Abstract
This paper presents the results of a study into what is important in the researcher development journey as perceived by students, academic supervisors and research administrators. The study was undertaken within the Department of Electronics at the University of York to test the survey instrument for a wider, multidisciplinary and multi-institutional survey. It was undertaken in the National context of a focus on the importance of postgraduate skills development being an integral part of the researcher journey. An integrated support system is used in the department for all postgraduate students. Results show that students and supervisors both agree that helping the student gain a PhD and seeing them as a professional researcher are of high importance. Research outputs were rated lowest for students and both rate administrative needs low. The study informs engagement with the administrative and skills development agendas thinking and is being used by the system development team.
Highlights
The researcher development journey can be a lifelong journey for those who undertake a PhD at University and progress into industry as a professional researcher
This paper explores the current context of the first stage in the researcher development journey, that of the PhD process, in the United Kingdom (UK), the needs for skills development, a good relationship between the student and supervisor, attention to administrative needs and how these are brought together
Having set the scene for skills development and administration in the PhD journey the remainder of this paper focuses on the survey that sets out to explore what is important to the student, the academic supervisor and the research administrator, how the perceptions of importance align and how they bear on the success of the researcher journey, reduce the incidences of problems and give the students an advantage in the war for talent at their employment transition
Summary
The researcher development journey can be a lifelong journey for those who undertake a PhD at University and progress into industry as a professional researcher Along this journey they acquire the skills of fundamental inquiry and research, the skills of questioning, hypothesis formation, experiment construction, data collection and analysis and communication as well as more generic skills of negotiation, argument, team working, and so on. The paper starts by setting the scene in the UK especially in respect of skills development and the problems that can result during the PhD process This is followed by a description of different administrative approaches including a dedicated integrated ‘Software as a Service’ system. It describes the results of a study that explores the question what is important about the PhD journey for the student, the academic supervisor and the research administrator? How the perceptions of importance align between these stakeholder groups and how they bear on the success of the researcher journey, reduce the incidences of problems and give the students an advantage in the war for talent at their employment transition
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