The relationship between graduate students and supervisors, has to say

Mondo Education Updated on 2024-01-31

School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing University

Practical course "Future Editorial Department".

The relationship between graduate students and their supervisors is closer and more "subtle". "There is growth, but sometimes I am troubled by the pain of growth", they have something to say about ...... mentors

Text|Sun Jiya, Chen Jiatong, Gu Kerui, Chen Jingyi, Liu Yang

Operations|Jiang Ying.

Editor-in-charge|Zhang Huifeng.

Instructor|Wang Chenyao.

Teacher, I am preparing to take the LLM exam, I think you are very suitable to be my teacher, please change your major to teaching, thank you!"Teacher, I want to go to Central South University for a graduate degree in mechanical engineering, teacher, can you change your major?"”…These are the voices that appeared in the comment area of a middle-aged professor's Douyin**.

He is Professor Zhang Heqing at the School of Management, Guangdong Universitybecame popular on the Internet because of a "complaint" about a student, and then was loved by more people for shooting funny** with students. Now, he has nearly 1.3 million followers on Douyin. Fans have said that "the teacher is so cute" and "I don't dare to think how happy his students will be", and the address to him in the comment area has changed from an honorific title "you" to a closer "you".

Screenshot of Professor Zhang Heqing's Douyin account.

Screenshot of Professor Zhang Heqing's interaction with netizens in the comment area.

Some people think that this is his success as a teacher, and he is also a teacher and friend to his students;Some people will think that he is "not doing his job" and not serious enough.

Different people have different answers and different experiences on how teachers and students get along.

A master's student** "Why did she change her mentor" received more than 10,000 likes on Xiaohongshu, causing heated discussions.

The relationship between graduate students and their supervisors is closer and more "subtle".

How do graduate students get along with their supervisors?How do the tutors view the relationship with their students?

I interviewed a number of graduate students from different universities and talked about their relationship with their supervisors.

Speaking of mentors, I am full of gratitude

Tutu is currently in his second graduate school of communication studies at NTUHer mentor is more tolerant and open-minded, with weekly group meetings"If you suddenly have an idea, you can communicate directly with the mentor, and he is very respectful of our opinions."

Tutu took a class taught by her tutor during her undergraduate years, and because she was interested in digital marketing, she took the initiative to ask her tutor to guide her undergraduate graduation**. When I applied for graduate school, I asked him to be my mentor.

In the first semester of his first year of graduate school, he participated in the "Xspace Workshop", an undergraduate creative practice course offered by his supervisor. In class, she serves as a group leader, helping undergraduate students with practical assignments, and also participating in class exchanges. In her second year of graduate school, she needed to look for a relatively long-term internship outside of school. Tutu said that the mentor offered to help her introduce job opportunities. This made her very grateful.

In addition to academic and future work planning guidance,In the mouth of the soil, the smiling mentor can always infect everyone with a gentle mental outlook. When the new crown epidemic was serious, the tutor would pay attention to the health of the students at each group meeting, repeatedly emphasized to everyone to take care of their health, and specially told the soil to do a good job of protection in WeChat.

Speaking of mentors, it's a bit subtle

Compared with Tutu, who is all going well, Xiaohan, who is also a second researcher, has a slightly delicate relationship with his mentor.

Xiao Han is currently studying for a master's degree in clinical medicine surgeryNormally, five days a week you need to go to the hospital for practical study, and sometimes you have to be on duty on Saturdays and Sundays. Starting from 8 o'clock in the morning, Xiaohan has to complete the daily work of the hospital one by one: ** ward rounds, dressing changes, recording conditions, handling cases, etc. By the time these daily tasks are completed, it is usually not until four or five o'clock in the afternoon.

As the chief physician, the mentor and Xiao Han do not spend much time together, usually meeting once a week or two, and one time does not exceed half an hour at most. But as the tutor's only student at present, Xiao Han believes that the tutor is "still quite attentive to himself".

The supervisor will help him determine the research direction and revise it at each meeting**. "He's more demanding and even a little nitpicky in this regard. ”Xiao Han's proposal report at the beginning of June was asked to be revised many times because the research direction did not meet the requirements of the supervisor, and it was not until July that the determined general direction of the proposal had changed greatly.

Xiaohan's tutor is academically strict,but in life he is very loving。When Xiao Han rotated departments, the mentor would specially ask the doctors in the new department to take care of him. Even before Xiao Han participated in the opening report, the tutor brought two of his new ties to Xiao Han.

But Xiao Han also has some troubles:The tutor often asks him to help with personal work, including making presentations and coordinating conference affairsIn addition to taking up a lot of his time outside of his daily internship in the hospital, some of these menial and unpaid jobs also put a lot of pressure on him.

When he was a graduate student, Xiao Han was assigned by his supervisor to coordinate a large-scale hospital exchange meeting and was appointed as the moderator of the meeting. Xiaohan needs to coordinate the specific work of meeting approval, conference agenda, participating experts, and arranging conference team personnel. The preparation period lasted for three months, and he basically completed it alone, spending an additional three to four hours a day on preparation. "It was stressful and in a bad mood. Because I was a student, many of the approving officers didn't bother with me, and the tutors didn't care much. ”

When asked Xiao Han in a letter whether this experience of being "entrusted with important tasks" by his mentor was beneficial to his personal growth, Xiao Han affirmed that hospital exchange meetings would often appear in his future studies and work. Having familiarized himself with the process of preparing for the meeting, he believes he will not be in such a hurry the next time he takes over.

