Further information Many factors are important for a successful PhD. One of them is a good relationship between supervisor and student. To help this relationship it is important to be open and honest with each other and to manage each other’s expectations. This is particularly important as the project progresses when there might be changes either due to the project or external factors. In our experience many problems can be avoided by having a dialogue, however this can be difficult for both parties, with neither wanting to put the other on the spot. To overcome this problem we would like all students and supervisors to have a “structured discussion” at the start of the PhD, and every year afterwards. In the first instance we will not monitor the results of the discussion, but instead ask students to let us know when you have had the meeting with your supervisor. In some cases meetings will be online, in other cases face to face. Likewise for some PhD projects it might be relevant for all supervisors to participate, in other cases just the lead supervisor. Similarly, some topics will be relevant for different stages of your PhD. This is a work in progress so if you have any comments or suggestions please let us know. IGC Structured discussion form This article was published on 2024-06-21
