Annual Report Graduate School 2012-2013
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Annual Report Graduate School 2012-2013 Delft University of Technology
Content Foreword .................................................................... 6 1. PhD in the center ...................................................... 8 2. Intake interview ........................................................ 9 3. DMA....................................................................... 10 4. Doctoral Education ................................................. 11 5. Student counselor .............................................
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6. Career counselor ............................................... 15 7. The GS in a nutshell ..................................................18 8. TU Delft Graduate School organisation.................... 20
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Foreword
F
rom 2011, staff at TU Delft worked hard to establish a Graduate School that would play a key role in the training of PhD candidates, the quality assurance of the PhD programmes and supervision. In January 2012, all of the faculties and the University Graduate Office (within the department of Education &
Student Affairs) were ready, and the TU Delft Graduate School started at all faculties. In this report on the first two years of the Graduate School, and the University Graduate School (UGS) in particular, we want to sketch a picture of what has been done to date. We are proud of what we have achieved. We have received positive feedback on the school not only from our PhD candidates but also for example from other Dutch universities. This report on 2012 and 2013 addresses the following subjects, among others: Doctoral Education, the counselling provided by the psychologist and the Career Centre, and a numerical impression of the active population of PhD candidates and the UGS as an organisation. While much has been developed and is ‘in place’, at the same time, it feels as if we’re about halfway through our PhD programme: there is still much to improve, to complete or to extend. What does the future hold? At present, we’re putting the finishing touches to the revision of the Doctorate Regulations and the accompanying implementing regulation. With this we hope to make the phase of completing the PhD thesis and the defence simpler and more transparent. The Beadle’s Office has been abolished and its responsibilities and
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staff have been merged with those of the University Graduate School, so that the administration surrounding registration and ‘examining’ is now done from one place. Next year the digitalisation of the forms will be further extended so that this process will finally be completely digital. Furthermore, the focus this year will be on improving the monitoring and management information on the PhD programmes and PhD candidates at TU Delft. For this, we use the Doctoral Monitoring Application system. Time and again in recent years, the recording of meticulous, precise and unambiguous data on PhD programmes has given rise to new questions or points for improvement. In the closing phase of this year, we hope to complete – and from 2015, to be able to deliver – both a set of standard reports from the Doctoral Monitoring Application and a set of tailored reports based on questions from the Faculty Graduate Schools. In the area of quality assurance, in 2014 and 2015 we will focus on extending and deepening the range of Doctoral Education on offer, as well as developing a vision on the supervision of PhD candidates. In short: there is still much to do! In the meantime, though, we hope that you enjoy reading this report on the outcomes of the first two years.
Stella van der Meulen, Coordinator/Policy
Peter Wieringa, Director, University
Advisor, University Graduate School
Graduate School
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1. PhD in the center
T
he PhD candidate naturally
by the PhD candidate, we have chosen
lies at the heart of his or her
to open this annual report with the PhD
PhD programme at TU Delft.
candidate. The following seven pages
He or she is responsible for
present the various elements of the
the scientific voyage of discovery that
PhD programme within the University
is doctoral research. The aim of the
Graduate School in chronological order.
Graduate School is to facilitate this
At the back of this document, there is a
voyage and to offer a range of training
timeline showing the development of the
programmes covering skills that do not
Graduate School since its inception, an
result directly from doing research. In
infographic on part of the management
addition to the staff at the University
information on the PhD candidates, and
Graduate School, there are also a
an illustration showing the organisation
number of people within TU Delft who
of the Graduate School.
provide support, as the illustration shows. Owing to the central role played
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2. Intake interview
S
ince the Graduate School (GS)
Development Cycle, the Doctorate
was established, the UGS has
Regulations and the DE requirements.
held an intake interview with
This ensures that a PhD candidate is
every PhD candidate who
aware of his or her role and what the
forms part of the GS. The interview
(short-term) priorities and actions are.
is planned no later than 25 days after registration at the UGS, and ideally takes
As shown by a customer satisfaction
place in the first six weeks after the start
survey held in March 2014, the PhD
of the PhD programme.
candidates find the intake interview to be extremely useful and informative. In view
The intake interview serves three
of the increase in the number of intake
purposes:
interviews, this is a real achievement.
1. R egistering the PhD candidate in a
The research gave rise to some points for
correct and timely way (including a
improvement, relating to the language
diploma and identity check)
barrier, information overload, and
2. Activating his or her account
conflicting expectations regarding the
3. Providing the PhD candidate with
interview. The aim is to overcome these
information. For the most part, this
difficulties as far as possible in future.
information concerns the GS process and the guidelines on the PhD
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3. The DMA
F
rom March 2012, the Doctoral
the quality of the programmes. At the
Monitoring Application (DMA,
same time the management information
from the supplier People XS),
forms a basis for both internal reports
was introduced across TU Delft
(for example, to the Executive Board)
for registering PhD candidates, recording
and external reports (both nationally and
agreements between PhD candidates and
internationally) about the PhD candidates.
