Introduction
The PhD Doctoral committee is constituted by the university in which the candidate has registered for PhD. The committe is there to support and guide the research scholar till his final thesis is submitted. The committe involves the experts in the domain of the candidate from various universities and research labs. The Committee will evaluate your progress and help to make sure that you are on track to get your dissertation within a reasonable time.
At the beginning of your research, their focus will be on making sure you have defined reasonable and achievable objectives. Later, they will help you decide when it is time to write your thesis. Finally, they will be there at your thesis seminar and defence presentations. Their support as mentors will likely continue as you move on in your career.
Doctoral committee meeting happens usually once in 06 months. Here it is expected that the research scholar has to present his PhD progress work of the past six months. The meeting should not be felt like an exam. The outcome should be productive advice to you for your future research.
The Presentation of PhD Progress Report to Doctoral Committee Members happens in three stages namely:
i) Before the meeting: i.e. Once you start preparing the report for the meeting to till the meeting begins.
ii) During the meeting: i.e. From entering into the meeting hall to till the meeting gets over and
iii) After the meeting: i.e. From the time meeting concludes to till the next six months before you really start preparing for your next meeting report.
Before the PhD Progress Presentation Meeting
Along with your supervisor go through all the comments given in the previous PhD progress doctoral committee meeting. Discuss in detail with your supervisor the work carried out for the past six months. If any issues are still pending have justification for not addressing or partially addressing those issues.
Do not hide details regarding the implementation and pending issues with your supervisor. This actually helps the supervisor to defend you and take inputs from the committee members regarding the future course of directions.
A summary of PhD progress and plans should be prepared and submitted to the Doctoral committee at least one week prior to the meeting. Make sure that you have gone through the report with all grammatical corrections and plagiarism checks.
Send out the agenda to your committee members beforehand, but also remind them of the topics you want to cover before you begin the presentation. If you have any manuscripts published or accepted send your committee a copy of the same.
You should prepare a PhD progress presentation (no more than 20 minutes without interruption) that includes a brief background of your research, objectives and the work carried out from the last presentation to till date. Without fail discuss in detail the presentation slides with your supervisor. In your presentation slides list all the previous comments and your response for each committee in the form of a table.
If you are planning to change the title of your work getting consent from the committee members is essential. Have at least 04-05 titles which you and your supervisor feel appropriate beforehand. This will ease the process of changing the title immediately in the meeting and the committee can recommend the same to the university along with regular suggestions.
The best way to ensure that your PhD progress meeting goes smoothly is to meet individually with each committee member to discuss your results well in advance. If you cannot meet with them in person, share your results (refer my blog on how to write result section) over email and ask for their feedback. If there are any disagreements, resolve them before the meeting by speaking with your supervisor to ensure that the meeting goes smoothly.
During the PhD Progress Presentation Meeting
Before the start of the PhD progress presentation give copies of the one-page summary to other faculty members who are attending the session. Submit copies of the complete report to the committee members including your supervisor. No need to present details of any published work. Provide a reprint or preprint, preferably ahead of the meeting. If your work is software based then keep the demo ready. If you do not have a working module then show the video demonstration of the model. This will help the committee members to suggest future directions for your work.
During your PhD progress committee meeting, you should focus on the last six months’ work rather than the background. Only spend as much time on the background as is relevant to what you will be talking about.
There should not be any surprise slides/facts to your supervisor during your committee meeting.
At your first PhD progress Doctoral committee meeting, you will present an outline of your plan for your research. You can build a detailed description of what you plan to do ( literature survey to carry out, algorithms or theorems to study, experiments to carry out, software and hardware components to add, systems integration to perform, tests to accomplish ). The plans can be represented with specific milestones and timelines with a Gantt Chart.
Example: The sample Gantt chart below shows a set of activities planned for the next few months for the Research work. This can be extended to any length. This chart helps the committee members to know how well the researcher has planned the research activities.
At subsequent PhD progress meetings you should present a brief introduction (one or two slides) to remind the committee of your research area – don’t expect them to recall everything from the last meeting, but no need to go into great detail. Aim to put your work in context.
