Submitted by Ruth Laing on Thu, 30/04/2020 - 09:56
Supervisors and tutors of postgraduate students can now find contact information for Directors of Postgraduate Education directly on CamSIS. When CCTL convened the first meeting of Directors of Postgraduate Education and Postgraduate Tutors last September, one of the main themes to emerge was the need for more fluid lines of communication among Directors of Postgraduate Education, Postgraduate Tutors, and Supervisors. There was strong support for maintaining a central, up-to-date list of Directors of Postgraduate Education. This is now available on CamSIS under a new tile, "External Links". The list can also be found on the Student Registry website.
Another theme that arose during this meeting was the need to achieve both a better understanding and fuller support of postgraduate students, while acknowledging, as several participants emphasised, that most Cambridge PhD students have good relationships with their supervisors and good support from departments and Colleges. It was agreed that one way to do this was to encourage a "working agreement" between supervisor and student at the beginning of the PhD. It was noted that supervisors who have good relationships with their students make a real effort to understand reciprocal responsibilities, as most problems arise from differing expectations between supervisor and student.
Guidance on how to structure a conversation about realistic expectations and create a working agreement is now available in the Research and Resources Form.
Finally, in response to the move to remote working, the Education Quality & Policy has put together extensive guidance for supervisors of research students. This can be found, along with guidance from e.g. the UK Council for Graduate Education, on our Supporting Postgraduate Students page.