Building mentorship and supervision skills
Establishing a mentoring relationship
The initial meeting between student and supervisor is an important one. It can create a relationship that is positive and supportive and can also set expectations and a working style that suits both student and supervisor. Research with students and supervisors found mismatched or unclear expectations were a large cause of dissatisfaction with student research.
To ensure initial meetings are productive and comfortable for all parties, we have created some suggested prompts to structure discussions in this first meeting, with the main content being initial discussions about the project, some expectations from each other and logistics.
Initial meeting discussion prompts:
- What is research (in general and field specific)?
- What is the supervisor's role?
- Joint areas of interest: how does the student's suggested research area fit with the supervisor's research interests?
- How will a research topic be selected?
- What are the topics available?
- Is there freedom to choose a topic?
- Is the research topic and aim fixed?
- What are the topics available?
- What is the research culture of the department/ research group?
- Will the student be more “micromanaged” or given more freedom to manage their own research?
Expectations:
As a student
- What skills and “pre-requisites” knowledge is expected (a rough guide is helpful students as preparation)?
- How much time commitment is expected from the student? (Is this the student’s full-time work during the project?)
As a supervisor
- How involved will the supervisor be in the project?
- How much time commitment is expected from the supervisor?
- Do they have sufficient capacity to fully support the student? Would a co-supervisor be a sensible option?
- What knowledge/ resources (e.g., technical knowledge, datasets, or software) will be provided by the supervisor?
- Will there be a chance for the student to work with other academics other than the supervisor (e.g., PhD students, post docs)?
- Will there be other support for the student other than then from the supervisors themselves?
- Would an external project partner be necessary/ beneficial?
For the project
- What are the checkpoints for the project? (A rough project planning, though it can be fluid and altered as project progresses!)
- What is expected of the outcome of the project? A certain result? A specific skill? Or simply the research experience?
- How should the results of the project be disseminated? (Opportunities such as ICUR, BCUR, Reinvention, Discipline-specific publication, poster presentations can be very valuable for students)
- Different types of research require varying levels of supervisor involvement: i.e. Student led research, co-authored research etc. What are the different requirements for each kind of supervision from a supervisor?
Logistics:
- How often will the supervisor meet with the student? And where? (Online, in person, or blended)
- Will the student be given a workspace in the department? Or will the student be working from home?
- How should the structure of the meetings be? How should the student present their work during the meetings?
How can each be reached in between formal meetings?
Encourage a relationship where questions can be asked and support requested, but also set expectations around availability, periods of non-availability and alternative sources of help.
Considering UG research supervision needs
What is good supervision?
Good supervision
Since supervisors often play a key role in a successful undergraduate research experience, it is important to understand the role of the supervisor and what good supervision means, especially as supervising undergraduate student research can be very different from doing your own research, teaching or supervising postgraduate or doctoral research.
Below are a few resources to help you provide good quality supervision, by understanding what support undergraduate students from their supervisors to get started with the project, maintain focus and to disseminate effectively.
Perspectives on quality supervision
This article talks about the key characteristic of a quality research supervision and a good supervisor. They also highlight some problems in supervisions most commonly faced by students.
How to get the most from supervisionLink opens in a new window
This article talks about what students and supervisors can do to make supervision successful and productive. This resource also touches on some prompts and questions to identify a supervisor suitable for the research project.
Supervising Undergraduate Student ProjectsLink opens in a new window
This resource contains some key points and tips on supervising undergraduate students which will be useful especially for those new to supervising undergraduates.
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