The supervising professor is in charge of the supervision arrangements for the doctoral student. The supervising professor is obligated to supervise those doctoral students who have enrolled as attending students, who have progressed in their studies according to their doctoral personal study plans, and who report on the progress of their studies on a regular basis. The supervising professor may either propose to assign some of the duties mentioned below to the thesis advisor(s) or also propose to act as the thesis advisor him/herself. The supervising professor agrees upon the division of responsibilities between him/herself and the thesis advisor(s), and the duties of each party are stated in the supervision agreement. What is said below of the duties of the supervising professor shall apply, as appropriate, also to the thesis advisor(s), where compliant with the division of responsibilities specified in the agreement.
The supervising professor is responsible for the supervision of the doctoral student and supports the implementation of the financing plan. The supervising professor provides guidance in the execution of the research and instructsthe doctoral student in critical and independent thinking in research and artistic activities. The supervising professor encourages the doctoral student to actively publish his/her research results in the publication fora of the field of research/art in question, and guides him/her in publication writing. The supervising professor supports and encourages the doctoral student. The supervising professor is also responsible for ensuring that full-time doctoral students are not burdened excessively with duties other than doctoral research work. Participation in teaching is, however, part of doctoral education and as such obligatory for the doctoral student (max 5%).
The supervising professor goes through and approves the doctoral personal study plan of the doctoral student, which includes
- Sisu credit plan (a plan concerning the content, scope and duration of studies with credits)
- research plan
- supervision plan
- funding plan
- career plan
In addition, the supervising professor follows up on the progress of the studies and that of the research work on a regular basis: the supervising professor and the student discuss the progress of the studies on a regular basis, and the doctoral personal study plan is updated accordingly as necessary. At minimum, the plan is checked once a year. This follow-up requirement concerns full-time and part-time doctoral students in doctoral programmes.
The supervising professor is responsible for ensuring that the doctoral student is aware of good scientific practice and the ethical principles followed in his/her field of research as well as of the regulations concerningimmaterial property rights, and monitors that the student adheres to such principles. To this end, the supervising professor and the doctoral student have a discussion at the start of their supervision relationship in order to look into the questions of research ethics and related practices relevant to the work of the student.
The supervising professor is responsible for ensuring that the doctoral student is aware of the requirements for a doctoral thesis and of the stages included in the preliminary examination and the public examination of the thesis. When the manuscript of the doctoral thesis is complete, it may only be submitted for preliminary examination after the supervising professor has issued a statement confirming that the manuscript is ready for preliminary examination. The supervising professor makes sure that the doctoral student makes the necessary corrections proposed to the doctoral thesis manuscript by the preliminary examiner(s). The preliminary examination can only start when course requirements are fulfilled.
The supervising professor assists the doctoral student in career planning, and ensures that the doctoral studies and research process equip the doctoral student with not only research skills but also transferable skills.