first draft for supervision guidelines

The directorate of the graduate school wants to prepare a guideline for supervision in the HGSFP. We thought it best to come forward with our own draft. This is a first version where we collected ideas and tried to find a structure. Please comment and/or write a second draft such that we will be able to approach the directorate with a sound, developed, and concise version created by the students.

Here we go.

supervision guidelines for the

Heidelberg Graduate School of Fundamental Physics

draft

Introduction

The planning and implementation of research projects involving students at PhD level should be characterised by intense cooperation between supervisors and PhD students in a manner that will ensure a high quality of planning and implementation within the typically allocated time frame of three years. These guidelines should give a framework to secure that adequate planning and comprehensive advice and supervision is ensured.

The student, the advisor, and the thesis committee oblige themselves to an efficient and successful work on and completion of the PhD project. This includes a creative, open and fair collaboration based on partnership and impersonal reasoning. They all agree on acting according to the rules of good scientific practise.

Project and Schedule

• the scientific project is defined by the supervisor and the student jointly
• the project must be feasible to be finished within the allocated time of the PhD
• the supervisor and the thesis committee assess the labor, expertise, materials and the time necessary for the work and make sure they are available
• an initial project plan is defined and written by the supervisor and the student to be provided to the HGSFP administration according to the rules of the faculty within the first six months of the admission
• if the time originally allocated for completion of the project is expected to be exceeded by more than one year, the student, advisor and thesis committee agree on a plan for a timely completion of the project which is to be reported to the HGSFP
• comprehensive administrative and organisational duties do not belong to the students scope of work and all parties ensure that this is avoided

The Student ...

• is committed to finish the PhD project he/she has undertaken, by the time given designated by the rules of the faculty and the HGSFP
• invests time and effort for continued and concentrated work on his scientific project
• is expected to participate in the course program offered by the faculty of physics and the HGSFP
• is expected to communicate progress and advances regularly to the supervisor. The student informs the supervisor and the thesis committee timely about serious problems in order to resolve them together
• produces original research abiding to the rules of academic good conduct

The Supervisor...

• is the scientific mentor and advisor of the accepted student for the whole period of the PhD project until its successful completion.
• is expected to provide and guarantee funding for the whole project for at least three years
• giving advice on the formulation and definition of the subject and research issues
• discussing and evaluating hypotheses and methods, being of help in the acquisition of technical literature and materials, giving advice on arrangement and execution of presentation
• by being up to date on the technical progress of the PhD student, also with regard to the work schedule
• discussing results and their interpretation, giving advice for methods and directions of the scientific work for the whole period of the PhD
• introducing him/her to the relevant scientific environment of the institute/working group, and depending on financial circumstances, enabling participation at scientific conferences
• at an appropriate time, possibly in the final year of studies, the supervisor commits to advising on the PhD student’s future career planning.
• reads a complete version of the PhD thesis before official submission and gives comments concerning content and style
• has the initial responsibility in making sure the research being undertaken throughout the PhD, is according to the rules of academic good conduct

The Thesis Committee...

• is to be chosen carefully and independently by the student six months after admission
• is expected to contribute to the planning and the concept of the PhD project,
• exists as an independent third party advisory mechanism (for advice and support) for the supervisor and the student (this includes to be available for meetings in person within a reasonable period of time, e.g. one/two months)
• assesses the scientific progress of the student and the feasibility of the future plans
• should be admissible in  the case of arbitration concerning disagreements between the student and the supervisor
• is interested in and committed to the scientific content of the project and the progress made by the student
• independent from the supervisor and the associated group of the student

Conflict Resolution

Differences in opinion which may place a lasting strain on efficient cooperation shall be settled by the help of the HGSFP.