PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: How to prepare your PhD candidates for their defense

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands.

These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands.

If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better – and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic!

In the past, I have focused a lot on the doctoral defense (including doing even some research and some more about the topic, and coauthoring a book about it).

But the one key party in the road to the defense I have not talked about much yet, are us, the PhD supervisors. What can we do to prepare our students as well as possible for the defense?

Here are my top tips:

Let them speak: Long before your student gets to defend, you should think about how you will provide them opportunities throughout the years of the PhD to show their work, speak, and gain confidence in presenting. Make sure you create enough opportunities for them, in a variety of settings, to present and practice responding questions.
Make them comfortable being in the driver’s seat: Similarly, for the many years of the PhD, you should be mindful of your dynamic: at the beginning, you can steer the project and support your student as much as possible, and then you need to gradually yield the driver’s seat to your student so they develop the confidence and feel that they are in charge of the project. This responsibility prepares them for speaking with authority at the defense.
Suggest a preparation course or book: In the category of shameless self-promotion – have you thought of getting a copy of “Planning and passing your PhD defence” for your students? This book brings together all strategies on how to prepare for the defense, as well as some curious facts about doctoral defenses around the world. Reading the experiences of others and tips and tricks for the defense can help your students prepare mentally for the day.
Be proactive with the paperwork: This should be a no-brainer, but do not let the paperwork for the defense pile up on your end. Your PhD student has a lot on their mind towards the defense, often also involving logistics of bringing family to attend the defense, and perhaps moving to a different place and country to start a new job after the defense. Be proactive with the paperwork to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.
Provide feedback on their presentation: You may not give feedback on the presentation of your students anymore as you are at the end of the road, but the presentation for the defense is perhaps one that you should review and give feedback on.
Organize a mock defense: Mock defenses tend to work well. So, organize a mock defense in your department, invite a few colleagues who can ask critical questions, and make sure your student gets a practice run.
Brainstorm questions: Help your student think of questions that the committee members may ask. You may know the external committee members better, so you may know their pet peeves – and your student should know to prepare for those particular questions. At the same time, you can also think of general questions (again, “Planning and passing your PhD defence” has a list of the most common general defense questions that you can use to prepare answering).
Trust them: Know that they will do well if you trained them well these past years. Show them that you trust they will do well, and that you consider them ready for the defense. Provide them the solid moral support that will help them when they have a moment of doubt.