This session draws on a recently published chapter of the same name in the Open Access book Confident Supervisors: Creating Independent Researchers Volume 2. I will give an overview of the chapter content including motivations and intentions as supervisors, fostering the holistic development of your candidates, assisting in their career development, and being part of a culture change to more broadly recognise ‘successful’ doctoral outcomes. We will discuss strategies you can use in your supervision to facilitate your candidate’s professional and career development.  

Presenter
Rachel Spronken-Smith is a Professor in Higher Education and Geography and works as Deputy Dean in the Graduate Research School at the University of Otago. She has been a Geography lecturer, academic developer, head and dean, and is now overseeing researcher development. Her current research interests are in doctoral education and doctoral outcomes. She has won several university teaching awards and a national tertiary teaching award in 2015. In 2016 she won the TERNZ-HERDSA medal for Sustained Contribution to the Research Environment in NZ and was a Fulbright Scholar in 2018. In 2026 she gained recognition through the UK Council of Graduate Education for her supervision.