Supervision matters (cancelled)

Content

When relationships between supervisors and doctoral researchers go wrong" is the title of a paper that addresses a problem, which is gaining more and more attention, at all Universities. The University of Freiburg created only recently a working group to  address it. 

It was the initiative of the Representatives of Doctoral Candidates at our faculty to address this topic within the Graduate School as first measure. We will then see how we can proceed with it further within the faculty. 

Research has shown that a good student-supervisor relationship helps enhance the candidate's productivity and maintain their mental well-being. Many PhD candidates feel that they are lacking support and feedback and that for many reasons it is difficult to talk about the problems with their supervisor.

In this workshop, we want to provide a space for the PhD candidates to reflect on and discuss their experiences, and find strategies for improvement.

We will ensure that all information shared in this workshop is kept confidential.

Goal of the workshop

The workshop aims to address different aspects of the doctoral student/supervisor relationship by

• Reflecting on strengths and weaknesses of the relationship with the own supervisor
• Reflecting on the student's and the supervisor´s expectations
• Identifying the scope for action and self empowerment
• Finding strategies to make the relationship with the supervisor more beneficial
• Finding out where the PhD students can get professional help and support

Teaching Methods

• Guided self-reflections
• Survey for sharing problems with supervisors, anonymously
• Group discussions
• Case studies
• Recommendations

Output

We will summarize the results of the workshop and make them available to the PhD committee and to the board of the Graduate School. There it will be discussed and decided how to address the topic among supervisors and which measures could be taken.

Facilitators

Dr. Haifa Debouk (Graduate School)
Esther Muschelknautz (Graduate School)
Dr. David Willmes – (IGA)

Minimum Number of participants: 10

Registration deadline: November 13

Registration here