How to Select a PhD Advisor? COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Information Seminar on How to Select a PhD Advisor? Date: June 02, 2017 Day & Time: Friday 10:00 am Venue: Old Senate Hall Organized by COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Vehari Campus Seminar Series on Study Abroad

PhD advisor is the most important person in someone’s academic and research career

Supervisor and his responsibilities Giving guidance on research – usually strong guidance in selecting topic Being accessible to student when advice needed Giving advice on scheduling of successive stages of the work Arranging for the student to talk about their research Ensuring that the student is made aware of inadequacy of progress or of standards of work below that generally expected

Why is it important to select a supervisor? What traits do we need in a supervisor? Good scientist Someone who is doing good science Good mentor

How to find a good scientist? PubMed them Quality of research Number of research articles Find their H-index Ask for advisor’s CV Ask senior faculty and his students Winner of any distinguished scientific award Have funding

How to find a good mentor? Avoids scientific trivial questions Ask his trainees Has lot of students Check his trainees list Acknowledges his students

Good mentor help students.... Formulate good questions Formulate good experiments Create a happy lab environment Give good talks and write good research papers Independent and confidant over time

Finding a supervisor on the basis of their careers Young faculty advisors Advantages Enthusiastic and energetic Have links with their advisors Tend to be web savvy Are more active in recruiting students Work alongside their students

Disadvantages Demands a lot from their students High expectations from their students Suffer early burn out Tend to stick to their graduate research Tend to underestimate the time

Mid-Career faculty advisors Advantages Are at the peak of their research performance Achieved recognition Have strong circle of contacts Administrative roles

Disadvantages Often networking at conferences Sabbatical leaves away from group Dominate research ideas and projects

Senior faculty advisors Advantages Long track record of research Achieved significant recognition Alumni from their research group Personal connections with industry Have strong collaborations On editorial boards of many journals

Disadvantages Close to retirement Lack of energy and enthusiasm Out of touch with the lab May have arrogant behaviour Out of touch with career issues

Questions you might ask a potential supervisor Project Supervisory style Expectations Funding Track record

Questions you might ask the former students of the potential advisor Supervisory style Expectations experience

Always hope for the best but prepare for the worst

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