Supervision#
Each student undertaking an Independent Research Project (IRP) has two supervisors officially recorded: a main supervisor and a second supervisor.
The main supervisor is the academic lead and has primary responsibility for guiding the student’s research. Students are expected to meet regularly with their main supervisor, and we recommend that they meet at least once every two weeks to ensure steady progress and adequate support. Students are expected to take ownership of their project and it is their responsibility to seek guidance from the main supervisor when necessary. While some main supervisors regularly schedule meetings with students, not all are instructed to do so.
The second supervisor provides a more general support, particularly when the main supervisor is unavailable.
For external projects, the second supervisor is a staff member at the Department of Earth Science and Engineering. They are not expected to be an expert in the project’s specific research field. Their primary role is to ensure the project aligns with IRP expectations. They also act as a point of contact for IRP-specific procedures, policies, and administrative matters. Internal second supervisors overseeing external projects must meet with the student at least once per month and keep a record of all meetings as required by the univeristy’s work placement policy.
We recognise that the division of responsibilities may vary between projects. In some cases, supervision duties may be shared more equally. However, unless otherwise agreed, the main supervisor should remain the student’s principal academic advisor.
If an external supervisor (supervisor not affiliated with Imperial College London) wants to opt-out from marking, we ask them to contact the IRP Team as soon as possible so that an alternative examiner can be assigned.
Supervisors and students can decide how to structure supervision meetings - either as individual one-on-one sessions or group meetings with multiple students. However, supervisors should not require students working on NDA-protected external projects to attend group meetings, as these students cannot openly discuss their work with others not covered by the same NDA.
Supervision Team Requirements#
At least one supervisor must be a staff member or have a visiting status in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London. Their contract or visiting status must extend at least until the end of the IRP.
A PhD student can be the second supervisor, but only if the main supervisor is a staff member or visitor at the Department of Earth Science and Engineering. The main supervisor may delegate day-to-day supervision to a PhD student; however, overall responsibility remains with the staff member officially appointed as main supervisor. PhD students appointed as second supervisors can participate in marking.
All supervisors must be in formal employment with a university or company, and supervision must be part of their professional duties. External supervisors are not required to hold a PhD, but must be fully employed with an active professional or academic affiliation for the entire duration of the project. Supervision cannot be undertaken on a voluntary or informal basis.
All supervisors are expected to have good knowledge of English.
All supervisors must avoid any conflict of interest (see Conflict of Interest section below).
Additional supervisors#
Although only two supervisors (main and second) can be officially recorded by the IRP Team, students may work with additional internal or external supervisors, as long as the main supervisor agrees. These additional contributors do not need to be reported to the IRP Team, but students are strongly encouraged to acknowledge their support in their written reports - either on the title page or in the Acknowledgements section.
It is essential that everyone who made a meaningful contribution to the supervision is given credit, especially PhD students, postdocs, and other researchers. Students are fully empowered to decide who they want to acknowledge on the title page of their written report - this decision is not up to their officially recorded supervisors.
Conflict of Interest#
Supervisors and students must avoid any conflict of interest, including personal or financial relationships, and should disclose any potential conflicts as early as possible. If a conflict arises during the project, supervisors must inform the IRP Team immediately to discuss appropriate measures.