Managing your supervisor
How to be creative about your relationshipHow to develop your relationship to be
creative
Prof Carole [email protected]
[Richard Butterworth]
supervisedTopics
• A relationship• Communication• Situation• Interactions• Responsibilities
Take Home Message
Your supervisor is human too.
• Think about the roles & responsibilities of you and your supervisor
• Identify the issues in this relationship and how they change over time
• Exchange ideas and strategies
• A positive experience. (Mostly).
Common Issues• False expectations• Seeing the whole
picture• Personality clashes• Lack of
communication
• Other pressures?
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3154
What motivates your supervisor?
• Original, brilliant work.• Recognition and reputation• Good research results for
publication• Competitive advantage• Originality, finding new ideas• Testing new ideas they haven’t the time to
test themselves• Being a pedagogue• Avoiding trouble with failing students• Positive relationships with co-workers
What are the stresses on staff (and students)?
• Methodological– Finding something novel– Trying to understand the
problem– Alone in the dark
• Directional– Too many directions at
once– Poor direction– Feeling not getting
anywhere
• Operational– Deadlines– Teaching– Your colleagues
Bonus ones for Supervisors• More teaching • Multiple attention needing
students • Changing guidelines• Research/Admin• Endless meetings• Constant time-slicing
• Personal– Being unappreciated– Guilt– Insecurity, Fear of failure
Making vs Meeting Time
Interaction with your supervisor
• A supervisor contract– Regular meetings– Ask for feedback– Set up an agenda– Take minutes
• Push vs Pull• Lone vs teams• Multiple supervisors• Interdisciplinary supervisors
Meeting Frequency
Supervisor Classification• Professor Never There• Dr Slave Labour No Research• Dr No New Ideas Since 1995• Professor Changes Direction• Dr Lone Worker• Dr Overbearing Interferer• Dr Test until you Break• Prof Perfect Supervisor• Dr Never Satisfied• Dr Happy to be Mediocre• Prof Different planet
• Any others?
• How many PhD students does it take to change a light bulb?
• One.
• The student holds the bulb and the world rotates around them.
PhD student responsibilities (what supervisors like)
• Try not to be late • Questions
– Ask questions no matter how obvious
– Find people who know the answers
• Be – Prepared, Self-motivated– Cooperative, Honest– Passionate– Prepared to take
criticism
Supervisor responsibility (what students like ….)
• Make meetings comfortable– Supervisor pays attention
• Constructive criticism• Clear direction• Notification of absence
– just when you are writing up• Reading your writing
Supervisor responsibility (what students like ….): Reading!
Feeds•Final versions or intermediates?•Pieces of writing: Executive summary•Email it – or deliver paper•Give time to read•Extreme reading together
Quality•Poorly written or Boring•What’s the point?•Get someone else to read it•Read out loud•A template for good writing
Summary:you are both human
• Good communication
• Be professional• Show enthusiasm• Both reflect and
learn• Keep perspective
Acknowledgements
• Dr Lynn Clark & Dr Louise Innes, University of Liverpool Graduate School
• Richard Butterworth – http://www.cs.mdx.ac.uk/staffpages/richardb/PhDtalk.ht
ml
• Diana Bental – http://www.dmst.aueb.gr/dds/rese/phd/phdsups.htm
• PhD Comics– http://www.phdcomics.com
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