Supervising a Research Student at Oxford: Rules and Procedures, online

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Please note: you need to complete the online ‘DPhil Supervision at Oxford (Sciences)’ training course before attending this workshop. You can access the course here (SSO required to enrol via Canvas).

This course is for those in academic posts at the University of Oxford, including new principal investigators (PIs) with responsibility for training DPhil or MSc by research students. In addition, to describing key aspects of supervision, this new course includes cultivating an amicable and productive relationship with research students, the supervision of part-time students, the supervision of clinical DPhil students with clinical time commitments, and helping DPhil students to find funding resources as well as using case studies for handling difficult scenarios.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, you will:

• Understand key elements of supervision strategy for graduate research students (DPhil and MSc by Research)
• Appreciate how to cultivate an amicable and productive relationship with research students
• Understand the specific supervision strategy required for part-time students and clinical DPhil students
• Be familiar with resources that may help you to find funding for your students
• Gain experience in handling difficult scenarios by discussing specific case studies

TUTORS

1. Afsie Sabokbar (she/her)- Afsie has been a scientist for the over 37 years and has supervised many post-graduate students to completion at various Universities (Durham, Cambridge & Oxford). She has been at Oxford since 1994 and was appointed as the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in 2002. Afsie is also the Director of Divisional Skills Training & Researcher Development (since 2016). She has extensive experience in teaching, supervision, UG, PGT & PGR examinations as well as handling sensitive issues regarding the students' progress. Afsie routinely runs workshops on 'How to Transfer', 'How to Confirm' and 'How to successfully defend your thesis' for the PGR students. She is a Senior Fellow of High Education Academy.

2. Kevin Coward (he/him)- Kevin has been at University of Oxford for the past 23 years. He designed the MSc taught programme in Clinical Embryology and has acted as the Director for this course since its inception. He runs a successful research group and has acted as an assessor, internal examiner, and external examiner for over 16 years. Kevin has been a tutor for PLTO for 12 years and holds a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (awarded with Distinction) from the Dept. of Education, University of Oxford in 2017.

Afsie & Kevin have been tutors on 'Supervision and Assessment at Oxford’ for the past 3 years.

PARTICIPANT NUMBERS

25

ATTENDANCE CERTIFICATE ON SURVEY COMPLETION

It is now a requirement that you complete the three short questions in the survey you receive after attending the course. Once you have submitted the survey, you will be sent an email with a link to your attendance certificate. This is to ensure we receive the feedback we need to evaluate and improve our courses. Survey results are downloaded and stored anonymously.