There is growth, but sometimes I am troubled by the pain of growth, which is Xiaohan's feeling.

Stills from the life of a witty doctor, source network.

Speaking of mentors, there is some resistance

Xiao Chang, who is currently studying for a master's degree in nursingThe graduation criterion is to issue a core or SCI research **. Actually, it's quite easy, but the main thing is that I have a bit of a problem in this direction. "Xiao Chang's current research direction is an interdisciplinary discipline related to artificial intelligence. There are currently no labs or teams in this direction. The research group is also in its own wayFighting alone, this puts a lot of pressure on her.

Funding has also been exacerbated: Xiao Chang said that the agreement she signed with her mentor in advance included that the tutor would pay Xiao Chang labor fees every month, but the money was delayed for more than a year. At present, she mainly lives on the funds issued by the school and the internship hospital, which is about more than 1,000 a month.

In addition to the problem of money, the mentor's criticism also made Xiao Chang resistant. In her opinion, the mentor"Particularly prone to anger"., and often use it to Xiao Chang when he is angry"Full name negative sentence".。"Only our group can let you be like this", "Don't you know how many resources I give you", "How do you go out like this", in the face of these criticisms, Xiao Chang was a little resistant over time.

The subject she gave me was too difficult and not my area of expertise. ”The academic guidance given to Xiao Chang by the tutor is basically in the general direction. "She has changed the topic four or five times, and basically has to rewrite it every time she changes", which also made Xiao Chang feel daunted. Somewhat rebellious by nature, she decided to take an "indifferent" attitude to fight all this.

Xiao Chang, who originally had no exchange plan, signed up for an exchange program to Taiwan this semester because he wanted to "escape" from his mentor. Now, she said, she just wants to get her diploma.

Speaking of the (former) mentor, it is difficult to be angry

Xiao Xuan is a fourth-year computer science student in a 985 university in Hubei, who is about to go to the doctorate, he said that he talked about his relationship with the master's supervisor before the master's degree, and he is still indignant.

In Xiao Xuan's view, the guidance of the former mentor was very vague and lacked specific advice"I feel like I can't learn anything".。What made Xiao Xuan even more at a loss was thatThe former mentor is also a bit "impermanent" in his personality。In May of the first year of the master's degree, the former tutor had just criticized Xiao Xuan for the quality of the project's final report, but in the afternoon, he kindly praised him for his good ability, making it difficult for Xiao Xuan to understand the true meaning of the tutor.

Xiao Xuan had the idea of studying for a doctorate, but in the exchange with his fellow seniors, he learned that there was a doctoral brother who was delayed by "finding faults" for a year because of friction with his mentor. He has also witnessed his tutor summoning other students into his home to clean up. These hearings and witnesses still make Xiao Xuan linger in his mind, and when he mentions these things, his voice still trembles and sharpens with anger.

Screenshot of a WeChat chat between a graduate student and his supervisor (**Bilibili up main learning charging station).

At the end of Xiao Xuan's first year of study, he decided to change his mentor desperately. When he mustered up the courage to talk to his mentor about the matter on a Friday afternoon, Xiao Xuan remembered that the mentor said angrily and loudly, "You're making me lose face by doing this!."”

Xiao Xuan said that at that time, he was on the verge of emotional collapse because of the change of mentor"I was in a state where I couldn't change and couldn't live." After twists and turns, Xiao Xuan finally changed his mentor.

After Xiao Xuan changed his mentor, his scientific research path was on the right track. He believes that the new tutor's teaching style is more business-like and there are no unreasonable requirements. Despite the great cost, Xiao Xuan believes that the decision to change mentors is the right one. "Being responsible for my own life is the biggest gain I have gained from changing mentors.", Xiao Xuan said.

The mentor also has something to say

How do supervisors view the relationship with graduate students?

He has 14 years of experience as a graduate tutorSchool of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing UniversityProfessor Hu YiqingWe were also accepted.

AsA "hot" tutor who is highly sought after by studentsMr. Hu said that he would choose his master's students according to several aspects:

The first is whether he himself has a very strong desire to talk to me, including his interest in the field I study and care aboutThe second is whether they will do things according to the norms, whether they have the spirit of self-discipline, and whether they are strong or not. ”

Mr. Hu thinks that his teaching style is relatively relaxed, which is "rule by inaction".Each student has their own unique training planning path.

The students also take care of their feathers, and there are no students who have disappointed me in these years. Teacher Hu affirmed.

Photo provided by the interviewee: A group photo of Mr. Hu and students at the end of the reading club.

Mr. Hu also has his own set of "mentor guidelines":

First, as a mentor, you need to meet with students frequently. Communicate more so that students don't feel isolated. Second, it is necessary to communicate on an equal footing, fully respect the wishes and interests of students, and not interfere excessively or impose arrangements. Third, it is necessary to relieve the pressure on students and cultivate students' abilities in all aspects. "Humen" should become a big family with a harmonious relationship.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee: Teacher Hu plays badminton with students.

Photo provided by the interviewee: Badminton match ended dinner.

Although the supervisors are generally busy with scientific research tasks and work, Professor Hu feels that "lack of energy" should not be an excuse for the indifference between teachers and students.

"This question is never a problem with a competent mentor. ”

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