The big day was finally here! I was getting to sit down with both my Primary Supervisor and Associate Supervisor. I had a list of questions a mile long and I was finally going to get some answers....
*screeching sound as needle drags across the record*
That's not exactly how my meeting went but forward planning certainly helped to fill in a lot of blanks. Thinkwell has a Ph.D. Toolkit that includes a three-year thesis planner, meeting agenda and meeting notes template. Over the past two weeks, every time a question popped into my head, I jotted it into the agenda.
When I walked in and sat down the first thing my Primary suggested was that I come to meetings armed with an agenda. I was able to smile and say "Well actually...." She handed the meeting over to me and let me direct the content for the remainder of the session. I believe this was confidence building, for us both. It reassured her that I was organised and it let her know that I could be proactive.
This is a rundown of the items I had on my first agenda.
Protocol for meetings
What tone will the meeting have? Formal/informal?
Does your supervisor want you to email an agenda prior to the meeting?
Will you need to take minutes and circulate them after the meeting?
Project related questions
Detailed project outline including a tentative timeline
Discussed publication expectations
Discussed recruitment method and ethics modification
Outlined concerns regarding originality
Administrative and personal matters
Debrief about acclimation to new surroundings
Questions regarding scholarship
Negotiating flexi-time
Research Student Maintenance Funding
This took around ninety minutes to cover. At the end of the meeting, I had a list of actionable items to complete and we had organised a repeating schedule of fortnightly meetings. I had a plan!
Image courtesy of Pexels
No comments:
Post a Comment