EDBB Annual report

In order to evaluate the progress of the thesis or the knowledge of the PhD student, the thesis director (and co-director if applicable) and the PhD student meet once a year to prepare a report.

The information is entered into an online tool that will generate a final PDF document sent to all participants at the end of the process.

Access online tool: link sent to doctoral candidates by the doctoral program administrator at least 3 months prior to deadline.

Connection: with your MS account credentials

Link to the online tool

ANNUAL REPORT’S PROCESS AND DEADLINE

Each year, at the anniversary of your candidacy exam until receipt of your jury proposal, you need to submit an annual report to your thesis director on the state of progress of your work.

Keep in mind that you need to have completed your Annual follow-up meeting prior to starting the process below.

In order to fill your report, you will receive the link to the online tool  approximatively 3.5 to 4 months prior to your annual report due date. Please do your part within two weeks following your annual follow-up meeting, to give your thesis director(s) time to do their part, and time to meet with you to discuss the report.

You are requested to fill in 3 sections regarding:

  • your basic information;
  • your research progress: you will complete this section and then discuss it with your thesis director (and co-director if applicable) during the annual report meeting;
  • and a self-assessment of your progress: this section is completed separatly by you and your thesis director (and co-director if applicable), then discussed and approved by both during the annual report meeting.
  • under point 6 “Any other specific points:” please imperatively add “I confirm that the Annual follow-up meeting with my candidacy committee has taken place on date dd.mm.yy.”

Please note that the content you fill in is not confidential and will be available to all parties at the time of the annual report meeting and once the process is completed.

You will then also discuss this report with your mentor in a confidential face-to-face meeting. You are responsible for organizing this meeting.

For reports initiated after 9th September 2025, you have the option to:

  • attach a PDF file to your report, but we recommend that you do not use this option and enter all your information in the form. 
  • arrange a confidential meeting with your mentor as part of your annual report (tick box). In this case, they will receive an email (with you in cc) informing them of your wish to meet, with a provisional PDF version of your report (sections 1 and 2) attached. You are responsible for organizing this meeting, which can take place at any time during the process. Only the director of your doctoral program will know whether you decide to meet with your mentor or not (if they have to check your report*).

*After the collaborative review, the report will be sent to the director of your doctoral program for verification only if:

  • it is rated as: “needs some improvement” or “unsatisfactory”;
  • you disagree with the content of the report.

Finally, the report will be sent to the director of your doctoral program for verification, and everyone involved will receive a PDF version of the report by email. Please note that the information will be sent in pdf format to the various people involved and will not be stored in the online tool for next year.

Important:

  • Please check the dashboard for a close eye on the advancement of your annual report and be sure to follow-up with all parties involved when you see it not moving ahead.
  • Before sending us an extension request or your jury proposal, please ensure that all your annual reports have been finalized.
Should you have any questions:
ANNUAL REPORT’S PROCESS AND DEADLINE

Once your PhD student completed the annual report, you will be requested by email to connect to the online tool to review the information provided and complete your progress evaluation. Please try to fill in your part within 2 weeks. At this stage, you will not be able to read your PhD students reports and they will appear blank.

The deadline is the anniversary date of your PhD student’s candidacy exam.

Please note that the content you fill in is not confidential and will be available to all parties at the time of the annual report meeting and once the process is completed.

You will then be asked by email to arrange a face-to-face meeting with your PhD student (and the co-director if applicable) to review the information, discuss goals achieved and planned, and evaluate overall progress.

During this collaborative review, you, as thesis director, will be able to access the content to be edited and completed. You will have to give a general appraisal of the progress of your doctoral candidate:

  • exceeds expectations: the progress made during the previous year is exceptionally good; the thesis is on track; only a few doctoral candidates will receive this rating during their PhD;
  • meets expectations: the progress during the previous year is good; the thesis is on track; this is the most common rating;
  • needs some improvement: the progress made during the previous year is short of expectations; the thesis can get back on track if the doctoral candidate follows the feedback received; an intervention by the doctoral program director is not needed; some doctoral candidates may receive this rating during their PhD;
  • unsatisfactory: the progress made during the previous year was insufficient; this signals a serious risk of failure; an intervention by the doctoral program director is necessary; this assessment is rare.

The report will be sent to the candidate’s doctoral program director for verification if:

  • it is rated as: “needs some improvement” or “unsatisfactory”.
  • the doctoral candidate disagrees with the content of the report.

And if the report is rated as “unsatisfactory” or the doctoral candidate disagrees with the content, a meeting will be held to seek appropriate measures to resolve possible problems and conflicts, and to improve the performance.

At the end of the process, everyone involved will receive a PDF version of the report by email. Please note that neither the report nor the information is stored in the online tool once the report is completed.

Should you have any questions:
ANNUAL REPORT’S PROCESS AND DEADLINE

A confidential meeting between the mentor and mentee is a mandatory element of the annual report. The doctoral candidate is responsible for organizing this meeting early enough so that the process can be completed on schedule. You will receive a notification to invite you to read the provisionnal report. Thank you for confirming that the meeting has taken place, by connecting via the following link: https://phd-annual-report.epfl.ch.

For reports initiated after 9th September 2025, a confidential meeting between you and your mentee is an optional part of the annual report. If your mentee chooses to meet with you, this can take place at any time during the process. You will receive an email informing you of their wish to meet, with a provisional PDF version of their report attached. Only the candidate’s doctoral program director will know whether your mentee decides to meet with you or not.

The following themes could be discussed:

  • Advancing as a researcher (what has gone well, less well, how to improve, goal setting, which resources are needed, …)
  • Facets of career-building (contributions to the community, conferences, awards, networking opportunities, participating in possible soft skill courses on writing, communicating, managing, spin-off training, …)
  • Work-life balance
  • Communication (within the laboratory, with the thesis director and other lab members, matching expectations in terms of progress and future goals, …)
  • Life after the PhD (what kind of career options are there and how to explore them, …)

At the end of the process, you, as mentor, will receive a PDF version of the report by email. Please note that the information will be sent in pdf format to the various people involved and will not stored in the online tool for next year.

Should you have any questions:
ANNUAL REPORT’S PROCESS AND DEADLINE

You will be notified by email each time:

  • an annual report of a doctoral candidate is rated as: “needs some improvement” or “unsatisfactory”;
  • the doctoral candidate disagrees with the content of the report.

And if the report is rated as “unsatisfactory” or the doctoral candidate disagrees with the content, you should hold a meeting to seek appropriate measures to resolve possible problems and conflicts, and to improve the performance.

In the online tool, you will have to confirm that you have checked the annual report, and you may indicate any comments you have.

You and your administrative assistant will receive a PDF copy of every report of EDBB doctoral candidates by email.

Please note that neither the report nor the information is stored in the online tool once the report is completed.

Should you have any questions: