The Supervision plan is a document, which supports the collaboration between the doctoral researcher and the supervisors. The plan guides the discussion and agreement on the mutual division of duties, on the practices and working methods of supervision as well on as the schedule and the ways of conducting doctoral research. The parties share and negotiate mutual expectations and commitments to work. In the plan, the duration of the commitment for supervising can also be agreed on.
The Supervision plan is based on TENK’s recommendations. Before discussing and filling in the plan, familiarise yourself with the Roles and responsibilities of supervisors and doctoral researchers at UEF.
Creating the Supervision plan
Download the Supervision plan template. The template gives you an example of an article-based dissertation process. Feel free to modify the template or create your own to suit your individual needs and purposes. For example, when completing a monograph you can organise the table on the schedule to fit the working plan of your manuscript according to chapters or stages of the project.
The Supervision plan is to be updated and complemented regularly on annual basis. The plan should also be updated if a supervisor changes, or when the research plan or target schedule changes substantially. If the Research plan has covered the themes listed below, there is no need to repeat them or you can copy them as is to the Supervision plan.
Please, write down detailed descriptions of the content of your mutual commitment under the headings you see below. For additional guidance, watch the recording from the Doctoral School’s Morning Coffee where Supervision plan was introduced. Create the plan together with your supervisors following the guidance. The plan remains with you, unless otherwise agreed.
Objectives and timetable of the doctoral education process
- Go through the doctoral education process and the work packages it involves. List them in the first table.
- Have a conversation about the concrete objectives and schedule of the doctoral education process. Write it down in the second table. It is useful to break down the process into phases whether you are completing an article-based or monograph dissertation. The breakdown of the table into three phases is based on the YPJ model, in which the salary is checked accordingly.
- Mobility activities such as researcher exchange, research visits, the timing of conferences, and their funding will also be included as part of the supervision plan.
- Discuss the content and scheduling of doctoral studies. Draw up a personal study plan, taking into account the educational and career objectives. The study plan can be updated later.
- If a double degree (co-tutelle) is planned, start preparing the contract for it.
- If necessary, agree and record the academic tasks outside the doctoral research project and the time spent on them (e.g., teaching, thesis supervision, other research projects, organizing conferences).
Supervision
- List the persons participating in the doctoral research, their roles, and the division of duties between them (e.g., specialists included in the project, guidance and support from a foreign university).
- Write down mutual expectations (e.g., related to the goals of the doctoral education or research, use of time, schedule and the practices and measures supporting them, career goals, duration of supervision).
- Agree on the principles of supervision, such as frequency of meetings and methods of communication, preparation for meetings and the memos after, and follow-up of progress.
- If necessary, updates on the changes in the supervisory group (confirmed by the Dean).
Conducting research
Discuss and make a record of the essentials on the following themes:
- Agree on the collection, archiving, and further use of research data. It is advisable to draw up a research data management plan.
- Agree on the use and ownership of the material. For more information, see the Data Management Guidelines.
- Check the data protection obligations related to the study.
- Discuss responsible conduct of research and its implementation in the day-to-day practices in research (e.g., related to the choice of methods).
- Check the required and necessary research permits or the need for prior ethical review.
- If necessary, draw up agreements with the collaborators (which is the supervisor’s responsibility).
- Identify the risks of carrying out the study and prepare a possible contingency plan.
Funding and other resources
- Plan on where to apply for funding and when. Agree on the recommendation letters for funding applications (who submits and when does the supervisor need to be asked prior to the submission deadline).
- Discuss and agree on other resources required for the research (e.g., language review, open access fees, length of project funding, assistant staff).
Publishing and authorship
- Agree on the authorship in co-authored publications. More information in Agreeing on authorship. Recommendation for research publications by TENK.
- Have a conversation on the quality of publication and journals, and agree tentatively on publishing forums.
Mobility
- Discuss possible mobility activities (such as researcher exchange, research visits, conferences) as well as their scheduling and funding.
Career and working life cooperation
- Discuss career goals and record them in an annually updated career plan (using the URA-T tool).
- Discuss working life co-operation opportunities (e.g., corporate co-operation, mentoring).
Other issues
- Please take note of the instructions on support for difficult situations related to supervision and other situations (e.g., UEF compasses, research ethics support)