A focus on good supervision culture
Whether a doctoral dissertation proceeds successfully or not depends not only on the subject and on how motivated the doctoral student is. A number of studies have demonstrated that the way in which it is supervised also has a marked influence on both satisfaction and success. This is where the “Next Generation Research SuperVision Project” (RSVP) comes in – in what is probably the world’s biggest interdisciplinary and translational research project devoted to the supervision of doctoral students. Since 2023, and basing their work on empirical data, British universities have been developing collaborative formats for creating a positive supervision culture which is currently being tested by 24 practitioner partners in several countries. The University of Münster is the only German partner participating in the project, which is receiving funding amounting to 5.3 million from Research England.
“It is tacitly expected of professors that they know what good research supervision looks like,“ says Dr. Helen Jäckel. “So far, however, there have hardly been any opportunities for them to systematically discuss the topic with one another.” Working together with the Personnel Development department, Jäckel is responsible for RSVP at the Münster Centre for Emerging Researchers (CERes). “In recent years, supervision culture has received more and more attention in Germany, too. However, we’re still right at the beginning. The project provides a good opportunity to establish the topic for the long term at the University of Münster, Jäckel adds. One result is that a pool of measures is being set up with the aim of providing a sound scientific basis for greater professionalisation. These measures include workshop formats, networking opportunities and peer-mentoring programmes. The offers will later be evaluated, with the results attained in practical work flowing back into research.
“What we’re aiming for is clarity for both sides as far as their roles are concerned – for example, by defining expectations and objectives in supervision agreements,” says Prof. Maike Tietjens, Vice-Rector for Academic Career Development and Diversity. Everyone involved should, she says, ensure that working together is undertaken in an open and transparent manner and is marked by mutual respect. “The project provides participants with an opportunity to have discussions with like-minded others and, in doing so, question things which so far they have seen as being obvious,” adds Prof. Stefanie van Ophuysen, who heads CERes. It is important, she says, to equip supervisors with the relevant tools and to give the task of supervision more visibility and attention so that the next generation of academics can be given the best possible support from the very beginning.
Some of the measures on offer are also aimed at postdocs, some of whom are also involved in supervising doctoral students, even if they do not have prime responsibility. “In the dissertation phase – with the wide range of demands it imposes and uncertainties it gives rise to – it is particularly important to have a good working relationship and transparent communication,” says Dr. Philipp Meer from the Department of English, who has taken part in two workshops for postdocs. What was especially helpful, he says, was the diverse mix of input and discussions with exercises and role-plays. After all, he adds, good supervision ultimately goes way beyond just giving advice on the subject of a dissertation. Surveys show that many doctoral students want to have support in networking, career planning, coping with heavy workloads, publishing articles or teaching.
“Good research supervision takes time, and that, I know, is something which is often difficult to find in our every working lives,” comments Helen Jäckel. A considered approach and practical tools could result in more time being gained. This is also confirmed by Prof. Anna Windt from the Institute of the Didactics of General Studies (Institut für Didaktik des Sachunterrichts). She is currently taking part in a six-month peer-mentoring programme which consists of a small group which meets regularly with a facilitator. “We don’t have to make any fundamental changes,” she says, “but there are adjustments here and there which we can carry out to make supervision more systematic and ease the stress in our everyday work. Discussing with one another, reassessing our own decisions and learning from one another – this is conducive to reaching the goal we all have, which is to provide the best possible support for doctoral students and enable them already to carry out good research in the early phase of their career.”
Author: Julia Harth
Save the date:
June 15 is the registration deadline for professors and postdocs who wish to take part in the Supervisors’ Dialogue on the subject of “Challenges in Doctoral Education” to be held on June 22 (12:00 to 14:00 hours, online)
This article is taken from the university newspaper "wissen|leben", issue no. 3, 2 May 2026.