Learning about the duties of the supervisor at the Doctoral School | Gdańsk University of Technology

The Doctoral School at Gdańsk University of Technology executing the provisions of Gdańsk Tech HR4R Strategy 2022-2025 (Action 28), established solutions to ensure mandatory familiarization of prospective supervisors with the scope of their rights and duties.

Currently, a candidate for a supervisor, by submitting  their candidature in the questionnaire of a prospective supervisor (prior to the start of admissions to the Doctoral School), and then in the declaration of a prospective supervisor to take a certain candidate under their mentorship (submitted during recruitment), declares that they have familiarized themself with:

• Regulations of the Doctoral School at Gdańsk University of Technology
• in particular, the chapter concerning the supervisor and auxiliary supervisor, indicating the requirements for those undertaking this role, how to indicate and change supervisors, the number of PhD students under supervision,
• and also a chapter concerning the rights and duties of supervisors.

Thereby, in the case of the indication of a person as a supervisor, they are responsible for, among other things:

• participation in the training process of the PhD student;
• ensuring the highest quality of the PhD student's training process;
• providing opinion on PhD student’s formal requests for extending training at the Doctoral School and the deadline for submission of the dissertation;
• preparing an opinion about the PhD student, if such an opinion is required in competition proceedings or in the PhD student's application for scientific awards or scholarships;
• informing the School Director about the grounds for dismissal of PhD students from the Doctoral School, in case the PhD student fails to fulfill their obligations,
• requesting the Rector to initiate disciplinary proceedings in case a PhD student violates intellectual property laws or they violate the principles of integrity in scientific research, the oath statement, the Regulations of the Doctoral School, the principles of scientific ethics, and other regulations.

Such solution should promote awareness, as well as the quality of the supervisor's duties at the Doctoral School. It has been introduced since January 2024.

It is also noteworthy that since its founding, the Doctoral School at Gdańsk Tech has been organizing periodic meetings and trainings for supervisors and is also preparing a guide for supervisors, which is updated annually. All materials, document templates and information aimed at PhD supervisors are posted on the school's website under a separate tab > PhD Supervisors (in Polish only).