EDPY Annual report

Within two years of your enrolment, you are required to submit an annual report detailing the progress of your work (art. 10 of the Ordinance on the doctorate).

You are requested to complete the following three sections as soon as possible to ensure the process stays on schedule:

• your basic information
• your research progress: complete this section and discuss it with your thesis advisor (and co-advisor, if applicable) during the collaborative meeting
• a self-assessment of your progress: both you and your thesis advisor (and co-advisor, if applicable) should complete this section separately, then review it together during the collaborative meeting.

After the collaborative review, the report will be sent to the Program Director for verification only if:

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

Please note that the information you provide is not confidential and will be accessible to all parties involved once the process is completed.

You will also meet with your mentor for a confidential, face-to-face discussion. Please tick the appropriate box so they can receive a provisional PDF version of your report (sections 1 & 2), and will reach out to you in due course. This meeting can take place at any time during the process.

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.

Starting date

Each October, following the successful completion of your candidacy exam, you will receive an email from EDPY to initiate the annual report process.

Link and how the tool works…

Within two years of the enrolment, your PhD student is required to submit an annual report detailing the progress of their work (art. 10 of the Ordinance on the doctorate).

Once your PhD student has completed their assessment, we kindly ask that you:

• review the basic information and comments on research progress provided by the PhD student
• complete the progress assessment section, which should include collaborative insights with the PhD student and the co-advisor, if applicable.

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 will subsequently receive an email prompting you to arrange a face-to-face meeting with your PhD student (and the co-advisor, if applicable) to review the information, discuss achieved and planned goals, and evaluate overall progress.

During the collaborative review, you will provide a general appraisal of the PhD student’s progress:

• Exceeds expectations: exceptional progress, thesis on track.

• Meets expectations: good progress, thesis on track.

• Needs some improvement: progress below expectations, thesis can get back on track, intervention by the program director not needed.

• Unsatisfactory: insufficient progress, serious risk of failure, program director intervention required.

The report will be sent to the Program Director if:

• it is rated “needs some improvement” or “unsatisfactory”, or

• the candidate disagrees with the content.

If rated unsatisfactory or if the candidate disagrees, a meeting will be held to address issues and improve 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.

Annual report deadline

The annual report process begins each October, following your PhD student’s successful candidacy exam.

The entire process must be completed by 30th November of the current year.

Link and how the tool works…

You are kindly requested to:

• review the annual reports
• discuss with the PhD student 
• confirm that the meeting has taken place via the online tool.

The PhD student will make sure to tick the appropriate box so you can receive an email with a provisional PDF version of the report (sections 1 & 2). This meeting can occur at any time during the process.

Note: The tool does not allow for adding comments, as the discussion remains confidential.

The following topics could be explored during your meeting:

• Advancement as a researcher (what has gone well, what needs improvement, setting goals, identifying necessary resources, etc)
• Career-building (Contributions to the academic or research community, conferences, awards, networking opportunities, and participation in soft skill courses (e.g., writing, communication, management, spin-off training, etc)
• Work-life balance
• Communication (interaction within the lab, with the thesis advisor(s) and lab members, aligning expectations for progress and future goals, etc)
• Post-PhD plans (career options and how to explore them, etc)

At the end of the process, you will receive the full PDF version of the report by email.