Responding to individual’s needs

Many of Professor Hickson’s RHD candidates are mature age, part-time, remotely based or returning to RHD study after working clinically. She understands that each of her candidates will face diverse challenges as they undertake their research degree, and knows through experience that she will need to support them in different ways.

Professor Hickson seeks to build positive open relationships with her students, and does so by meeting with them regularly to engender a feeling of collegiality. These strong relationships forged throughout a student’s candidature create an environment in which they are comfortable to discuss issues as they arise and, in turn, it allows them to modify their long or short-term goals to find a path forward.

Encouraging leadership

Professor Hickson believes research candidates need to effectively communicate their research findings. She expects her students to become the experts in their field, and requires them to disseminate their findings to the clinical and research community.

While many students are daunted by this prospect at first, Professor Hickson spends considerable time working with them to develop their communication skills. She does this by offering her students consistent feedback and by providing them with opportunities to practise their oral presentations.

Discussing career aspirations

Professor Hickson considers career planning to be an integral part of RHD supervision. From the outset of candidature, she seeks to understand her candidate&rsquos; motivation for undertaking a RHD, and then actively searches for opportunities that enable them to achieve their long-term career aspirations.

Professor Hickson encourages her students to establish themselves as emerging researchers by encouraging them to foster interactions with disciplinary colleagues while promoting their work in her own presentations. Her commitment to her students’ careers does not end when they graduate, and she has an ongoing collegiate role with many of them. This assistance includes occasionally acting as a co-editor for their publications, or co-supervising with the graduate when they have their own RHD candidates.

Developing a national research culture

Many of Professor Macarthur’s aspirations as a supervisor arise from his own experiences as a research student, where he searched for a model and a context for what a PhD in architecture should be.

In a discipline where most graduates work in professional practice, and where doctoral studies were rare until the 1980s, Professor Macarthur has worked tirelessly to develop a common understanding of the requirements of a PhD in the history and theory of architecture, and an appreciation of how research training contributes to the growth of knowledge in architecture.

Under his leadership, the School of Architecture has implemented a series of reforms to monitor the progress of students, witnessed a significant increase in research higher degree candidates and has attracted many highly successful professionals back to doctoral studies.

Providing a sense of context

Professor Macarthur’s research candidates are practitioners as well as scholars. He understands the importance of engaging them in issues of significance to the discipline, where they are able to reflect on the value of the study and its potential audience.

In a discipline where laboratory-like structures are rare, his research centre is vertically integrated from general research themes, to funded projects, and projects under development. Professor Macarthur encourages a culture of an ’intellectual laboratory’, where second year undergraduates work with coursework masters students, research assistants, PhD candidates, research fellows, as well as junior and senior staff.

Providing professional development opportunities

Professor Macarthur encourages his students to establish themselves as emerging researchers within the discipline by building their communication skills, engaging them in teaching activities and encouraging them to publish their work.

Professor Macarthur builds their communication skills by encouraging their participation in conferences and forums, an experience that has lead many students to employment, publishing and collaborative opportunities. He seeks teaching experiences for students to give them a broader experience which will assist them in gaining academic employment. In later stages of their studies, he has co-authored papers for publications which has lead to research partnerships that continue after the award of the doctorate.

Fostering independence

Associate Professor Truss sees his students as junior colleagues, and considers the RHD program to be a part of their professional development. He endeavours to create a space where they can develop their capabilities, where they start with direction and then move toward a leadership role over the course of their candidature.

He encourages his students’ growth by confronting them with the difficult questions they need to ask themselves in the future, by exposing them to the world’s best practise and leaders, and by encouraging them to start writing early to help them crystallise their ideas.

Clear expectations

A fundamental objective of Associate Professor Truss’ advisory style is to improve the experience of RHD candidates. He has worked throughout his career to ensure policies and procedures that students have to navigate are clear, fair, and helpful, and he believes they should assist them to move toward their goal of graduating and enjoying a satisfying career.

Professor Truss has made a significant contribution to the development of the formal confirmation process, which later became ‘milestones’, by approaching a student’s candidature from an engineering perspective. He requires his students to develop a Thesis Development Plan mapped against Graduate Attributes, which outlines their project milestones, resources required, and inherent risks. The development of the Thesis Development Plan prepares them for their professional lives in academia or industry where they will need to report against set objectives.

Mentoring candidates

One of the most rewarding aspects of Associate Professor Truss’ role is being able to assist and mentor research candidates through difficult times. His desire for a student to achieve is as strong as it is within the candidates themselves, and he knows this success comes down to finding the right strategy. This may be to listen, make suggestions of alternative pathways forward, or sometimes just to provide a little additional motivation and support.