On May 19, EGSH and the Erasmus Research Institute for Media, Culture, History & Society (ERMeCHS) jointly organised an event for PhD candidates, supervisors and policy staff on the topic of 'PhD supervision: Challenges and best practices'.
With the event, we wanted to contribute to ongoing efforts in our university, and specifically in ERMeCHS and EGSH, to improve PhD student experiences and support processes of PhD supervision. The challenge of strengthening guidance and support for PhD supervision while allowing diversity and flexibility in research traditions, practices, funding and subject specificities requires the involvement of all parties in an open and transparent dialogue.
The highlight of the event was the contribution of Dr. Andrea Kis. Andrea is researcher, psychologist, and project lead at Eindhoven University of Technology. A few months ago, she defended her interdisciplinary PhD dissertation entitled “Surviving academia: Studies on the sustainability of science and academic careers.” Informed by the experiences of almost 400 PhD candidates at Eindhoven university, Andrea’s thought-provoking work highlights the diversity of PhD experiences, identifies key challenges faced by both supervisors and supervisees, and leads to valuable recommendations for a more supportive and sustainable PhD system. A link to her presentation can be found here.
We were very happy to have Andrea with us, to guide us through the key findings of her research and help us think together about how to improve the conditions for PhD work and supervision at our university.
