Abstract:

Doctoral education is more important than ever, and PhD-student enrolment numbers are continually climbing, as is the demand for more graduates with high-level research skills.

This mobilization can only be realized if there are sufficient well-trained researchers able to take on the challenge of supervision in a world where science is both more important than ever but also debated and mistrusted. But how do you train for supervising an individual, unique project preparing the student for an independent research career?

At Linnaeus university with roughly 30 different PhD-programs, we have for six years now practiced and developed a 9 month special university-wide course for doctoral supervisors. The program balances between training for an individual unique project but preparing for a broader research career within what is in comparison a highly regulated education. In Sweden there is a requirement of a full four-years institutional financing before admittance, there are exam objectives, and all programs have course parts (including mandatory courses) in the span of 15-120 ects. There is also a national requirement for supervisors training for being a main supervisor, all this together constitute the framing of doctorates.

The program aims to promote border-crossing exchanges of experiences between doctoral supervisors from different disciplines and collaborative learning where doctoral supervisors create a reflective community of practice together with seniors. Applicants for the supervision program are expected to have started an independent research career after their own Viva, published nationally and internationally, to have the necessary required higher education pedagogical training, and have supervision experience at advanced level.

The program especially addresses:
- the mismatch between student and supervisors’ expectations
- the often-occurring lack of structure and support for developing writing skills,
- identifying ethical issues related to doctoral training other than publication ethics
- navigating resources at hand for assuring that doctoral students develop the required knowledge
- supporting a community of sharing experiences related to doctoral supervision

Some participant voices:
In my opinion this course is incredible and beneficial to improve one’s career and personality development process in research education. I got many inputs at various levels, of which some of them I am aware of and some I need to work on to improve my supervision qualities
This course has brought insights on other ways of organizing the Ph.D. education, which has been immensely valuable, yet, it is also important to hold on to some of the ideals that mark the socialization of an academic into a humanistic research field.
"...oh, and this should probably go without saying but must be said all the same: thank you all for including me in such an enriching and simulating learning experience. This course covers a lot a ground with a highly variable phenomenon, but you managed to pull off this pedagogical challenge admirably. I have learned more from this course about supervision, my university, and the Swedish educational system than I have in the last 3 years I've been LnU faculty."

Finally, the program aims at making the participants realize their responsibilities as supervisors for the career of fellow researchers and that supervising is not a right, but a responsibility.

Keywords:

Doctoral training, higher education pedagogy, Post-graduate programs, Supervision.