Doctoral Supervisors

Multi-skilled Super Heroes or Co-competent Team Workers?

Lead Partner: Zurich University of the Arts

Starting from the evaluation of the (different) supervision practices in the consortium and based on the partners knowledge and experience, this work package will develop a toolkit addressing distinct phases of doctoral projects: phase_1 | Starting (developing the idea and research proposal), phase_2 | Working and producing (research, interpretation, writing), phase_3 | Finishing (presentation, defensio).

Main questions to be tackled will be the following:

• Who are the supervisors in the artistic PhD programmes (artists, theorists, scientists)?
• Competencies and qualifications: What are the core skills and abilities that supervisors must have (i) to be allowed to supervise, and (ii) to be of best support to the PhD?
• Supervision in action: What do supervisors do when they supervise? What are powerful formats of supervision?
• Sustainability: How to make sure that the knowledge of supervision has been developed individually and collaboratively, i.e. there is a sustainable supervision process established in your institution?

On the basis of the questions raised, a series of modules for the checklists will be developed with a focus on topics, contents, and formats. With regard to content, these modules will specify which elements and aspects have to be taken care for all supervisors on the one hand, and on the other hand which aspects/elements are crucial for the different types of supervisors (artists, theorist, scientists, co-students, etc.). The modules will take in-depth care that supervision in artistic doctoral programmes often involves at least two different supervisors, which means that there is both an individual and a collaborative supervision going on in parallel.

The toolkit shall be used by supervisors, but also provide orientation, guidance and support to PhD students (what may they expect from their supervisor) as well as to institutional actors (e.g. related to quality assurance). The different contents and formats are based on the specific needs of institutions (taking care of different speeds of development in Europe) and supervisors (taking care of different competencies of artists, theorists, etc.). Thus, expected usage and impact is high.