Guidance for supervisors

What follows is aimed at stimulating discussions between supervisors and students at the start of their PhD project, and is also aimed at providing the relevant information and points of contact in case an issue arises (see Support for supervisors heading below).

It is not a contract, and students or supervisors could explain, where appropriate, why they would prefer to deviate from any of the recommendations below.

This document, and its Guidance for students counterpart, draws primarily on the College 'Mutual expectation' listed below with other useful links, but also includes additions resulting from discussions between Physics PG students and some members of staff.

In the following, 'You' refers to the student.

Academic development

  • Work with you to develop an appropriate project for you and ensure that you have clear strategic aims and objectives, and an initial plan of work.
  • Ensure you have adequate space and resources in which to carry out your research.
  • Ensure you receive appropriate research and technical skills training, relevant to your research.
  • Provide you with appropriate guidance about the nature of research, standard expected for each milestone and help you to plan your research so that you can submit your thesis on time.
  • Provide you with timely and regular constructive feedback on your oral presentations, written work and your thesis. I will let you know if the standard of your work is below that which is expected by the College.
  • When your ESA is submitted to Turnitin, I will review the similarity report and provide guidance and support to you on the interpretation and general research integrity.
  • Do my best, when asked, to explain how I came to suggest this or that, or how an idea came about.

Managing our partnership

  • Be available to you, normally for at least one hour per week (on average), this may take the form of individual meetings (tutorials), group meetings or lab meetings, email or Zoom/Teams. We will hold regular meetings to focus on progress through the PhD.
  • Ensure you receive appropriate supervision for the duration of your research degree.
  • Introduce you to other staff who will be involved with your supervision, such as your co-supervisor, making it clear what their role is and what support you can expect from each person.
  • Ensure that any teaching or supervision that you carry out does not jeopardise your ability to complete your research or submit your thesis on time.
  • Celebrate your achievements and encourage you to get involved with the wider College community, including the Graduate School, Graduate Students’ Union and the Imperial College Union.
  • Do my best to maintain an open and honest dialogue with you throughout your PhD, and always encourage you (in the best positive attitude), especially in those moments when things do not go as expected.

Supporting good health and wellbeing

  • Encourage you to maintain a healthy work-life balance and good wellbeing.
  • Encourage you to take holiday leave, when appropriate to do so. In accordance with the rules laid down by the Research Councils, students are entitled to up to eight weeks holiday leave, each year (including public holidays). This also includes students with Tier 4 visas.
  • Appreciate that there may be times when you are unwell and during those times, I will be supportive of you taking appropriate action to get your needs met. I will make suitable reasonable adjustments according to your difficulties and will point you in the direction of further help and support to suit nature of your illness or personal circumstance.
  • Be respectful and supportive to you both academically and personally in your role as a student.

Professional development

  • Discuss with you your professional development and which Graduate School courses and external courses would be of most benefit to you.
  • Provide you with regular opportunity to talk about your research to other staff and students and to have practice in oral presentations.
  • Provide you with the opportunity to present at conferences and other external development activities.
  • Encourage you to publish your work, where appropriate.

Final point

The purpose of the student-supervisor partnership is not merely a passing down of knowledge but rather a collaboration between two people in order to achieve a common goal.

You can find out more about what to expect from a student-supervisor relationship in the links below:

The College's Mutual expectation document can be found on the Graduate School website.

Support for supervisors

  • The first port of call for issues related to supervision is the group mentor and/or the PGR Senior Tutor Jerry Chittenden (j.chittenden@imperial.ac.uk).
  • For admin issues and queries regarding regulations, contact Roxanne Ray and Loli Sanchez (l.sanchez@imperial.ac.uk).
  • For emergency situations in which immediate action is needed contact Mery Fajardo (m.fajardo@imperial.ac.uk) and/or College Security: from an external phone dial 020 7589 1000, from College phone dial 58900, from College phone (in an emergency) dial 4444.
  • For a situation in which you are worried about the wellbeing of your student (e.g. no response to contact, signs of depression, etc.) contact the PGR Senior Tutor Jerry Chittenden (j.chittenden@imperial.ac.uk).
  • A summary of available resources in Physics and across College is available here: PhD student support contacts.
  • Cornerstone, a College-based resource to help support supervisors in their role.