Recognition for PhD supervisors: Supervision Excellence certification

On Monday 8 July, a festive ceremony took place in honour of the first cohort that has completed the PhD Supervision Excellence course developed by the UG. Rector Magnificus Jacquelien Scherpen presented the certificates to the first participants.

The aim of the PhD Supervision Excellence course is to help academic staff develop the leadership skills and competences needed to support and supervise the development of PhD students into independent researchers and academics.

This course is built around the ‘Successful PhD Supervision: a Shared Journey’ MOOC, which was developed by the UG and launched in November 2023. In order to complete the PhD Supervision Excellence course, supervisors complete this MOOC and then attend a number of related mandatory workshops. Workshop topics include, among others, interview and selection techniques, coaching, and effective feedback, as well as intercultural supervision and helping stressed PhD students.

The HR & Health Learning and Development team is happy to have reached this milestone and reflected on months of hard work, together with the Dean of Graduate Studies, all graduate schools, trainers, and experts, during the ceremony. They are proud to have designed a flexible and rigorous training programme that is both evidence-based and highly practical, to support academic staff in this crucial aspect of their work.

The course is being rolled out across the University within all faculties. The initial feedback has been very positive: participants report a significant improvement in their understanding of their role as supervisor. The combination of the MOOC and workshops works well. Participants notice a refinement of their supervisory skills as a result of the comprehensive online course, and they enjoyed the opportunity to practise and reflect in small groups during the workshops. There are currently nearly 150 participants taking the course at the UG and 34 have completed it.

One of the participants said: ‘I appreciated the face-to-face meetings and the enthusiasm of the lecturers, the opportunity to interact with other supervisors and exchange ideas and tips, as well as the practical examples. I also profited from the highly practical online tools, such as a form to discuss mutual expectations with co-supervisors and PhD students.’

The UG remains committed to professionalising its staff and promoting high-quality supervision of PhD students.
For more information about the certificate and the individual workshops, see the PhD supervisors page on the Corporate Academy website.
You can find more information about the ‘Successful PhD Supervision: A shared Journey’ MOOC on the Futurelearn website, or access the internal UG version here.