Building a Positive Relationship with Your Supervisor Dr Xia Lou School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

References Acknowledgement Planning your PhD: All tools and advice you need to finish your PhD in three years. By Hugh Kearns, Maria Gardiner Acknowledgement: Professors Ian Phau and Ian Howard

You and Your Supervisor Perhaps the most important person in your postgraduate research He/she is an expert in the area He/she guides you through your journey You It’s your research and your degree You have to take the ownership Finish your degree in time

You and Your Supervisor  Shared commitment to the goal of the completion of a successful research thesis Be proactive and make use of your supervisor Negotiate and agree on the process of supervision Get to know his/her style

TIPS To Maintain Communication With Your Supervisor Discuss your expectations of your supervisor, and your supervisor’s expectations of you. Make appointments to see your supervisor. Bring a written list of the issues to be discussed. At the end of the meeting, agree on goals and indicate a date for the next meeting. Submit written work in good time, if you want to get useful feedback

Supervisors Expectations Students to be independent to have regular research meetings with their students to present their work in a clear manner to produce written work that is not just a first draft to be honest when reporting on their progress to follow the advice that they give to be excited about their work, able to surprise them and fun to be with!

Identifying Supervisory problems The supervisor provides an inadequate level of feedback. Poor quantity and quality of communication Occasional arguments and clash of personalities The supervisor treats the student as an efficient or specialised research assistant Multiple supervisors Publishing research results http://research.curtin.edu.au/local/docs/graduate/GS-AuthorshipInformation.pdf

Projects with multiple supervisors Maintain contact with the supervisors by holding a joint meeting at the beginning of the project and at least once a year thereafter. Ensure that they have further communication at least once a term (Phillips and Pugh 1994: 111), and regular, scheduled email contact Ensure that each supervisor has an up-to-date copy of the project plan Ensure that the project plan outlines the scope of the contribution by each supervisor and indicates the area of the research programme for which each supervisor is responsible. Copy each supervisor with all significant correspondence Inform each supervisor of any changes to protocols, experimental designs, schedules, etc.

Take Away Points Be aware that you must accept the responsibility for managing the relationship between you and your supervisors. Ensure that you have a first supervisor and a second supervisor, rather than two supervisors with equal responsibility, and that your supervisors will maintain contact with each other, and jointly meet with you once a term. Try to fulfil the expectations that supervisors have of their students. If you cannot fulfil any of these expectations do not neglect them, but raise the issues in discussion. You need to educate your supervisors continually: first on the research topic, in which you are fast becoming the expert; second on ways of understanding how the supervisory role can best help in your own professional development.

Take Away Points Look for ways of reducing the communication barrier between you and your supervisory team. In addition to research content, discuss at various times working relationships, setting deadlines, what doing a PhD means to you, the adequacy of provision for research students, and so on. Be punctilious in meeting appointments and deadlines, so that your supervisors will be too. Help your supervisor to give you better feedback on your work. Always ask supplementary questions to ensure that you understand fully what is being required of you. If you are seriously considering changing supervisors, use an appropriate third party as a mediator.

Tips for Your Research Ask questions Be proactive with reading the literature Take initiatives in developing required research and technical skills Keep your overall time-line in focus and work consistently every week Keep your supervisor informed of your progress Seek help from your supervisor when you get stuck Building On A Foundation Of Integrity And Respect, And Through Courage, We Will Achieve Excellence And Have An Impact On The Communities We Serve