supervisors, and monitoring progress. The DMA provides valuable monitoring
The system has the following users:
and management information, allowing
• PhD candidates
the following questions to be answered:
• Supervisors
1. Which PhD candidate is doing their
o Daily supervisors
PhD where, with whom, on which
o Promotor
topic, with which funding?
o Copromotor
2. When did the PhD candidate pass which process-related milestones
• Mentors • Deputy Heads of Department secretary
in their PhD programme – including Doctoral Education (DE) – and with
These users have access via portals
what result?
where only specific data is shown and
3. When did the PhD candidate
can be entered. Staff from the FGS and
discontinue their work on the PhD or
the University Graduate Schools (UGS)
submit their draft thesis, and when did
work together from the back office.
the PhD candidate defend his or her
The central UGS takes care of the first
thesis?
registration by means of the intake. The FGS staff subsequently form the contact
The individual PhD programmes are
point for DMA users within their faculty.
monitored by the Faculty Graduate
The FGS can contact the UGS and
Schools (FGS), to enable the system
Information Management of Education
to run as smoothly as possible and
& Student Affairs (the functional
so as to avoid potential glitches or to
applications manager for the DMA) with
identify these as swiftly as possible. The
questions and reports.
management information provides input that allows the university to work on improving the doctoral defence pass-rate, the supervision of PhD candidates and
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4. Doctoral Education
E
ncouraging personal
programme. The event is the official kick-
development is one of the
off to the DE programme, and falls under
Graduate School’s core tasks.
transferable skills. The PhD candidates
Over the four years, the PhD
follow the PSU in fixed groups of 25 or
candidates follow various DE courses
so people and this provides a solid basis
that are divided into three categories:
for their activities in the following years.
transferable, discipline-related and
Each day has a different theme:
research skills. They must obtain a total
1. The PhD programme at TU Delft,
of 45 GS credits, where 1 GS credit
with an emphasis on conditions and
represents one day of a course plus
expectations
homework. With this programme, TU
2. Professional and personal
Delft wants to ensure that in addition
development, with an emphasis on
to doing research, PhD candidates are
self-awareness and self-assessment
also trained in a broad range of areas,
3. Scientific integrity and the scientific
meaning that they are well prepared
community with an emphasis on the
for the labour market after completing
societal and moral dimensions.
their PhDs. At the start of their PhD programme, PhD candidates draw up
In addition, the PSU represents the start
personal plans that are linked to their
of a PhD candidate’s university-wide
individual learning needs. They compile
network
their personal training programmes by selecting from courses that are offered
Quality of the DE programme
by the GS, among others. They also
All of the courses that are provided by
learn a lot from doing research, such
the GS are evaluated after completion.
as by reviewing articles or attending
These evaluations provide a lot of input
conferences. These learning-on-the-job
for the continued improvement of the
activities count as research skills in their
programme and when necessary or
DE programme.
appropriate, the development of new training courses.
PhD Start-Up Fourteen times a year, a three-day PhD
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Start-Up (PSU) is organised. Every new
IIn 2013, a number of actions were
PhD candidate participates in the PSU
taken based on all the experiences of
in the first months of his or her PhD
2012. First, due to increased demand,
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Courses offered by the TU Delft Graduate School1
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a number of courses were held more
modules in clusters for particular groups
frequently and new courses were added.
of PhD candidates. In collaboration with
Furthermore, course descriptions were
the FGS, the GS will provide a better
adjusted, courses were discontinued
overview of discipline-related courses
because they were not meeting demand,
and online education.
and advanced courses were developed
Furthermore, the information that is
to provide additional depth on certain
provided to PhD candidates will be
topics. From now on, trainers also had
improved, enabling them to gain greater
to distinguish themselves by making a
insight into how other PhD candidates
round of ‘pitches’ before being able to
experienced the courses. Each quarter,
organise new courses.
an overview will be provided on Blackboard, which will offer qualitative
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information on the courses that have
In 2014 DE will put an emphasis on
been given. Within the programme, a
various topics. There is always a focus
number of advanced courses will be
on quality, both within the transferable
developed further.
courses and the discipline-related courses. The GS will look at whether it might be possible to provide the various
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5. Student counselor
T
he Graduate School’s full-
extended, and new courses for mentors
time psychologist offers
have been developed.
support to PhD candidates,
Within the Netherlands, TU Delft is a
mentors and supervisors
leader with its extensive counseling
(PhD supervisors, co-supervisors and
provision. The key priority for 2014 is to
day-to-day supervisors). She talks
investigate the possibility for cooperating
with, treats and trains the target
with other graduate schools, national
groups in situations where personal
and international. The first step will be
circumstances, psychological problems
to start exchanging information and best
or communication problems are proving
practices with them.
