WNGER II Doctoral supervision program

Purpose

The purpose of the program (2 ECTS, estimated to be 60 hours) is to expand supervisors’ repertoire of concrete hands-on tools and strategies to make supervision a professional, effective, and enjoyable process. The purpose is also to create a safe space for supervisors to reflect on their role and to exchange experiences with other supervisors.

Learning outcome

At the end of the course, participants are able to:

• align expectations with PhD students early and regularly regarding goals, ambitions, and forms of collaboration in the project
• orchestrate a team of supervisors to ensure efficient collaboration
• balance conflicting needs, e.g., between support and structure, between product and process, and between being private and professional
• provide constructive text feedback
• encourage PhD students’ independence and ownership of their projects
• apply questioning and listening skills to ensure progression and efficiency in supervision meetings
• assist PhD students in project planning and support their progress
• manage potential crises in students’ research journeys
• engage in peer-interactions to facilitate continuous supervision development

Overall course design

The course is a blended format that includes two consecutive workshop days in January (physical event at Oslo Plaza Hotel) and a one-day follow-up workshop in March (online on Zoom).

Individual work between gatherings: In the intervening time, participants engage in peer-interactions either in the form of

1. peer-observation of supervision with colleagues at their own local institution. Peer-observations include receiving and giving collegial feedback on supervision in situ.

or

2. online case-based meetings (without observations) together with colleagues from the course. Case-based meetings include a structured discussion with a group of 3-4 colleagues about a current and unsolved issue in supervision.

Participants can freely choose which of the two formats they prefer. The formats will be introduced at the end of workshop day 2, and there will be adequate time for participants to choose and form groups.

Below is an illustrative overview of the course design:

Foto/ill.:

Aarhus Universitet v/Gitte Wichmann-Hansen

Time and place

• Workshop I-II: The 16-17^th of January 2024, 9.00-16:00. It takes place as a physical event in Oslo (Oslo Plaza Hotel).
• Individual work in between gatherings (own institution/context)
• Workshop III: Follow-up workshop on the 12^th of March 2024, 9:00-14.00. It takes place online. A Zoom link will follow.

Your individual preparation

Please note that you are expected to allocate approximately 60 hours in addition to the three course days, because the course is designed to allow for trying out new strategies in supervision, read relevant literature, interact with colleagues, etc.

• Before the first workshop day, you are kindly asked to watch “flipped classroom videos” about rules and regulations on the Norwegian doctoral programme. You will also be asked to briefly write about your experiences with supervision so far, and to reflect upon key challenges in your supervision practice.
• In the intervening period between workshop II and III, you are invited to engage in peer activities as described above. In addition, you will get an opportunity to try out new strategies, methods and tools in your supervision and to reflect upon them in light of relevant literature, which you sum up in a brief scholarly paper.

You will receive full instructions for how to prepare when your registration has been confirmed.

Teaching form

The teaching form at the workshops is highly interactive based on a combination of group work, exercises, plenary discussions, and lectures.

Coordination

The seminar is administered by the Research Group Digital Learning Communities, at the Department of Education, Faculty of Psychology, UiB.

Course facilitator

Dr. Gitte Wichmann-Hansen is a Senior researcher at Aarhus University, Denmark, and owner of the consultancy “Academic Supervision” that offers high quality professional training of research supervisors. 

She is an established and publishing researcher within the field of supervision, and she has 20+ years of experience with running workshops for supervisors at all career stages across European Universities.

Foto/ill.:

Aarhus Universitet v/Gitte Wichmann-Hansen

General information

• Course certificate: You will receive a course certificate after completion of the seminar.
• Language: The seminar is offered in English.
• Questions regarding the seminar, please e-mail Rune.johan.krumsvik@uib.no
• Maximum number of participants for the program is 30 candidates.
• Participants will be prioritized based on the following criteria:
  • 1. Members of WNGER II who are doctoral supervisors.
  • 2. Other employees who are a part of WNGER II's consortium/membership institutions.
  • If there are a lot of participants, we will prioritize those belonging to either pedagogy, the educational sciences, or the health sciences.
• WNGER II will cover the program fee and the overnight hotel stay expense for the first program gathering (Workshop I-II) in Oslo. However, participants are responsible for organizing and covering travel and food expenses as well as stays beyond the first program gathering.