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School of Medical Sciences

I am a supervisor

If you are or aspire to be a supervisor for a doctoral student, this page will provide you with important and helpful information about your assignment.

Every doctoral student must have at least two supervisors, one of which is appointed principal supervisor. The principal supervisor must have at least associate professor competence and be employed at Örebro University. At the Faculty of Medicine and Health, an unpaid associate professor in the medical science field with employment within the Region Örebro County and with an affiliation. However, there is no such requirement for assistant supervisor(s).

At least one of the supervisors must have completed Örebro University's course "Supervising PhD students" or have the equivalent qualifications.

Everyone who is supervising doctoral students at the MH Faculty is required to the National web training "Research Ethics for Researchers in Medicine".

Do you have a prospective doctoral student?

You will find more information about the application process here.

What does it mean to be a supervisor?

As a supervisor you should provide support and guidance; help them plan their studies in the individual study plan (ISP) with annual follow-ups; and aid the doctoral student’s ability to reach the goals for their education.

You are also expected to:

Review the doctoral student’s manuscripts and other material
Recommend doctoral courses and relevant literature
Teach the doctoral student about research ethics
Help the doctoral student to network and establish contacts with other national as well as international institutions
Contribute to the doctoral student’s ability to participate in international conferences
Prepare the doctoral student for the mid-way review and the act of public defence of their thesis

Please see below for more information about important elements within the doctoral education.

Each doctoral student must have a valid individual study plan. It shall be established by the doctoral student and their supervisor(s), and be updated at least once a year. The ISP is checked by external experts at the doctoral student's mid-way review.

One important part of your assignment as supervisor is to help the doctoral student to find appropriate doctoral courses. Örebro University offers several doctoral courses, you can read more about them here. We also encourage the doctoral students to take courses at other universities and/or institutions, either in Sweden or abroad.

Doctoral courses at faculties of medicine at other universities in Sweden:

Karolinska Institute
Linköping University
Lund University
Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University
Umeå University
Uppsala University

Remember that the doctoral student must apply for credit transfer for all courses taken outside of Örebro University. This includes courses given by Örebro University Library.

If you are unsure of whether a course is appropriate to include in the doctoral education, please contact the specialisation coordinator and/or the head of subject.

If you wish to make any changes in the supervisor group (change, add or remove), the doctoral student shall fill out the form below and send it to the director of studies with a copy to the study and research administration.

Application for change/addition of supervisor

Mid-way review is a mandatory element for doctoral students aiming for a Ph.D. degree. The mid-way review shall be held no later than when half of the doctoral study programme has been completed, i.e., after two years for full-time studies, or earlier if two papers have been accepted for publication in a refereed journal.

Is your doctoral student approaching the half-time of their study period? Or do they have two finished articles (of which at least one is published)? Then it is time for their mid-way review.

The mid-way review is planned by the principal supervisor in consultation with the doctoral student and other supervisors, as well as with the specialisations coordinator.

Remember to contact the study and research administration as soon as you start planning for the mid-way review, in order to save the date and to book a seminar room. Note that the application must be submitted at least six weeks before the planned date.

The following documents shall be enclosed with the proposal for mid-way review:

Midway summary
Completed articles/manuscripts
Account by the principal supervisor over the doctoral student’s completed and planned courses
Current individual study plan (ISP)
Transcript of records from the study documentation system Ladok (the study and research administration can help with this, if needed)
When applicable: List of other scientific production in the thesis work, e.g. conference abstracts
When applicable: Copies of ethical permission(s) and application(s) (excl. appendices to the applications).

Please note that Örebro University's PowerPoint templates and logos shall be used for the doctoral students material presented at the mid-way review, they can be found here (ORU account log-in required).

Important reminder: The chairperson’s role is neutral and non-assessing.

Open the seminar: welcome and introductions.

Part I (open, ca 1,5 h)

Presentation by doctoral student (ca 30 minutes) – in English
Discussion/questions from the experts/reviewers – in Swedish or English
Questions from the auditorium

Part II (closed, ca 30 minutes)

Continued in-depth discussion/questions with experts/reviewers as needed.
Chair, supervisors, and any audience leave the seminar to allow the experts/reviewers to discuss supervision and progress separately with the doctoral student.
After this, the doctoral student leaves the seminar, and the experts/reviewers jointly fill out the assessment form.
The chairperson is responsible for returning the form with all signatures to the administration.

