{"id":103,"date":"2023-11-14T15:01:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T15:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/?p=103"},"modified":"2023-11-14T15:01:30","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T15:01:30","slug":"reflections-on-supporting-our-doctoral-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2023\/11\/14\/reflections-on-supporting-our-doctoral-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on supporting our doctoral students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, I was pleased to see Oli Schofield<\/a> receive well-deserved recognition for the work he is doing with our doctoral community, enhancing researcher development resources, and creating innovative new initiatives. Well done to Oli and everyone involved across the university.<\/p>\n

This caused me to reflect on my own experiences as both a doctoral student and a supervisor and the challenges doctoral students may face here in Bath and across the sector.\u00a0 Some common challenges resonate across both the taught and doctoral spheres, such as meeting deadlines, a demanding workload, and external pressures like work, family or health which can all have an impact. However, there are some challenges which are often doctoral-specific, such as independent working, shifting deadlines, uncertainty about each stage of the PhD, as well as maintaining a positive working relationship with your supervisor.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When I think back to when I first supervised doctoral students, the amount of training and development opportunities for supervisors was very limited as was the specific support for students. Both have grown significantly over recent years here at Bath.\u00a0 Refamiliarizing myself with the Support for doctoral students<\/a> webpages highlights that trying to resolve challenges as early as possible is always the best approach. For supervisors and their students this can sometimes feel overwhelming, but it is important to remember that there are many support mechanisms across the university.<\/p>\n

While a doctoral student\u2019s supervisor is generally their first port of call with any challenges, this can sometimes be challenging, especially if they do not feel 100% comfortable speaking to their supervisor about an issue. Instead, they could speak to a contact in the Doctoral College, another member of their supervisory team, or the Director of Studies for PGR students in their department or faculty.<\/p>\n

There are also lots of options outside the academic and Doctoral sphere depending on the issue. Student Support Advice<\/a> are always a good starting point and can help signpost to a variety of support services, or help students link in with specialist wellbeing and therapeutic services. The wider Student Support teams also offer specialist Disability and Money Advice appointments. Plus, if a student is away from Bath (and potentially undertaking research in another time zone!) they can always access the 24\/7\/365 Be Well-Talk Now service.<\/p>\n

For specific issues around harassment, bullying, discrimination and sexual misconduct then Support & Report<\/a> is our recommended route, and gives students (and staff) the option to report something anonymously, with their contact details, or through a person they trust.<\/p>\n

It is also important to recognise that a student might want to get independent advice from someone outside the University, or outside their academic department. In these circumstances the SU Advice team<\/a> are vital, as well as our PGR Independent Advisors who are appointed by Senate.\u00a0 The Independent Advisor Service for Postgraduate Research Students<\/a> is not normally a doctoral student\u2019s first port of call as hopefully they can resolve issues as soon as possible with their supervisor or one of the teams mentioned above. However, they provide a vital service in advising PGRs around doctoral-specific difficulties, such as challenges or conflict with supervisor(s), progression at confirmation and viva, appeals and complaints, and dignity & respect issues. They also run the training session for PGRs, 'Supervising your supervisor and your PhD experience' which can be booked through the Doctoral College<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a supervisor who wants to up their skills on student wellbeing, signposting, professional boundaries, and responding to student disclosures, then remember to complete the mandatory Pastoral Support and Safeguarding Training<\/a> provided by the Student Policy & Safeguarding team. Or if you are an experienced academic member of staff who feels like you have the skills to be an Independent Advisor then we are recruiting now. Hit the link below to find out more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, I was pleased to see Oli Schofield receive well-deserved recognition for the work he is doing with our doctoral community, enhancing researcher development resources, and creating innovative new initiatives. Well done to Oli and everyone involved across the university....<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1669,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,5,15,8,11,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academic-support","category-mental-health-and-wellbeing","category-postgraduates","category-staff-development","category-students-union","category-support"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":246,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2025\/07\/18\/connection-culture-and-community-supporting-doctoral-researchers-at-bath\/","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":0},"title":"Connection, Culture and Community - Supporting Doctoral Researchers at Bath","author":"Cassie Wilson","date":"18 July 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"As we move through the summer months, it\u2019s a perfect moment to reflect on the energy and creativity that\u2019s been flowing through our doctoral community - and to look ahead at how colleagues and students from the Doctoral College and academic departments continue to support connection, development, and wellbeing for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "community"","block_context":{"text":"community","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/category\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image of guests seated at tables at the Doctoral Research Celebration Event 2025","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2025\/07\/54595904108_00d6b83deb_b-300x169.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2022\/06\/15\/pastoral-support-training-for-academic-staff\/","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":1},"title":"Pastoral Support Training for Academic Staff","author":"Cassie Wilson","date":"15 June 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"At the start of the month I attended the Pastoral Support Training for Personal Tutors (Student support staff training (bath.ac.uk)) run by the Student Policy and Safeguarding team. The team are running sessions for both personal tutors and doctoral supervisors with the intention of rolling it out more broadly to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "mental health and wellbeing"","block_context":{"text":"mental health and wellbeing","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/category\/mental-health-and-wellbeing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Three people taking part in an event,","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/06\/Image-for-blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/06\/Image-for-blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/06\/Image-for-blog.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/06\/Image-for-blog.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2022\/06\/Image-for-blog.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":188,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2024\/07\/30\/summer-reflections-and-postgraduate-opportunities\/","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":2},"title":"Summer reflections and postgraduate opportunities","author":"Cassie Wilson","date":"30 July 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"For many colleagues and undergraduate students, the summer period can be used to rest, take a break, and then prepare for a new academic year in September. However, while our campus may appear quieter than normal, I think it is important to highlight the various areas of the university and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "careers"","block_context":{"text":"careers","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/category\/careers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2024\/07\/51669572376_3d2bec1a2d_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2024\/07\/51669572376_3d2bec1a2d_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2024\/07\/51669572376_3d2bec1a2d_b.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/189\/2024\/07\/51669572376_3d2bec1a2d_b.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/pvc-student-experience\/2023\/11\/17\/reflecting-on-student-welcome\/","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":3},"title":"Reflecting on student welcome","author":"Cassie Wilson","date":"17 November 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I started writing this blog in mid-October and suddenly realised it was November and this semester is quickly flying by! 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