NEWS Starting from 2024, Postgraduate Supervision in Practice will be offered at Umeå University four times a year, providing more opportunities for supervisors to participate. With sessions in both Swedish and English, and the option to attend online or on campus, supervisors have the chance to develop their skills and approach in an important and challenging role.
Katarina Winka, Educational Developer at the Centre for Educational Development.
Image Mattias PetterssonIt’s positive to see more options with several course sessions and an increased opportunity to participate digitally.
The changes are a result of a new agreement between the faculties for 2024, where course spots have been redistributed to better match the needs of the different faculties. The increased number of spots also means that more supervisors can participate, easing the pressure that has been present in the past.
Gregory Neely, a professor in the Department of Psychology at Umeå University, is one of those who has been involved in the discussions surrounding the new agreement. He believes the changes have been a significant benefit for the university’s supervisors.
"It’s positive to see more options with several course sessions and an increased opportunity to participate digitally. Hopefully, this will make it easier for our staff to find a session that fits their educational and research activities," he says.
The course, which is offered by the Centre for Educational Development (UPL) at Umeå University, aims to provide supervisors with a professional foundation by developing a reflective approach to their role. Participants have the opportunity to discuss, reflect, and develop together with other supervisors from different fields and faculties.
Selection among applicants is made at the respective faculty, not by UPL, considering criteria such as individual career development and the institution’s need for supervision competence. Neely explains how applicants are prioritized within the Faculty of Social Sciences (Samfak):
"Since we are a broad faculty, we must also consider the overall perspective within the faculty. Ongoing or soon-to-begin supervision tasks are also weighted heavily – partly to ensure that doctoral students receive good supervision, and partly because we believe participants will find it easier to absorb the course content and apply their new knowledge in practice when they already have a supervisory role."
Therefore, it is an important aspect of prioritization that participants have concrete supervisory tasks, as this enables them to immediately apply and reflect on the course's content.
Postgraduate Supervision in Practice provides supervisors with tools to work more systematically and with a reflective approach to their role. The course covers important topics such as conflict management, the individual study plan, and supervision in relation to ethics, norms, and power in academia. According to Katarina Winka, the coordinator of the HandUm program where the course is included, it is particularly valuable for new supervisors to have a clear structure to work from, while the course also emphasizes that there is no universal template for how supervision should be conducted. "The course provides a good understanding of how supervision situations can vary between doctoral projects and what resources are available to create a good supervisory environment," explains Winka.
With more sessions and greater flexibility, Postgraduate Supervision in Practice is an important tool for strengthening supervisors’ competence, which in turn contributes to high-quality supervision of doctoral students at Umeå University. Another major advantage is the network that participants can build during the course, something both Winka and Neely highlight as a significant benefit:
Many participants appreciate the network created during the course – a network that can provide valuable support long after the course ends.
The increased flexibility and more opportunities to participate in the course make it easier for supervisors to find a training session that suits their needs and research activities. For doctoral students, this means they will have even better conditions for receiving support and supervision from competent and well-trained supervisors.
By continually adapting and developing the course structure and content in dialogue with the faculties, UPL at Umeå University ensures high quality in Postgraduate Supervision in Practice – a goal that is central to the success of both supervisors and doctoral students.