When your doctoral student approaches the end of their studies, it is time to plan for their public defence or licentiate seminar. This is done by the doctoral student and the principal supervisor in consultation with the assistant supervisor(s). Please keep in mind that long-term planning is very important!

When your doctoral student approaches the end of their studies, it is time to plan for their public defence. This is done by the doctoral student and the principal supervisor in consultation with the assistant supervisor(s).

Preparations

The principal supervisor is responsible for finding a suitable faculty examiner, examining committee incl. a substitute, and a chair of the public defence, based on guidelines provided in the document "Dissertation at ÖU, regulations" (only in Swedish).

Note that long-term planning is crucial when preparing for a public defence. The proposal for public defence with all necessary appendices must be submitted to the study and research administration a minimum of 15 weeks (preferably even sooner) before the planned date for the public defence.

Ethical review before public defence of doctoral thesis – Faculty of Medicine and Health

All dissertations within the Faculty of Medicine and Health (MH) must undergo an internal ethics review prior to a decision on public defence of a doctoral thesis. The School refers to The Faculty Office's Rutin för etikgranskningsfunktion inom Fakulteten för medicin och hälsa (Appendix 1) (in Swedish). All required documentation shall be uploaded to ORU Cloud in a specific folder to which the supervisor and the doctoral student are given access by the study and research administration. To request a folder in Cloud for your doctoral student, please contact . The ethical review can commence before the submission of the proposal for public defence.

Proposal for public defence

The proposal for public defence is submitted via web forms to be filled out by the doctoral student and the supervisor, respectively (links to the forms will be available via the study and research administration).

Appendices

The following documents shall be included with the proposal for public defence.

Minutes or other written statement from quality reviewer (e.g. midway or final seminar or other quality review)
A brief summary of the doctoral thesis (in Swedish or English)
A statement giving the grounds for the nomination of faculty examiner and members of the examining committee (including substitutes) and, when applicable, for the nomination of chair, including information regarding digital participation (dated)
Information of the assessment made of any conflicts of interest (jäv) relating to the persons nominated, in relation to the doctoral student and the supervisors (dated)
A list of the sub-studies that constitute the thesis
Statement from principal supervisor regarding the changes made to the thesis based on the reviewer’s comments (dated)
An account by the principal supervisor of the doctoral student’s share of the work, in the event of co-authored sub-studies or thesis (dated)
If, according to the guidelines, special grounds are required for a particular decision to be made, an account of the grounds shall be included
An account of any previous consultation with the decision-maker (dean), if such has taken place
A statement from the principal supervisor regarding the relation of ethical permissions to the completion of the project

Preparations

The principal supervisor is responsible for finding an examiner as well as a substitute for them; one or two opponenter and a chair of seminar according to Guidelines and checklist for licentiate thesis preparation and licentiate seminar.

When the proposed persons have accepted your request, you fill in their information on the proposal for and decision on licentiate seminar.

Proposal for licentiate seminar

The proposal shall be submitted to the study and research administration no later than one month (preferably sooner if possible) before the planned date for the seminar. Note that the proposal shall be signed by the doctoral student as well as by the supervisor.

Appendices

The following document shall be enclosed with the proposal. Bold text indicates the responsibility of the principal supervisor.

To be enclosed with all proposals:

Brief summary of the licentiate thesis, in Swedish or English (ca 1 A4 page)
Completed articles and manuscripts
Information of the assessment made of any conflicts of interest (jäv) relating to the examiner and opponent(s)
An account by the principal supervisor of the doctoral student’s share of the work, in the event of co-authored sub-studies or licentiate thesis
Certificate of records from Ladok

When applicable:

Copies of ethical permission(s) and application(s) (excl. appendices to the applications).
A statement from the principal supervisor regarding the relation of ethical permissions to the completion of the project

The complete proposal with appendices shall be submitted in printed original version to the study and research administration at Campus USÖ. We encourage you to also send them via e-mail to .

Research at the School of Medical Sciences

Contact

Here you can find contact information to persons involved in doctoral education at the School of Medical Sciences. If you have general questions or are unsure of whom to address, please contact the study and research administration.

Head of subject: Hans Hjelmqvist
Programme Director: Ignacio Rangel
Specialisations coordinator Biomedicine: Allan Sirsjö
Specialisations coordinator Medicine: Katja Fall
Assistant Specialisation coordinator Medicine: Stefan Särnblad
Specialisations coordinator Surgical sciences: Hans Hjelmqvist
Directors of studies: Julia König and Amanj Saber