Why this Workshop?

Doctoral research is a key activity in an academic career, and doctoral students carry out a substantial part of the research at the institute. As supervisors, you play a significant role in helping doctoral candidates to realize their full potential and to support them in developing into competent, independent researchers that generate high-level scientific results.

Purpose

The main purpose of the workshop is to expand supervisors’ repertoire of strategies to make supervision a professional, effective, and enjoyable process. The purpose is also to create a safe space for supervisors to reflect on their role and to exchange experiences with other supervisors at the institute.

The workshop takes place in-person on the 22 April 2026, 9:00-16:00, at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching, small auditorium (next to Herbert-Walther Lecture hall).

Please note, this workshop is aimed at doctoral supervisors who are group leaders.

Facilitator

Dr. Gitte Wichmann-Hansen, Professor at University of Agder, and owner of the consultancy Academic Supervision that offers high quality professional training of research supervisors.

She is an established publishing researcher within the field of supervision, and she has 20+ years of experience with running workshops for supervisors at all career stages across universities, internationally.

Workshop Doctoral Supervision: Methods and Tools

Special events on the day before the workshop:

1. A colloquium dedicated specifically to supervision: MCQST Colloquium – Gitte Wichmann-Hansen

2. Prize-giving ceremony for our 2025 Master's Awards and PhD Awards honoring outstanding thesis projects