The supervision plan is a document for the doctoral researcher and the supervisors to agree on the mutual division of duties, the practices and working methods of supervision, and the schedule and the ways of conducting doctoral research. The parties will also go through mutual expectations and commitments to work. In the plan, the duration of the commitment for supervising can also be agreed upon.
The supervision plan is based on TENK’s recommendations. Before filling in the plan, familiarise yourself with the Roles and responsibilities of supervisors and doctoral researchers at UEF.
Please, write down detailed descriptions of the content of your mutual commitment under the headings below.
The supervision plan is to be updated and complemented regularly on an annual basis. The supervision plan should also be updated when a supervisor changes, or when the research plan or target schedule changes substantially. If the research plan has dealt with the issues listed below, they do not need to be repeated.
Download the supervision plan template and fill it with your supervisors using the instructions below. The plan remains with you, unless otherwise agreed.
Objectives and timetable of the doctoral education process
- Go through the doctoral education process and what work packages it involves. List them in the first table.
- List down the concrete objectives and schedule of the doctoral education process in the second table. It is useful to break down the process into phases. The breakdown of the table into three phases is based on the YPJ model, in which the salary is checked at these stages.
- Mobility activities such as researcher exchange, research visits, the schedule 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 on.
- 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 measures supporting them, career goals, duration of supervision).
- Agree on the principles of supervision, such as frequency of meetings and methods of communication, convocation, preparation for meetings, and follow-up of progress.
- If necessary, updates on the changes in the supervisory group (confirmed by the Dean).
Conducting research
- Discuss and record the relevant main points 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 everyday life of research (e.g. related to the choice of methods).
- Check the necessary research permits or the need for prior ethical review.
- If necessary, draw up agreements with the collaborators (supervisor’s responsibility).
- Identify the risks of carrying out the study and draw up 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/when).
- Discuss and agree on other resources required for 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.
- 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)