Constitution and conduct of meetings. IGC students should have a Thesis Committee consisting of: • a Chair appointed by the IGC Postgraduate Research Team • an external member • all named supervisors (primary supervisor and 2nd supervisor) • day to day supervisors if relevant • The Chair will be appointed by one of the IGC PGR Team (Kevin Myant, Susan Farrington, Ian Adams and Duncan Sproul). Prior to a new student starting, please get in touch via student-admin@igc.ed.ac.uk and the appropriate team member will get back to you with potential options. • The Chair does not necessarily need to be tuned into the area, as that is the role of the external member [see below]. They will not be in the same Theme as the primary supervisor. This will help ensure the Chair is impartial and can be useful for gaining additional perspectives to the students work. They should also not be related/or in a relationship to any of the supervisors OR part of any of the supervisors’ teams or major collaborators. • The Chair is responsible for drafting a report of the thesis committee meeting. A copy of the thesis committee report, signed by all thesis committee members, should be sent to the student within two weeks of their thesis committee meeting. • The external member should be the expert on the project area and are identified and recruited by the supervisors and student. We encourage the student to take a role in selecting the external member as this is a good way for them to learn about the broader work at the IGC/UoE. They can be any member of UoE and do not need to work at IGC. • The external member cannot be a named supervisor on the project or indeed likely to be a possible supervisor later in the project. They should also not be related/or in a relationship to any of the supervisors OR part of any of the supervisors’ teams or major collaborators. • The Chair and external member act as a monitor of progression. There should be at least one of these roles that is filled by a person of the same gender as the student and preferably a diverse committee is most useful. • The Chair and external member should be appointed promptly at the start of the first year and prior to the submission of the 10-week plan, as together they will provide feedback to the student at the 10-week review. The student should make contact with the members of the thesis committee once appointed to introduce themselves and set up the 10-week review. • The 2nd supervisor should not be a member of the primary supervisors’ group and should also be appointed as the start of the first year and again, student involvement in this choice is recommended. • The students’ day to day supervisor is encouraged to attend if suitable and also be formally recognised for their role as this can be useful for career progression. • The Committee should meet annually as part of the annual review. A light-touch meeting following submission of the 10-week plan/project proposal should be performed as it is a useful way of everyone meeting and ensuring project plans are in place. • The principal supervisor, 2nd supervisor, thesis committee chair and external member must all be in attendance at the annual review. Additional or day to day supervisors are encouraged to attend but are not required for the meeting to go ahead. If all committee members cannot attend a thesis committee meeting, please contact your PGR director for advice. • Following the meeting the IGC Thesis Committee Report Form should be completed by the Thesis Committee Chair, in collaboration with the other members of the Thesis Committee. Once it has been signed off by all members of the committee and the student, the completed form should be uploaded by the student on the Annual Review submission in EUCLID. Report and meeting guidelines 10-week report All students should have a 10-week report meeting that should be arranged when putting together the Thesis Committee. This is a relatively light touch, introductory meeting where the student should present their project plans and get early feedback on this. This should take place within 3 months of the PhD start date. Following the meeting, the student should complete the 10-week review on EUCLID and upload the completed Thesis Committee Report. 1st Year review 1st Year Review – to be completed 9-10 months after student start date.The student should arrange a convenient date and time for their thesis committee meeting when all thesis committee members are available and book a suitable room for the meeting. In-person thesis committee meetings are encouraged where possible. Thesis committee meetings should be expected to last approximately 1.5 hours. We recommend that students arrange their thesis committee meetings well in advance to ensure that all committee members are available to meet before the review deadline passes. A written report prepared by the student in consultation with their supervisors which should be available to members of the Thesis Committee at least one week in advance of the meeting. A meeting with the Thesis Committee which will include a brief (~20 minute) presentation by the student. A written report by the Thesis Committee using the IGC PhD annual review form. Completion of the Postgraduate Research Annual Review form in EUCLID, uploading both the student report and the thesis committee report. The student report should not exceed 5,000 words (excluding figure legends and references). The supervisors should provide guidance and feedback on the report which should include: abstracts [scientific and lay] introduction aims methods results & discussion future plans Appendices should list:-completed training courses additional training any publications/presentations at meetings outreach activities 2nd Year review 2nd Year Review - to be completed by the end of July at the latest (any additional intermediate yearly review for PhD students funded for more than 3 years should also follow this format). A written report prepared by the student in consultation with their supervisors which should be available to members of the Thesis Committee at least two weeks in advance of the meeting. A meeting with the Thesis Committee which will include a brief (~20 minute) presentation by the student. A written report by the Thesis Committee. Completion of the Postgraduate Research Annual Review form in EUCLID, uploading both the student report and the thesis committee report. The student will provide a short report (1,000-2,000 words) summarising their progress over the previous year, including the project milestones and a plan for the remaining research period as well as a list of training courses completed, publications, presentations at conferences and outreach activities. We do not provide a report template after the first year. Final year review Final Year Review – to be completed 6 months prior to submission date at the latest.Each student will submit an abstract and detailed thesis plan (1,000-2,000 words) prepared in consultation with their supervisors. This should include chapter and subsection headings, indicate research work that is completed and research still to be completed and outline which sections have already been drafted It should be submitted to all members of the Thesis Committee at least one week prior to your meeting. A meeting with your Thesis Committee which will include a brief (~20 minute) presentation by the student. A written report by the Thesis Committee. Completion of the Postgraduate Research Annual Review form in EUCLID, uploading both the student report and the thesis committee report.Additional meetings Additional meetings (for example if a students’ progress is deemed unsatisfactory and requires a re-review) can take the format required by the Thesis Committee to address their particular concerns. The PGR team can be contacted for advice on this if necessary. Out of cycle students Out of cycle students (who don’t start Aug-Oct) should also have informal meetings with PGR team as they will miss the formal induction information in September. The student should be made aware who their PGR contact is, and can arrange a meeting if needed. This article was published on Monday 23 September 2024
