Information for Academic Supervisor

Supervisors of HDR candidates must be listed on the Supervisor Register in order to be appointed as either a Principal or Co-Supervisor.

Supervisors must ensure that they are registered to supervise at the appropriate level when agreeing to supervise a candidate.

To apply to be on the Supervisor Register, please complete the Supervisor Registration Form or the Industry Supervisor Registration

This training accredits research supervisors to be Principal Supervisors in accordance with the HDR Supervision Policy. To successfully complete accreditation training UNE academic staff must:

• complete the Supervisor Induction Modules in the HDR Portal
• attend a 'Fundamentals of Supervision' training workshop facilitated by Thinkwell (run twice per year)

It does not matter in which order staff undertake these two components, but both must be completed in order for staff to be considered for accreditation. Once both components have been completed, the Head of the relevant School must approve accreditation as a Principal Supervisor.

Please contact graduate-school@une.edu.au to register interest for the training workshops, or request enrolment in the Supervisor Induction Module in myLearn.

The Supervisor Induction online module may be completed at any time. It can be accessed via the HDR Portal in myLearn. Log into myLearn and go to the HDR Portal and click on the 'Supervisor Induction Modules' tile to begin.

Supervisors of Indigenous Researchers may like to refer to a useful guide which was developed by The Lowitja Institute.

Supporting Indigenous Researchers: A practical guide for supervisors

Supervisor Agreement

It is essential that you maintain regular contact with your candidate. All HDR candidates and their supervisors must complete a Supervision Agreement within three months of starting their candidature. This agreement will help establish a professional working relationship and set realistic expectations of supervisors and of their candidates.

Milestones

Milestones are a requirement for all candidates throughout the duration of candidature. For more information refer to the HDR Milestones Policy and procedure.

As per the HDR Supervision Policy the following roles and responsibilities apply to supervisors.

Supervisory Teams

(7)  Each HDR Candidate must be supported and guided by a supervisory team consisting of a minimum of two (2) and normally a maximum of four (4) Supervisors.

(8)  Supervisors must work with each other and the HDR Candidate to:

1. develop the HDR Candidate's personal and professional capabilities as a researcher; and
2. improve the HDR Candidate's capability to produce high quality research.

(9)  Two supervisors must be members of academic staff and have an appointment at UNE that extends for the expected period of candidature. One will be nominated as Principal Supervisor.

Principal Supervisor

(10)  The key functions of a Principal Supervisor in a supervisory team are to:

1. ensure that appropriate resources and support are available to assist the HDR Candidate's progression;
2. meet administrative requirements; and
3. ensure that the supervisory team provides timely, honest and constructive commentary on their HDR Candidate’s work.

Co-Supervisor

(11)  All members of the supervisory team must:

1. support and advise the HDR Candidate in research activities, noting that the extent of project leadership will vary with academic discipline; and
2. facilitate the HDR Candidate's access to the agreed resources necessary for the HDR Candidate to succeed.

(12)  Additional supervisors may be appointed to fulfil specific roles in the candidature. These supervisors must meet the requirements outlined in clause 24 and 25 below.

(13)  The composition of a supervisory team will depend on: faculty arrangements, the interdisciplinary nature of the research project, other criteria as determined by the faculty, project, and as appropriate to the project, the candidate and the degree.

(14)  The supervisory team must:

1. include at least one member of the academic staff with the requisite skills, subject knowledge and experience for supervision of the HDR Candidate’s project topic;
2. be able to provide continuous supervision for the likely duration of the HDR Candidate’s candidature, allowing for changes in any individual supervisor’s availability; and
3. be focussed on candidate outcomes, recognising the challenges faced by HDR Candidates undertaking interdisciplinary projects.

(15)  The Head of School or nominee may review and change supervisory arrangements as required throughout the course of the candidature.

(16)  The Head of School or nominee must inform the HDR Candidate about all such changes.

