3.1. Supervising PhDs across cultures

This workshop is only available in English

Do your interactions with your PhD students leave you baffled at times? Do you struggle to understand why they behave so “weird”? Are you finding it difficult to communicate with them clearly?
In this training course, you will get answers to these questions and you will get practical insights on how to work more effectively with PhD candidates from different cultures. This training course consists of 3 workshops. In the first workshop, we lay the foundations. The second and third workshops will focus on culture-specific values and norms. Workshop 1 can be attended individually, and it is a prerequisite for attending the culture-specific workshops.

1. Basis workshop: Supervision across cultures. Focus on cultural awareness and differences
   
   “A stranger knows only what he sees” - African proverb
   In the first workshop, we explore how culture affects the way we learn, work, and give feedback. The workshop will help you become aware of different cultural norms all of us tend to follow unconsciously. These tacit norms influence how we behave, how we communicate, what we consider as good, bad, normal, weird, etc.
   
   Note that this workshop is a prerequisite to workshop 2 and 3.
   

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2. Culture-specific workshop: Supervision across cultures: focus on the Netherlands
   
   "Just act normal, that is already crazy enough” - Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg" - Dutch proverb
   The one thing we all have in common is that we live and work in a Dutch context. However, that does not mean it is at all times easy to understand or adjust to Dutch standards. In this workshop we will discuss some of the core values of Dutch culture and explore how these values manifest themselves in daily interactions in supervision, and how they also permeate the Dutch academic system.
   
   Note that before attending this workshop you will need to attend the basis workshop 1.
   

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3. Culture-specific workshop: Supervision across cultures: focus on China
   
   “Fear comes from the unknown 恐惧源于未知” - Chinese proverb
   Because of the cultural distance many of us experience, Chinese language and culture comes across as mysterious and difficult to grapple with. In addition, the Chinese academic culture differs in significant ways from what most of us are familiar with. In this session we will decode some Chinese cultural norms. We will dig into core values and how these manifest in daily interactions and communication. We will discuss strategies to bridge the cultural differences for effective supervision.
   
   Note that before attending this workshop you will need to attend the basis workshop 1.
   

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   Workshop 1 can be attended individually, and it is a prerequisite for attending the culture-specific workshops.