On the afternoon of January 10, 2026, SEM organized a training session for graduate supervisors in Room B503. The program was primarily designed for doctoral and master’s supervisors newly appointed within the past three years.
The session featured a keynote lecture by Professor Lü Tao, head of a first-level discipline at SEM and a doctoral supervisor. The training was chaired by Wang Delu, Vice Dean of SEM in charge of research.
In his opening remarks, Vice Dean Wang emphasized that SEM places great importance on professional development for graduate supervisors. He noted that the School had previously invited Professor Shao Shuai to share supervisory experiences during a special session last summer. Wang highlighted that supervisors play a crucial role in shaping graduate students through both academic guidance and personal influence. He encouraged newly appointed supervisors to take the training as an opportunity to deepen their understanding of supervisory responsibilities, carefully study relevant regulations, and contribute to building a positive and supportive mentor–student relationship.
During his lecture, Professor Lü Tao explored the concept of “guidance” in graduate supervision, emphasizing the multiple roles a supervisor plays in graduate education—including guiding, motivating, teaching, inspiring, and supervising students. He explained that through research training and collaborative academic work, supervisors and students gradually form a closely connected research community.
Professor Lü also summarized a practical framework for graduate education, highlighting five key principles: defining research directions, learning through practice, maintaining active communication, producing meaningful research outcomes, and pursuing high-quality scholarship. He stressed that supervisors should foster a collaborative academic environment, respect individual differences among students, and provide supportive mentorship that helps students develop strong research competence and academic integrity.
Following the lecture on mentor–student relationships, Sun Ge, Director of the SEM Graduate Office, provided a detailed introduction to the entire graduate training process, including key institutional policies at both the university and School levels, as well as quality assurance mechanisms for graduate theses. The session also included an open discussion, during which faculty members exchanged views and raised questions about relevant policies and supervisory practices.
By combining experienced supervisors’ insights with a systematic overview of graduate education policies and procedures, the training session helped newly appointed supervisors adapt more quickly to their mentoring roles and better support graduate students in their academic development.
SEM will continue to explore diverse and flexible formats for supervisor training, further strengthening graduate education and contributing to the continuous improvement of graduate training quality.
Text: Sun Ge
Photo: Zhou Yan
First Review: Wang Delu
Second Review: Li Xinchun
