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Introduction to supervising PhD students
Workshop details
2025-26 dates
Wed 1 October 09.30-16.30 (in person)
Wed 3 December 09.30-16.30 (in person)
Thu 12 February 09.30-16.30 (in person)
Fri 13 March 09.30-16.30 (in person)
Tue 14 April 09.30-16.30 (in person)
Mon 8 June 09.30-16.30 (in person)
Upon completion of this workshop, participants will have:
- Used appropriate approaches for their discipline to establish and maintain effective supervision of students;
- Identified aspects of study and development where research students typically need most support from the supervisor, peers or a training programme;
- Used suitable ways of tracking the progress and development of research students;
- Employed good practice in giving feedback to students and in enhancing their ability to learn and develop as independent researchers;
- Understood better the pressures students face and will be more able to supervise appropriately as a consequence;
- Appreciated the value of adhering to recommendations for good practice in supervision;
- Developed and used a learning agreement with students they supervise.
Tutor
Professor Martyn Kingsbury
From April 2022, new doctoral supervisors at Imperial will be required to complete 'Fundamentals of supervising PhD students' which is offered by the Graduate School via Cornerstone. This online course (approximately 2 hours in length) comprises four mini-modules covering: the role of Main and Co-Supervisors; effective student-supervisor partnerships; the PhD timeline, and research culture.
Administrative Enquiries
Su Beasley edudevcourses@ic.ac.uk
Who should attend?
Academic staff from across Imperial who formally supervise research students. Some parts of the workshop are relevant to supervising Masters projects and dissertations, but the focus is on the PhD.
This course is particularly strongly recommended for those that are new to supervision and builds on the content of the online course ‘Fundamentals of supervising PhD students’ which is offered by the Early Career Researcher Institute (ECRI) via Cornerstone.
This workshop considers the various stages and milestones of PhD supervision at Imperial and offers practical guidance on recruitment, handling the student/supervisor relationship effectively and how to help students toward completion and emergence as an independent researcher in their discipline.
Postdocs supporting PhD supervision should consider, as an alternative, the workshop 'Introduction to being an assistant supervisor'. If you are involved in PhD supervision and are unsure about which training you require, please see this webpage on continuing professional development for supervisors and discuss your role with your Head of Department/Director of Postgraduate Studies.
Key areas
- Key 'milestones' and expectations of the Imperial College process
- Expectations of the student and the supervisor
- Recruiting the student
- Managing the research process
- Student/supervisor relationships
- Using a learning agreement
- The viva and examination process
Imperial STAR Framework
This workshop is particularly suitable for those seeking recognition at D1 or D2 level of the Imperial STAR Framework. It addresses the following dimensions of the Professional Standards Framework (PSF 2023): A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, K5, V1, V3.
