PhD Supervisors' Academy

Discover the PhD Supervisors’ Academy, designed to support and inspire PhD supervisors. The program is offered by the University of Oulu Graduate School.

About PhD Supervisors' Academy

Strengthen your supervision skills by joining the activities of the PhD Supervisors’ Academy!

The Academy offers

  • Online learning
  • Networking opportunities & events
  • Peer Mentoring

Our activities promote high-quality, research-based supervision and support doctoral researchers’ well-being and steady progress in their studies. PhD Supervisors’ Academy is a part of the Noste strategic education development programme and created by UniOGS.

Mentoring Lite

Guide and support fellow PhD supervisors while fostering confidence, curiosity, and growth!

Mentoring Lite in a nutshell:

  • Group mentoring in 3-5 meetings remotely, over lunch/coffee, or however the group sees fit
  • The group decides the themes for discussion, schedule and meeting method
  • Groups are multidisciplinary with participants of different experience levels
  • Setting up schedule and goals for the group is supported by program facilitators
  • Materials and resources are provided to support the mentoring experience

Find out more about Mentoring Lite on DigiCampus. Access requires an enrolment key, which can be found in University of Oulu intranet Patio.

The Mentoring Lite has been organised twice, in autumn 2025 and spring 2026. Enrolment for the next round of the programme will open in spring 2027.

PhD Supervisors' Breakfast

Enjoy fresh coffee and breakfast while connecting with fellow PhD supervisors!

The PhD Supervisors’ Academy regularly hosts breakfast events where supervisors can discuss current topics in supervision, share experiences, and network with peers.

PhD Supervisors’ breakfasts 2026:

  • February: Futures Thinking and Career Adaptability - Iina Tolonen
  • May: Co-supervision and Collaboration: Communication, Coordination, and Shared Responsibility - Jouko Miettunen
  • September: Henrikki Liimatainen: Doctoral research plan – Views for supervisors
  • December: Renata Prunskaite-Hyyryläinen (topic to be announced)

Doctoral supervision training for supervisors

The aims of the training are to provide targeted support for supervisors, learn about research-based best practices for supervision, as well as share experiences and knowledge, and learn from each other.
The content of the training will include basic knowledge of supervision from research-based perspective, quality supervision, challenging points in supervision, ethics in supervision, expectations in supervision, and supervision as interaction. The training will consist of two plenary lectures and four facilitated peer group meetings. The participants can earn 1-2 ECTS. The University Pedagogy Team organizes the training annually. Read more in Peppi.