Recipients of the 'Research Supervisor Support and Development’ certificate. L-R: Dr Siobhán Dowling, School of Education, Professor Alan L. Kelly, Dean of Graduate Studies and Dr Anna Ridgeway, School of Education.
The professional development programme is run by the Dean of Graduate Studies, Professor Alan L. Kelly, and colleagues. It has attracted close to 200 staff members to date.
The workshops were developed are part of a National Academy for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (NAIRTL) -funded inter-institutional project to develop strategies for optimised support for supervisors of research students.
This unique project, led by UCC, involves six Irish Higher Education institutions and has culminated in the creation of a five-workshop training programme, which focuses on issues spanning the lifecycle of student supervision.
Professor Kelly says: “This programme of workshops represents a very significant element of our measures for support of staff who are involved in supervising research students, as shown by the great interest among staff and their highly active participation in the workshops themselves.”
The NAIRTL project team has also produced an interactive publication which summarises the experiences of the participating institutions, as well as outlining a framework for supervisor support and providing related resources and tools. It is intended that this information may be of use to any institutions interested in developing their own supports for research supervisors, and ultimately, it will be of benefit to the supervisors themselves and their students. Copies of this guide can be downloaded from www.nairtl.ie/workgroupDocs/SupervisorSupport_Guide.pdf.
The supervisor Support and Development Workshops will be re-run in 2013 on the following dates:
25 January 2013 “The supervisor and the institution”
22 February 2013 “Getting students off to a good start “
8 March 2013 “Developing good research practice with students”
19 April 2013 “Progress to completion”
21 June 2013 “The Viva and beyond”
Further details on registering for the workshops will be distributed in December.
For further information please contact Gretta McCarthy at Gretta.McCarthy@ucc.ie or 021 4903224.