ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of thoughts on supervision based on the experience we have gained while being supervisors ourselves. Every young scientist who has successfully completed a PhD will know how important the relationship with their supervisors was. Yet it may come as a surprise to learn that few institutions provide much, if any, training to supervisors. As science becomes progressively more international, with young scientists in particular moving from country to country to do PhDs and post-doctoral research, supervisors can find themselves supervising students coming from very different cultures to their own, which adds further challenges to supervision. Supervising a technician is very different from supervising a PhD student. The supervisor and student need to establish a professional relationship built on each respecting the other. The supervisor’s approach to supervising a student should slowly but steadily change during a PhD.
