August 5, 2021, by Lisa Chin

Sharpening the practice lens of research supervision

This post is written by Dr Tissa Chandesa, Research Training Development Manager at the Graduate School. 

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Three Supervisory Research Seminar Series sessions took place in the last two weeks of the month of July 2021. The three sessions focused on the broad theme of managing research supervision, touching on issues relating to supervisory relationships, handling and monitoring research progression, as well as managing candidates’ complaints.

The first session focused on contemporary issues in supervising research students, since supervising research students is a process that can be both immensely rewarding as well as occasionally challenging. The session took place on 21 July 2021 and was presented by Professor Chung-Lim Law, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Over the duration of the 2.5-hour session, Professor Law actively engaged with 21 UNM doctoral supervisors to openly discuss as well as share best practices, hence, addressing the following learning outcomes in the process:

• • Explore your own expectations of research supervision

  • Contrast your expectations with those of other supervisors, research students, and the institutional regulatory frameworks

  • Discuss and identify the characteristics of an effective supervisor over the early, mid, and closing stages of a research degree

  • Explore how the University’s regulations and Quality Manual support these stages

  • Reflect on your own preferred supervisory management style

  • Aware of the support services and developmental opportunities that are available to supervisors

The second session on 22 July 2021 focused on managing research students’ progression. The session was split into two sub-sessions where the first sub-session focused on managing the university’s research degree requirements while the second sub-session focused on managing the project requirements. The first sub-session was delivered by Dr Michelle Tan, Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, and former Chair of Research Operations Group (FROG) for Science and Engineering. Ms Nengaswary Maniam, Knowledge Exchange Manager at the Research and Knowledge Exchange Hub delivered the second sub-session. A total of 21 UNM doctoral supervisors attended the 3 hour-long sessions. Over the duration of the session, Dr Tan and Ms Maniam shared information on supervisor’s role in meeting the university requirements as well as project management requirements to ensure satisfactory progression and timely completion of research projects. In an attempt to address the below-mentioned requirements, Dr Tan and Ms Maniam used case studies involving common scenarios as grounds for plenary discussions as well as to share best practices.

Managing the university’s research degree requirements:

• • Understand the importance of monitoring research students annual progression

  • Understand the key stages of research students annual review process

  • Understand the roles and responsibilities of key parties (students, supervisor, internal assessor) in ensuring satisfactory progression

  • Practice finding solutions to common progression issues through practical case studies

Managing the project’s requirements: 

• • Understand the importance of external funder requirements

  • Familiarise yourself with good project management (e.g. Gantt charts, risk management, and regular project management meetings)

  • Understand how to respond to unforeseen challenges, such as COVID-19, that jeopardise original objectives and timelines

  • Practice finding solutions to common project management issues through practical case studies

The final session delivered by Dr Sue-Mian Then, Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences focused on managing complaints. The session gave an overview on how to handle complaints from students, in accordance with the Student Complaint Procedure under the University of Nottingham. A total of 12 UNM research (doctoral and masters) supervisors attended the session on 28 July 2021 whereby the following learning outcomes was addressed:

• • Understand the types of complaint that a student can make under the Student Complaint Procedure

  • Learn how to manage and handle Level 1 complaint

  • Learn how to communicate outcome of the investigation of the complaint to the student

Overall, all three sessions received very positive reviews/feedback from those who attended. We thank you and truly appreciate your honest reviews/feedback. On behalf of the entire Graduate School team, I would also like to say a big thank you to the convenors for dedicating their valuable time as well as contributing their valuable insights and advice to the mentioned topics.

The next cycle of supervisory series sessions will take place in the coming weeks as we, at the Graduate School are working behind the scenes to finalise upcoming sessions’ details with potential convenors. Once these details are finalised, we will advertise the sessions to our doctoral supervisor community.

Till we meet virtually, once more – please do take care and stay safe!

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