Seminar on Master's Thesis and PhD Supervision

This seminar, offered in collaboration with Graz University of Technology, is primarily intended for researchers with a background in natural sciences, engineering, or technology. Researchers from other fields are also welcome if they work with technical or natural sciences methods or approaches.

Prerequisites

• Prerequisite for participation is a doctoral degree.
• Please note that you are expected to allocate around 2-3 hours to prepare for the seminar. 

Content

The seminar focuses on supervision of master’s students and PhD students. It addresses three key supervisory skills:

1. Process skills: e.g., the ability to establish and maintain constructive work relationships with students, to align expectations early and regularly, to balance conflicting needs, and to plan and monitor progress
2. Text-related skills: e.g., the ability to assess students’ academic texts and to provide formative feedback that is targeted, prioritized, criteria-based, specific, and instructive.
3. Communication skills: e.g., the ability to ask questions that promote students' independent thinking, to listen actively and attentively, and to meta-communicate the content and process of supervision.

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

• align expectations with students early and regularly regarding goals, ambitions and forms of collaboration in the project
• encourage students’ independence and ownership of their projects
• support efficient research writing
• provide constructive text feedback
• apply questioning and listening skills to ensure high quality supervisory meetings
• balance conflicting needs, e.g., between product and process supervision, and between being private and professional in the relationship
• manage potential crises in students’ research journeys.

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

Time and place

1. Seminar day: Wednesday, 4^th February 2026, 9.00 – 16.30.
2. Seminar day: Thursday, 5^th February 2026, 9.00 – 16.30.

Place: University of Technology Graz

Seminar teacher

Professor, Dr. Gitte Wichmann-Hansen, Department of Education Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark, and owner of the consultancy Academic Supervision.

Please note that your registration is binding, and we are counting on your participation in the workshop.
Organising our course programme takes time, resources and careful planning by our team. If you are unable to attend, please inform us promptly by emailing rcc(at)uni-graz.at or cancelling your registration on the website. This will help us with our planning and give someone on the waiting list the opportunity to participate.

Register on our booking site: Seminar on Master's Thesis and PhD Supervision