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. PhD students may also request a confidential meeting with their Mentor when completing the Annual Progress Report.
The information is entered into an online tool that will generate a final PDF document sent to all parties involved at the end of the process.
Access to the online tool is via a link generated by your doctoral program about 2 months before the due date.
Connection: with your MS account credentials.
Annual report’s process
As per Art. 10 of the Ordinance on the doctorate, PhD students have to submit each year a report on the state of progress of his/her work. The annual reporting in EDMI takes place each year between December and March 1st and only concerns PhD students who have successfully passed their candidacy examination and have not yet submitted their final examination thesis jury proposal.
In the online tool, you are requested to fill in 3 sections with the information below:
- your basic information;
- your research progress;
- 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 during a meeting (collaborative meeting).
Please note that the content you fill in is not confidential and will be revealed to all parties after the independent self-assessment and once the process is completed.
You may also request a confidential meeting with your mentor as part of your annual report (by ticking the corresponding box). In this case, your mentor will receive an email (with you in copy) informing them of your request, along with a provisional PDF version of your report (Sections 1 and 2). You are responsible for arranging this meeting, which may take place at any time during the process. Only the director of your doctoral program will be informed whether or not you have chosen to meet with your mentor (if they are required to review 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: “Need some improvement” or “Unsatisfactory”;
• you disagree with the content of the report.
And if the report is rated as “Unsatisfactory” or you disagree with the content, a meeting will be scheduled with the program Director.
At the end of the process, everyone involved in the report, including the mentor (in blind copy), will receive a PDF version by email.
Please note that the information is not stored in the online tool.
Annual report’s deadlines
You are responsible for completing your report on time. Please follow up regularly with the various parties involved. Should you be eligible to submit an annual progress report, you will be notified by email in December and will have until March 1st the following year to complete the process. 2nd year PhD Students have to submit their first annual progress report 12 months after candidacy examination.
For further details on eligibility and deadlines: see Annual Report’s good practices section.
Should you have any questions:
- on how the tool works, please consult the “help page“
- on the annual report process, please contact your doctoral program: [email protected]
Annual report’s process
As per Art. 10 of the Ordinance on the doctorate, PhD students have to submit each year a report on the state of progress of his/her work.
A request to start the report will be sent by the Program Administrative Assistant to the PhD students who are elegible about 2 months prior to due date so that the process can be completed by the deadline.
Once your PhD student has 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 note that the content you fill in will be available to all parties after the independent self-assessment 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 will be asked to provide an overall assessment of your doctoral candidate’s progress:
• Exceeds expectations: The progress made over the past 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 made over the past year is good; the thesis is on track. This is the most common rating.
• Needs some improvement: The progress made over the past year falls short of expectations; however, the thesis can get back on track if the doctoral candidate follows the feedback provided. No intervention from the doctoral program director is required. Some doctoral candidates may receive this rating during their PhD.
• Unsatisfactory: The progress made over the past year is insufficient, indicating a serious risk of failure. Intervention by the doctoral program director is necessary. This rating is rare.
The report will be forwarded 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.
If the report is rated as “Unsatisfactory” or if the doctoral candidate disagrees with its content, a meeting will be held to identify appropriate measures to address any issues or conflicts and to improve performance.
At the end of the process, all parties involved will receive a PDF version of the report by email. Please note that neither the report nor the related information is stored in the online tool once the process is completed.
Annual report’s deadlines
Should your PhD student be eligible to submit an annual progress report, she/he will be notified by email in December and will have until March 1st the following year to complete the process.
Exception: 2nd year PhD Students have to submit their first annual progress report 12 months after candidacy examination.
For further details on eligibility and deadlines: see Annual Report’s good practices section.
Should you have any questions:
- on how the tool works, please consult the “help page“
- on the annual report process, please contact your doctoral program: [email protected]
Annual report’s process
As per Art. 10 of the Ordinance on the doctorate, PhD students have to submit each year a report on the state of progress of his/her work.
A confidential meeting between the mentor and the PhD student 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. The PhD student is responsible to organize this meeting early enough so that the process can be completed on time. 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.
Once the annual report process is complete, you will receive a PDF version of the report by email.
The following topics 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 courses such as soft skills, academic english, article writing, communicating, managing, spin-off training, …)
- Work-life balance
- Communication (within the laboratory, with the thesis director(s) 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, …)
Please note that the information is not stored in the online tool.
Annual report’s deadlines
Should your mentee be eligible to submit an annual progress report, she/he will be notified by email in December and will have until March 1st the following year to complete the process.
Exception: 2nd year PhD Students have to submit their first annual progress report 12 months after candidacy examination.
For further details on eligibility and deadlines: see Annual Report’s good practices section.
Should you have any questions:
- on how the tool works, please consult the “help page“
- on the annual report process, please contact your doctoral program: [email protected]
Annual report’s process
You will be notified by email each time:
• an annual report of a PhD student in your program is rated as: Need some improvement or Unsatisfactory;
• the PhD student disagrees with the content of the report.
And if the report is rated as Unsatisfactory or the PhD student disagrees with the content, a meeting will be held in order to seek appropriate measures to resolve possible problems/conflicts.
In the online tool, you will have to confirm that you have reviewed the content of the annual report. If needed, comments may be added.
You will receive a PDF copy of every submitted report by the PhD students in your program by email, and so will the parties involved in the annual report and your program administrative assistant.
Please note that the information is not stored in the online tool.
Should you have any questions:
- on how the tool works, please consult the “help page“
- on the annual report process, please contact the Doctoral School: [email protected]
Annual Progress Reports are requested via email and need to be completed by using the online tool. It is important to prioritize these requests and, complete your report punctually. Annual Progress Reports must to be submitted by a specific deadline depending on your PhD timeline. Please carefully read the instructions below to understand when you have to submit your Annual Progress Report or whether you are exempted from submitting one.
- 1st year PhD students: not required to submit a report (progress being monitored by candidacy examination).
- 2nd year PhD Students: report due 12 months after candidacy examination.
- 3rd year PhD Students, if candidacy examination took place:
a) between January 1st and August 31st = report due March 1st, two years after the candidacy exam.
b) between September 1st and December 31st = report due March 1st, three years after the candidacy exam. - 4th year (and following years, if applicable) PhD Students: Report due March 1st. Exempted if Thesis “draft” is submitted before March 1st.