and your supervisor(s). As the research student, it is your responsibility to engage proactively with your supervision. You must:

• come to each meeting with a plan for what you want to gain from that meeting. Consider writing an agenda for the meeting.

• submit work that you want to receive feedback on in advance of meetings, so that your supervisor has time to read it. Discuss with your supervisor how far in advance they need to receive your work. (Remember that supervisors have a lot of teaching, research and administrative responsibilities in addition to PhD supervision, so cannot necessarily read your work at short notice.)

• record meetings in SkillsForge.

• schedule meetings with your supervisor(s). Consider scheduling the next meeting at the end of each meeting. If you haven’t got a meeting scheduled, you don’t have to wait for your supervisor(s) to suggest one; you can contact them and request one.

• consult your supervisor(s) if your research progress is affected by personal circumstances. Supervisors can advise on where to go for specialist advice about problems and can also guide you through the mitigating circumstances procedure if necessary—but they can’t do this if they don’t know about the problem!