In its latest publication, the League of European Research Universities looks at several aspects of the doctoral degree

The authors of the paper —Helke Hillebrand, from the University of Heidelberg, and Claudine Leysinger, from the University of Zurich— point out that supervision of doctoral students is a key aspect of the doctorate. In order for doctoral students to become future leaders in the most relevant sectors of society, they need to be well supervised during their doctoral studies. For this reason, the publication also includes recommendations for supervisors and offers support so that they acquire the necessary skills to carry out this task and, in turn, to ensure that their institutions receive the necessary visibility and recognition.

Therefore, universities must create an institutional culture that fosters commitment to supervision. This commitment is characterised by effective communication and appropriate management of the expectations of the doctoral student and the supervisor, and allows for productive supervision that focuses on institutional culture, training opportunities, good practice and evaluation principles.

The aim of the document is to inspire universities with good examples of doctoral supervision in the LERU community. If the supervision is positive, the result will be the success of doctoral students not only in the first steps of their post-doctoral research career, but in the long term.