The College of Graduate Research Studies (CGRS) hosted this talk on 16 May 2023 for professors at SMU to share tips and experiences on mentoring research PhD students for both supervisors and supervisees so there could be an improved mentorship journey. The panelists for the talk included Provost Timothy CLARK, Professor of OBHR; Professor of Psychology, Angela LEUNG; and Professor of Computer Science, SUN Jun. The event was moderated by Professor Heli WANG, CGRS’ Dean. Around 15 SMU faculty members participated in this talk.
Professor SUN Jun started off the talk by imparting knowledge to his fellow faculty members on how professors can nurture students who show high potential and help them grow their passion for research in their topic of interest. He showed them how they can assist their students in embarking on their research PhD career and in furthering their research. He also shared that faculty members can connect on a deeper level with their students to understand their goals and share with their students that a PhD career is not out of their reach if they are passionate about their research.
Professor Angela LEUNG shared that she has successfully mentored four postgraduate research students who have gone on to pursue illustrious careers, and also shared her own personal experiences in mentoring students. She provided helpful tips for both professors and their students to grow from their mentoring journey. For instance, faculty members can help their students connect with the wider research community by participating in conferences with them and introducing them to fellow researchers. Students are also encouraged to collaborate with their fellow students and other researchers on both large and small projects and aim to have their papers published in journals as well as presented at conferences to gain recognition in the field. Professor LEUNG’s philosophy is to mentor students in their junior years and collaborate with them instead in their senior years, as she believes that professors can also learn from their students.
Provost Timothy CLARK revealed his wealth of experience in mentoring and supervising postgraduate research students, sharing his journey in mentoring over 25 such students all over the world including the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands and Singapore. He shared the differences in postgraduate education systems across the world, such as in the United Kingdom and Wales where universities are part of doctoral training centres and all students undergo the same training programmes, leading to less differentiated post-graduate programmes. Based on his broad experiences, the most crucial recommendation Provost CLARK had was for students to develop their writing skills and practice writing long-form papers as they may not have had the opportunity to do so in their undergraduate years. He emphasised that it was key for students to be able to share clear arguments and encouraged students to challenge themselves and participate in theses competitions, conferences and seminars.
After the panelist presentations, participating professors were able to delve deeper into the discussion on research supervision through a lively question and answer segment. The seminar proved to be insightful and we hope that it will serve to enrich the mentorship journey for both professors and their postgraduate research students.
