Before committing to supervise, you must ponder whether you have enough time to allocate on supervising, and whether you have adequate expertise. If you decide to commit, allocate enough time on it in your workplan. The amount depends on the needs of the supervisee, and the number and role of other supervisors. Needs also change along the progress of the doctoral research.
- Preparation of work plans at the University of Eastern Finland (in Heimo)
- Work plans task description of teachers and researchers (in Heimo)
When you’ll agree to supervise, you’ll commit
- To agree on the supervisory practices with your supervisee and to adhere to those.
- To ensure that your supervisee has/receives adequate scientific background in his/her field of research at the very beginning of the research project.
- To provide guidance and help with personal study plan, research topic, research plan, research permits, and research work in general.
- To help in securing funding.
- To ensure that the research plan is feasible, good scientific practice is followed, and research meets the requirements of doctoral dissertation
- To monitor the progress regularly, provide feedback, address any problems, and encourage the supervisee.
You may expect your supervisee
- To commit to the mutually agreed supervisory practices.
- To get to know the main theories and methods of his/her research field and to follow the literature.
- To conduct independent research according to the research plan, to follow good scientific practice and to ensure that research permits have been obtained.
- To follow the personal study plan.
- To apply actively for research funding.
- To report on the progress of the research project on a regular basis, to provide feedback to you and be honest about any problems related to the doctoral research.
More information: Faculties' instructions on research supervision.
Read also: Shared rules vitally important in the doctoral researcher-supervisor relationship by Tieteentekijät
Recruiting doctoral researchers
Before you agree to supervise, make sure that the applicant
- is eligible for doctoral studies (see below)
- has capabilities to pursue for doctoral degree
- understands how the process of doctoral studies is in practice
- has another supervisor(s)
- understands that obtaining a study right does not (necessarily) guarantee funding, and that part-time jobs in Finland are not easy to get.
Also, look for about potential funding sources (see Funding options of doctoral studies).
Study right for doctoral studies
Questions related to applying
- Eligibility for studies leading to a professional postgraduate degree is defined in Universities Act (558/2009 § 37). The applicant must have completed a relevant Master’s degree awarded by a university or by a university of applied sciences; or a relevant applicable study programme abroad which in the awarding country gives eligibility for the corresponding level of higher education.
- Each doctoral programme has its own selection criteria and instructions for applying.
- Applying takes place in Studyinfo.fi portal.
International applicants
- Doctoral researchers arriving from outside of Schengen area must apply for a researcher's residence permit. For this they need a hosting agreement signed by the university. The officers of the faculty will take care of this procedure.
- Instructions you can deliver to your new international supervisees:
- Quick guide for international doctoral researchers
- Guide for international staff (if the doctoral researcher has an employment contract)
HR-issues
- Doctoral researchers who have received a funded position (please, note that grant-based researchers who have secured funding for 12 months are entitled to a 10 % employment relationship) will enter into an employment contract.
- Grant-based researchers will conclude a grant research agreement.
- The person responsible for HR on the department will take care of the paperwork
Discuss the mutual expectations with your supervisee and her/his other supervisors, e.g.
- Why your supervisee wants to pursue for the doctoral degree, what kind of goals s/he has related to it (schedule, quality), and how much time s/he can allocate to the doctoral research.
- What kind of working methods your supervisee possesses (e.g. self-leadership skills).
- What the supervisee expects of you (e.g. frequency and contents of supervision). You can utilize a RPRS tool for this.
- What will the division of responsibilities between you and
the other supervisor(s) be
See also Toolkit for supervisors > Checklist for beginnings (in Moodle, requires UEF-login).
Supervision agreement
It is recommendable to compile a written supervision agreement, in which you can utilize the Recommendations about supervision of doctoral dissertations and their review process by the Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity and Universities Finland UNIFI (page 9 onwards).