When Tallinn University of Technology invited Cecilia Sarmiento, Yannick Le Moullec, and Jeffrey Andrew Tuhtan to participate in a training course aimed at improving doctoral supervision, none of them could fully anticipate what was about to happen. However, the result turned out to be inspiring and eye-opening.

The course on supervising supervisors was conducted at TalTech by Dr. Helmut Brentel, who has been training supervisors in the School of IT for years. He has also enhanced the quality of research work and the doctoral study experience—for both doctoral students and supervisors alike.

Jeffrey Andrew Tuhtan, Associate Professor at the School of IT, explains why supervising master's theses and doctoral dissertations are so different: “Master’s work is very task-oriented. You have an idea and then find people to carry out the work—as their master’s thesis. Of course, there must also be a personal relationship with the student, but it all lasts for a very short time. The problems are standardized, and so are the solutions. We simply don’t have enough time to take a longer approach.” However, during the supervisors' training course, he learned that doctoral studies require different strategies. Doctoral study itself consists of three distinct parts and lasts longer. Moreover, it may require adapting based on how the doctoral dissertation develops and how the student copes with their studies. “They are still at the beginning of their career,” Jeffrey explains. “Everything is still in flux.” Training supervisors to deal with such situations is essential because questions and solutions here are not obvious or logically deducible through a purely academic approach.

Cecilia Sarmiento, Senior Research Fellow and Program Manager at the School of Natural Sciences, adds: “In addition to time constraints, the process is influenced by many people: the doctoral student themselves, their supervisor, as well as program managers, schools, and the scientific community.”

The course emphasized that supervisors have multiple roles. “In addition to academic guidance, they are also agents, psychologists, bosses, coaches, and friends,” notes Yannick Le Moullec, Professor at the School of IT and Head of the Cognitive Science Laboratory. He wanted to learn how to manage expectations since many parties monitor the progress of a doctoral dissertation. Everyone expects something—not just the supervisor and student.

For researchers who attended the course, it was important to become part of a broader network of doctoral supervisors. “So we can support each other and share knowledge. Exchange experiences,” explains Sarmiento. “And that’s exactly what this course provided. It was very interactive, and we got to know other supervisors as well.” Creating and supporting such a network within Tallinn University of Technology is also planned by the three mentioned researchers.

The plan wasn’t just about training supervisors to better support doctoral dissertations. The broader goal is for those who complete the course to be competent enough to train others within the university themselves. This marks a fundamental shift toward bringing supervisor training in-house—meaning that the university itself can offer adequate expertise for doctoral supervisors.

This could improve the quality of doctoral studies, which in turn would enhance research quality and better ensure that initiated projects are completed.

Sarmiento, Le Moullec, and Tuhtan have embraced this idea enthusiastically. They are already planning courses within Tallinn University of Technology. However, these plans might only come to fruition during the academic year after next. Still, both the plan itself and its associated enthusiasm are pioneering steps forward.