an impediment to obtaining a doctorate on time. She also makes a substantive contribution to the DE programme. The psychologist develops and offers training programmes in the area of transferable skills. In this area she works closely together with the career counselor for PhD candidates. In 2012, the key priority was the development of the role of the GS psychologist. In doing so, the aim was to tailor the role as closely as possible to existing methods of working, the provision for students and existing forms of cooperation. The focus last year was on the continuation of the GS psychologist’s role (individual and group sessions), refining the range of courses provided in the DE from three to four courses, and paying more attention to intercultural communication. On the basis of the FGS’ experiences regarding the supervision of PhD candidates, the provision for supervisors has also been
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6. Career counselor
T
he career counselor for PhD
75 and 65 programmes, respectively.
candidates has worked for the
In addition to the one-day training
GS since May 2011 (0.5 FTE).
courses and advisory programmes, PhD
She talks with and advises PhD
candidates can make use of most of the
candidates, trains them to reflect on their
Career Centre’s other activities, such
careers after obtaining their doctorates
as company presentations, networking
and helps them to answer questions
get-togethers, workshops, walk-in
that arise during their PhD project. The
consultations and the walk-in CV-check
counseling is carried out within the
service.
context of the TU Delft Career Centre.
In 2014, the career counselor will
This means that very soon after the start
optimise and extend the current range
of the Graduate School, it was possible
of training programmes in order to
to put a broad range of programmes
absorb the growth in the number of
for PhD candidates in place that were
PhD candidates in the Graduate School.
linked to the DE programme, mostly in
Furthermore, she is stepping up contact
cooperation with the student counselor.
with supervisors, mentors and HR
At present the Career Centre offers
advisors in order to boost referrals.
four training programmes for PhD candidates in the final phase of their work on the PhD: ‘Preparing for the next step in your career’, ‘Looking for work in the Netherlands’, ‘Prepare for a Company Assessment’ and ‘Personal Branding’. The last three are led by external trainers. Furthermore, many PhD candidates receive individual advice from the career counselor. On average, each client has had two career consultations and the ratio of national to international students is 1:7. In 2012 and 2013, there were
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7. The GS in a nutshell
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8. TU Delft Graduate School organisation TU DELFT GRADUATE SCHOOL ORGANIZATION Inspiring research, excellent supervision and personal development Inspiring research, excellent supervision and personal development MAIN TOPICS WITHIN TU DELFT GRADUATE SCHOOL Doctoral Education (DE)
PhD Supervision
Transparent and flexible process
Quality Assessment
UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL BOARD
UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OFFICE
“Provides an overall vision and mission”
“Coordinates GS development and policy”
Rector/ chair man
University GS
Support
Director GS
E&SA director
HRM director
Vice rector
GS policy advisor
SPECIFIC TASKS
GS policy officer
GS officer
Career councellor
Psychologist
SPECIFIC TASKS
Determines general DE objectives and frames
Develops, coordinates and organises transferable DE training for PhD candidates
Describes desired doctoral culture at TU Delft
Offers training and personal advice for supervisors and mentors
Formulates quality parameters Submits proposals for Board for Doctorates Gives guidelines for progress monitoring of the doctoral process Decides on general support and service for PhD candidates and supervisors
Evaluates the outcome of the TU Delft GS Organises registration into the TU Delft GS Manages and improves the monitoring of doctorates by running the Doctoral Monitoring Application (DMA) Offers personal and career advice and support to PhD candidates
FACULTY GRADUATE SCHOOL BOARD
FACULTY GRADUATE SCHOOL OFFICE
“Writes the Faculty Policy”
“Coordinates the Faculty GS issues”
Facultyy GS
GS director
Prof of department
Head of E&SA
HR manager
Mentor
Faculty GS officer
SPECIFIC TASKS Determines DE objectives and framework for specific research and discipline related training Describes the desired level of scientific dialogue and interaction between Faculty GS members Advises supervisors Formulates guidelines for selection and evaluation (Go/No go) of PhD candidates Shapes a clear PhD path within the faculty GS Subscribes support and service on the faculty level
Faculty GS officer
Faculty GS officer
SPECIFIC TASKS Coordinates discipline related training Supports supervisors Supports the PhD development cycle Evaluates the outcome of the Faculty GS Organises exit interviews with PhD candidates Organises the welcome to the faculty GS Monitors progress of PhD candidates with Doctoral Monitoring Application (DMA) Advises and supports PhD candidates (e.g. about DE and DMA)
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Colophon Production and final editing Jasper Meeuwissen (Graduate School, TU Delft) Text Dominique Meijer, Jasper Meeuwissen, Maddy Lansbergen, Monique Draijer, Nelie-Roos Hamelinck, Paula Meesters en Stella van der Meulen (Graduate School, TU Delft) Editorial team Agaath Diemel (Corporate Communication, TU Delft) Design and lay-out Liesbeth van Dam (Media Solutions, TU Delft) Traffic Dominique Meijer (Media Solutions, TU Delft) Photography Marc Blommaert (cover photograph and photograph on page 4) Sam Rentmeester (photograph in foreword) Infographics Chris Versteeg Printing Edauw en Johannissen Š TU Delft 2014 A digital version of this annual report is also available on the website: graduateschool.tudelft.nl and on: issuu.com
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