5.5 Responsibilities of Supervisors of PGR Students

Supervisors are expected to provide PGR students with:

• role models of good practice and professionalism in how to undertake R&I activities and how to interact with others involved in and/or affected by the R&I activities;
• guidance on managing the research project, ensuring timely submission;
• guidance on personal and career development, encouraging and supporting PGR students to think critically about their future careers and to take advantage of available opportunities to learn more about potential career paths and to develop skills and qualities that are useful for surviving and succeeding in different career paths.

PGR students are themselves expected to proactively use opportunities to acquire new professional skills and knowledge. Each PGR student has a Supervisory Team which includes two Supervisors, one of whom leads in providing advice on training and skills development. The Supervisor and the PGR student should work together to establish an effective supervisory relationship.

Supervisors should ensure that PGR students receive proper credit for their work. This should, for example, be reflected by the sequence of authors listed on, or cited with reference to, collaborative publications. Before a PGR student’s research results are published, presented or informally discussed with anyone who is not an employee of the University, their potential for commercial exploitation should be fully considered. Intellectual property (IP) rights arising from work undertaken by PGR students, rest with the University. However, it is expected that, following on from recognition of the contribution made by the PGR student and attending to natural fairness and justice, the University will grant to the PGR student a reasonable share of any benefits accruing on the same basis as to other members of staff. The responsibilities of supervisors and PGR students are set out in the University’s Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes.

The University remains committed to upholding the Quality Assurance Agency’s UK Quality Code for Higher Education.