Identifying a Supervisory Team
You are not expected to have identified a senior supervisor prior to applying for the GW4-CAT programme, but having an idea of the available supervisors in your areas of interest at the application and interview stage is strongly recommended. Candidates are particularly encouraged to have an idea/ideas for projects that the supervisors within our pool would be able to offer expert guidance on by the interview stage of the selection process.
The final selection of supervisors and approval of PhD projects will take place before your PhD start-date.
Each cohort will attend a compulsory introductory afternoon to be arranged a few weeks following appointment and will use this time to discuss their project ideas with the GW4-CAT HP Board of Directors who will work closely with newly appointed fellows to develop their project proposals and find the most appropriate senior and lead supervisory combination to meet their career and research ambitions.
Fellows will also choose a team of co-supervisors and appropriate collaborators from across the GW4-CAT HP institutions in order to embrace the interdisciplinary and inter-institutional ethos of the Programme. It is expected that all GW4-CAT HP fellows will have a supervisory team that spans at least two of our four institutions.
Justification of Supervisory Team
To engender a robust research culture, team science approach and an understanding of how the supervisory team will work with the fellow for the duration of the PhD fellowship, we ask for a written statement that justifies the inclusion and roles of all supervisors and collaborators. The fellow will adopt the principles of good research practice in developing the supervisory team and produce a document outlining the agreed roles and responsibilities, including an agreed plan regarding publication authorship.
Director Approval of Supervisory Team
The GW4-CAT HP fellow will be interviewed on their PhD project and supervisory team prior to starting their PhD. The Director and Co-Directors will work in an advisory capacity when preparing the PhD project and will have the final say on the choice of supervisory team.