(17)  The University must appoint an academically qualified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supervisor on supervisory panels wherever appropriate.

General Roles & Responsibilities of Supervisors

(18)  Supervisors assist HDR Candidates to devise, undertake and complete an independent research project within the allotted candidature duration by providing appropriate direction, guidance, feedback and support, including, but not limited to:

1. inducting research trainees into the University, Faculty, School and research group, so they meet colleagues and understand the environment in which they will be working;
2. providing advice on the theoretical basis of the project;
3. suggesting appropriate reading;
4. providing guidance on research methods and methodology;
5. provide oversight and model appropriate ethical conduct when undertaking research, as appropriate for discipline;
6. providing guidance on the responsible conduct of research;
7. providing guidance and modelling of research communication in written, spoken and visual genres relevant to the discipline;
8. being available for regular consultation and to provide timely constructive feedback (written and verbal) on the thinking, writing and research of the HDR Candidate's work; and
9. observing the Policy Principles in Part A in the exercise of their supervisory activities.

(19)  All HDR Supervisors must keep up to date with, and implement, UNE policies, procedures and guidelines governing the conduct of research and research degrees at the University of New England.

(20)  HDR Supervisors must guide, monitor, review and oversee HDR Candidates to ensure compliance with the requirements of external bodies and internal regulations and policies for the conduct of research including ethics and integrity, health and safety, sanction laws, work with foreign organisations and Defence Export Controls.

(21)  Supervisors should be particularly mindful of the power imbalance that exists between HDR Candidates and Supervisors. Supervisors are expected to actively work to ensure that this is not abused, and that all HDR Candidates are provided with an appropriate and supportive professional environment in which to undertake their program of research and study.

Below we provide some links to UNE services that are available to support HDR students.

Discipline Codes

Fields of Research (FoR) Codes (use 'Table 3' tab)

Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) Codes (use 'Table 3' tab)

Field of Education (FOE) Codes (use 'Table 2' tab)

The Graduate Research Committee functions as a management advisory body, advising the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and supporting the Academic Board by reporting to the Research Committee in relation to all aspects of:

• Design, development, approval, monitoring, review and revision of all HDR awards
• Academic rules, policies, procedures and guidelines relating to HDR awards, supervision, research training and the research student experience.
• HDR Supervisors and Supervision
• Allocation of Research Training Program Scholarships
• Policies and procedures relating to research training and the research student experience.

The HDR Coordinators represent each school on this Committee.

Please refer to the Terms of Reference for more information.

There are a number of Scholarships available that supervisors should encourage their candidates to apply for.

Further information relating to HDR Scholarships is available on the HDR Scholarships webpage.

Advertising a Scholarship

Advertising a scholarship on the HDR Scholarship, Prizes, and Awards webpage is not difficult, however it must be planned to ensure that the best candidates are recruited. We encourage academics to circulate the link with a short introductory email to professional networks of the researchers, and through research and/or professional societies, as well as to colleagues working in the field.

All advertised scholarships require a competitive, merit-based application process whereby the scholarship is advertised for a minimum of three (3) weeks. Scholarship recipients not selected through a competitive process may be liable for taxation (even for a non-taxable stipend), and the Graduate Research School may decline to administer the scholarship.

Grants with Scholarships

Research grants often include scholarships for HDR candidates, it is important to check the grant guidelines for specific information. A research scholarship from a grant may contain some of the following components:

Detailed information about how advertise a scholarship from a grant and how to select a scholarship recipient can be found on the HDR Scholarship from a Research Grant.

Selecting a Scholarship Recipient

Supervisors need to be aware that they cannot direct appoint scholarship recipients. All scholarship recipients must be selected through a competitive, merit-based application process.

Any recruitment for a scholarship must be conducted in line with the University's requirements in the UNE Code of Conduct and with respect to UNE's Conflict of Interest policy.

For further information please contact the Graduate Research School.