Profile of a PhD student

A PhD student

1. Rights

• can count on the guidance and expertise of the supervisor and also on his/her evaluation and corrective action, but assumes himself/herself a more significant role in his/her research as it proceeds and his own research capacity increases;
• is entitled to the material preconditions for conducting his/her research, for which the supervisor is responsible;
• is assisted by the supervisor with the integration into the research unit, but also makes its own contribution in this respect to the best of his/her abilities; 

2. Duties

• takes sufficient initiative and makes sufficient efforts to ensure the successful progress of the PhD research;
• reports problems or challenges as quickly as possible to the supervisor and/or other parties involved for the purpose of solving them as efficiently as possible;
• complies with the generally accepted standards of research integrity;
• ensures that his/her research data are stored securely and durably, taking into account the specific characteristics of the discipline and the nature of the research;
• helps ensure, with the support from his supervisor, that research results are published when they are ready, and is entitled to recognition as (co-)author according to common practice within the discipline; 
• puts his/her PhD training into practice in a way that is suitable for his/her research and his/her broader development as an advanced researcher;
• seizes the opportunities offered by the supervisor and others to take part in suitable research networks and, where possible and appropriate, assists in developing such networks.