Peer Coaching Semester Meeting

Target Group

• Doctoral students who want to become a member of a Peer Coaching Group  (Onboarding Session)

• Doctoral students who are already part of a Peer Coaching Group (Check-in & Debrief Session)

Contents:

Check-in & Debrief Session (11:00-12:30) 

The session is for all EXISTING members of  a peer coaching group. We will engage with the following questions:

• What went well for me this semester?
• What do I want to do/change moving forward?
• What's working well in our peer coaching group?
• Do we want to continue as a group? If so, what worked well, and what might we want to adjust or change moving forward?

Networking Lunch (12:30-13:30) 

The networking lunch brings together all existing and new members of the peer coaching program. We will do a quick networking game/exercise, followed by a free pizza lunch.

Onboarding session (13:30-15:00): 

During this session, the new members of the peer coaching program will meet their groups and lay the groundwork for their group (establish meeting times, group norms, etc.), supported by Djahane.

What is a Peer Coaching Group?

Whether you are at the start of your Ph.D. journey or in the final leg, your peer coaching group will keep you on track, give you momentum, and provide you with the support you need to complete your Ph.D. program successfully.

Studies show that students who regularly meet with a peer coaching group finish more quickly, produce better work, and are more likely to maintain balance and well-being during the dissertation writing process.   The overwhelmingly positive feedback from the participants of our peer coaching pilot program confirms these finding.

Comments from past participants:

"I really like that it helps me to stay on track with my bi-weekly smart goals. It has also been a nice space to share other things besides PhD stuff and to know the different challenges other colleagues have to go through."

"We do goal setting and discussing, which is great because it forces a focusing of the working process, which makes it easier to identify and talk about specific issues that are occurring. It's also great fun to see the others in their struggles and progress, and to sometimes being able to give them useful input myself."

"I found it useful to see that every PhD has more or less the same problems with a supervisor, writing, coauthors…"

"I certainly do benefit a lot, although the type of benefits changed considerably. At first, there was lots of skill-sharing and learning from each others' experiences and strengths. Having 'harvested' these resources, the benefit of our group for me now is rather connecting to other people in a similar situation and talking about how we feel etc."

How does it work?

If you decide to sign up, we will assign you to a group of 4-6 Ph.D. students. (You also have the option of forming your coaching group and applying to the program together).  

Your peer coaching group will meet every two weeks on the same day and at the same time throughout the semester.  You will decide as a group when and where you meet.

During these structured meetings, you will debrief on the last two weeks, set goals for the coming two weeks, ask questions, and share strategies that have helped you move forward.

In addition to the bi-monthly meetings, you will be required to attend three short (90 min) check-in sessions throughout the semester.

During these meet-up sessions, we will engage with a specific topic (e.g. time management strategies, managing collaborations, etc). You will have an opportunity to exchange with other peer coaching groups during these meet-ups.

 

Will we get support?

Dr. Djahane Banoo Salehabadi will support your group and make sure that your meetings are structured, effective, and efficient. She will also run the three workshops. Djahane is the managing director of the graduate school and a trained academic coach.

Apart from these three workshops, your group will have 2 “credits” for sessions with Djahane. She can run an exercise for your group or give an input on a specific topic you’d like to learn more about.

Moreover, Djahane is available throughout the semester to answer any questions via email.

Please note: Peer Coaching Groups are only as strong as their members. Please only sign up for this offer if you can commit to attending every meeting for the entire semester.
 

Facilitator: Dr. Djahane Banoo Salehabadi

Registration deadline: October 10

Registration:  here (please choose this course from the list that appears)

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