Show your current working objective in the form of a block diagram. This will set the boundary for the presentation and discussion. This will help the committee members to focus on the specified objective. For example in the figure below the candidate is focusing on the “Wheeled mobile Robot” objective in Robot Path Planning.
Make sure you are comfortable moving back and forth among your slides. Do not cross the time limit. Add photographs of any field visits for data collection, or conference presentations in your presentation slides. If you had any interactions with domain experts in your area then add interaction details with a date. If you have visited any organization as a resource person relating to your Ph.D. work with your supervisor then add that details.
Seek advice from your committee members during the meeting. Note down all the suggestions by yourself or ask one of your research colleagues to note the same. This is highly desirable, almost to the point that you should make it mandatory. Give a timeline of your plans. What will you be doing over the next month, and what do you hope to accomplish before your next meeting in the next six months’ time.
Keep additional slides along with your regular slides. Get into additional slides detail if any clarifications are sought on any equations or algorithms etc.
Additional slides can be presented as follows:
i) The equipment details you are planning to purchase or currently using for implementation.
ii) The Algorithms which you have implemented or planning to implement.
iii) The mathematical model you have developed, or
iv) Any slides that you think are important but do not have time to cover at the end of your presentation.
After the PhD Progress Presentation Meeting
End your PhD progress committee meeting with a summary of what you have discussed, common points that you have reached and an action plan for the next six months. Your action plan needs to have “actionable” items, specifically what milestones you will work towards after the meeting and approximate timelines.
A written summary of the PhD progress committee meeting will be prepared by the supervisor and the committee, and that will be sent to the University. You will receive a copy of this and a copy will be placed in your research file.
Send an email note to each of your committee members through your supervisor to thank them for their time, and summarize the action items or milestones you agreed to. This will give your committee members another chance to give you feedback or suggestions.
During the meeting, you might have accepted to complete some implementation before the next meeting, but you may run out of time or you may not get any ideas regarding implementation. In such situations, have a discussion with your supervisor and the committee members and discuss the challenges faced by you. They may either extend the implementation time or ask you to change the methodology of implementation.
Simply do not wait for suggestions from committee members till the next PhD progress presentation meeting. In order to build trust between you and your committee members, you need to take committee members and your supervisor into confidence before taking any major decisions.
Email Template to Doctoral Committee Members for Extension or Modification for the work Proposed
Here is an email template which you can communicate to your doctoral committee members in case you fail to keep the deadline or are unable to work on the ideas you proposed. Please take consent from your supervisor before sending any communication to Doctoral Committee members.
Dear [Committee Member],
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to provide an update on my progress since our last meeting and to seek your guidance regarding some challenges I have encountered.
As you may recall, during our last meeting, I agreed to complete a particular implementation before the next meeting. However, I regret to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances, I have been unable to meet this deadline. I have made every effort to complete the implementation as planned, but I have encountered some unexpected roadblocks that have delayed my progress.
I am writing to seek your guidance regarding how best to proceed. Given the current circumstances, I am unsure whether it is feasible to complete the implementation within the original timeline. Alternatively, I would be open to exploring alternative methodologies or approaches to achieving the objectives we have discussed.
I am hopeful that we can find a way forward that meets everyone's expectations and allows me to continue making progress toward completing my dissertation. I would be grateful for any guidance or suggestions you might have, and I am happy to discuss this matter further if needed.
Thank you for your ongoing support and guidance throughout this process.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]Conclusion
Presenting your PhD progress report to the doctoral committee can be a daunting task, but it is an essential part of your PhD journey. The committee is there to provide guidance and support, ensuring that you are on track to complete your dissertation within a reasonable time. It is crucial to approach the committee meeting with a positive attitude and view it as an opportunity to receive productive advice for your future research.
Remember that the presentation of the progress report to the committee happens in three stages: before, during, and after the meeting. The preparation of the report should be meticulous and thoughtful, and during the meeting, you should be open to constructive feedback and suggestions. After the meeting, you should take note of the committee’s recommendations and use them to shape your future research endeavours.
As you move forward in your career, the support and guidance of the doctoral committee will likely continue to be a valuable resource. By effectively presenting your progress report to the committee, you can make the most of this opportunity and receive the guidance you need to succeed in your PhD program.
