A plea for help from the PGRC.
20 years ago, I got a PhD by luck. I registered my proposal retrospectively, 18 months after the work had started. I had no progress reviews. I certainly never had a portfolio. But . . . I owe a lot to 3 outstanding supervisors who filled all the gaps and I did OK.
Not everyone is so lucky and occasionally, students fail. Failing is OK too, but not when we could have spotted a student in difficulties before it was too late.
There are a lot of changes happening in postgraduate research practice. For the students, you can expect to have your research monitored regularly through informal meetings and formal progress reviews. For the supervisors, we ask you to comply with the regulations for the composition of supervisory teams, and to hold regular meetings with your students.
In some cases, the rules are new. In other cases, we are taking more seriously the existing rules. In every case, we want to spot the problems before they become too big to put right. This benefits everyone; students can expect a high standard of supervision. Our excellent outcomes help us attract the next generation of students to Newcastle.
We’d be really grateful if you would support the move to good practice, students and supervisors alike. We try to do the same. You know Karolien or Cloe do everything possible to keep you on track but very, very occasionally, a student or supervisor is unwilling to comply with good practice. As you’ll find out, we will make ourselves a nuisance until you do. And while we are chasing you, we are wasting everyone’s time. 179 other students are in the queue. Karolien’s dogs are stood at the door, waiting to be fed and walked. And they know it’s your fault.
