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Episode 105

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Published on:

26th Feb 2025

(Episode 105) Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Doctoral Supervision

In this episode, Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths welcomes Professor Stan Taylor, Honorary Professor at Durham University and leading expert in doctoral supervision, to discuss the evolving landscape of doctoral supervision, its challenges, and future directions. With extensive experience and contributions to doctoral education, Stan shares valuable insights on effective supervision practices, inclusivity, and emerging trends.

Key takeaways:

• Evolving Challenges in Doctoral Supervision: Stan Taylor outlines key challenges supervisors face today, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), power imbalances, technological advancements such as AI, mental health support, career diversification for PhD graduates, and the need for proper recognition and resources for supervisors.

• Inclusive Supervision Practices: Stan emphasises the importance of adopting empathetic, pastoral supervision styles, creating peer support networks, addressing biases, and remaining flexible to accommodate diverse student needs. He advocates for proactive EDI practices to support non-traditional doctoral candidates.

• Shifts in Supervisor-Researcher Relationships: The relationship between supervisors and PhD researchers is shifting from a traditional master-apprentice model toward a more balanced, collegial relationship. This shift empowers researchers and promotes a collaborative and inclusive research culture.

• UKCGE Accreditation for Research Supervision: The UK Council for Graduate Education's accreditation has significantly impacted doctoral supervision by encouraging reflective practice and professional development. Supervisory observations and associate supervisor schemes have emerged as valuable tools for improving supervision quality.

• Future Directions in Doctoral Education: Doctoral supervision is increasingly oriented toward applied and entrepreneurial research, involving partnerships with industry and non-academic sectors. Stan highlights the 'industrial PhD' model as a promising approach, requiring supervisors to develop new collaborative skills and adapt to working beyond academia.

Links, resources, and initiatives mentioned in the episode:

• UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE)

•Good Supervisory Practice Framework

•UKCGE Research Supervision Recognition Programme

•Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

•Royal Society of Arts

All our episodes can be accessed via the following playlists:

Research Professional

Research Talent Management

Research co-production

Research Leadership

Research Evaluation

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Leeds Research Culture links:

Researcher Development and Culture Website

Our Concordat Implementation plans and progress

University of Leeds Research Culture Statement

University of Leeds Responsible Metrics Statement

University of Leeds Open

Research Statement

University of Leeds Research

Culture Strategy - launched September 2023

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About the Podcast

Research Culture Uncovered
Changing Research Culture through conversations
At the University of Leeds, we believe that all members of our research community play a crucial role in developing and promoting a positive and inclusive research culture. Across the globe, the urgent need for a better Research Culture in Higher Education is widely accepted – but how do you make it happen? This weekly podcast focuses on our ideas, approaches and learning as we contribute to the University's attempt to create a Research Culture in which everyone can thrive. Whether you undertake, lead, fund or benefit from research - these are the conversations to listen to if you want to explore what a positive Research Culture is and why it matters.

Unless specified in the episode shownotes, Research Culture Uncovered © 2023 by Research Culturosity, University of Leeds is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. Some episodes may be licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0, please check before use.

About your hosts

Emma Spary

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I moved into development after several years as an independent researcher and now lead the team providing professional and career development for all researchers and those supporting research. I am passionate about research culture and supporting people. I lead our Concordat implementation work and was part of the national Concordat writing group. I represent Leeds as a member of Researchers14, the N8PDRA group and UKRI’s Alternative Uses Group.

Emily Goodall

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I'm part of the Researcher Development and Culture team at the University of Leeds, focusing on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), open research, and research integrity provision. I also contribute to our PGR develop programmes and research ethics committees. I joined Leeds in 2022 after several years at the University of Sheffield, where I started out as a postdoc in Neuroscience, before transitioning into Professional Services to managing a large Doctoral Training Partnership.

Taryn Bell

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I work as a Researcher Development Adviser at the University of Leeds. My focus is on career development, with a particular focus on supporting funding and fellowships. I previously worked at the University of York as their Fellowship Coordinator, developing and growing the University's community of early career fellows. Get in touch if you'd like to learn more (T.L.Bell@leeds.ac.uk)!

Katie Jones

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I am a Researcher Development and Culture Project Officer at the University of Leeds, where I lead projects within the Researcher Development and Culture Team. My role involves managing projects that enhance the development of researchers and foster a positive research culture across the University and the higher education sector.

Heledd Jarosz-Griffiths

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I’m a Researcher Development Advisor at the University of Leeds. My work focuses on two key areas, supporting the development of postgraduate researchers (PGRs), and supporting and creating opportunities for research leadership development. I’m also particularly passionate about recognising the contributions of post-doctoral researchers and technicians, especially when it comes to supervision, reward, and recognition. Before stepping into this role, I spent several years as a researcher myself - first as a PhD student, and then as a post-doc, working across two different fields in both Leeds and Manchester. Through that experience, I developed a deep understanding of the challenges and developmental needs of early-career researchers. I’m really passionate about supporting the next generation of researchers and helping them navigate their academic journey.

Ged Hall

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I've worked for over 20 years in researcher development, careers guidance and academic skills development. Since 2011, I've focused on the area of research impact. This has included organisational development projects and professional development for individual researchers and groups. I co-authored the Engaged for Impact Strategy and am heavily involved in its implementation, across the University of Leeds, to build a healthy impact culture. For 10 years after my PhD, I was a consultant in the utility sector, which included being broker between academia and my clients.

Ruth Winden

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After many years running my own careers consultancy business I made the transition to researcher development leading our careers provision. My background is in career coaching, facilitation and group-based coaching, and I have a special interest in cohort-based coaching programmes which help researchers manage their careers proactively and transition into any sector and role of their choice.

Nick Sheppard

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I have worked in scholarly communications for over 15 years, currently as Open Research Advisor at the University of Leeds. I am interested in effective dissemination of research through sustainable models of open access, including underlying data, and potential synergies with open education and Open Educational Resources (OER), particularly underlying technology, software and interoperability of systems.

Tony Bromley

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I've worked in the area of the development of researchers for 20 years, including at the national and international level. I was lead author of the UK sector researcher development impact framework charged with evaluating the over £20M per year investment of UK research councils in researcher development. I have convened the international Researcher Education and Development Scholarship (REDS) conference for a number of years and have published on researcher development evaluation and pedagogy. All the details are on www.tonybromley.com !! Also why not take a look at https://conferences.leeds.ac.uk/reds/