Resources for everyday supervision, such as meeting templates, expectation setting, and development needs. If you require any of these resources in a different format, please contact us at phd.supervisors@ed.ac.uk. Setting Expectations Tool This questionnaire is a prompt for supervisors and students to use in an initial meeting to discuss expectations and supervisory and/or learning styles.It may also be useful for the supervisory team to revisit this later on in the degree. Document Supervisor and student expectations questionnaire (220.05 KB / PDF) Supervision Meetings Below are some templates that may be useful for supervisors and/or PGRs to utilise during their supervision meetings for note taking, follow-up, and alignment. Document UofE Supervision Meeting Template (53.21 KB / DOCX) Document iThinkWell Supervision Meeting Template (65.5 KB / DOC) Development Needs Analysis (DNA) A Development Needs Analysis (DNA) is a framework that enables postgraduate researchers to reflect in a holistic way on their research-specific training needs, their professional development needs, and their career ambitions.More information about how to use the DNA as a supervisor as well as a guide for supervisors and their students can be found on the Doctoral College webpages.Development Needs Analysis (DNA) - Doctoral College Managing Difficult Conversations Supervision is equally rewarding and complex. The relationships supervisors and postgraduate students form are often changing, evolving and can be, at times, slightly challenging. The former Institute for Academic Development (IAD) developed the below resource to help support supervisors and PGR students in handling difficult conversations. Document Managing Difficult Conversations Resource (949.65 KB / PDF) Supporting Writing If you would like to further support your PhD students' academic writing, the University's English Language Education unit (ELE) offers a variety of one-to-one support, courses, tools, and resources.Courses for PGR studentsELE Graduate Writing CentreReferring a student Supporting ethics & integrity More information on University support for research ethics and integrity can be found on the Doctoral College webpages.Research Ethics and Integrity - Doctoral College Supporting Intellectual Property (IP) Edinburgh Innovations (EI), via their Engage programme and through Intellectual Property (IP) training resources, provide a range of support around understanding and handling IP.Additionally, supervisors should be aware of the University's IP policies. Members of the Doctoral College have further developed IP guidance and a checklist specific to supervisors and PGR students.EI EngageEI IP Training ResourcesUniversity IP PoliciesIP Policy Guidance for PGR StudentsIP Checklist for PGRs and Supervisors This article was published on 2026-08-24
