Interview with Prof. Dr. Martin Wiener as Super Supervisor 2024
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Prof. Dr. Martin Wiener (Chair of Information Systems, esp. Business Engineering) was named Super Supervisor 2024. With this award, the Graduate Academy of the TU Dresden honors outstanding doctoral supervision. On the occasion of this award, Prof. Wiener gave an interview to the Graduate Academy.
1. What do you think makes a good supervisory relationship?
In addition to the basic ingredients of a good interpersonal relationship - such as treating each other with respect and mutual trust - in my view, a good supervisory relationship is particularly about providing the best possible support to doctoral candidates while at the same time continuously demanding more independence from them. However, finding the right balance here is a constant challenge and also depends heavily on the person being supervised and their current doctoral phase.
2) In addition to all your diverse tasks as a professor, what do you find particularly exciting about your role as a supervisor of doctoral candidates?
Basically, it gives me great pleasure to see how doctoral candidates continue to develop over time - as researchers, but also as teachers and, of course, as people. If I can make an active contribution to this and, ideally, an excellent doctorate comes out of it, then that inspires me as a supervisor.
3. Is there anything you wish for from your doctoral candidates?
Spontaneously, I can think of three points in particular: A thirst for action, i.e. wanting to make a difference; impartiality, i.e. that my doctoral candidates approach their research projects as openly as possible and don't jump to conclusions; and a healthy degree of discipline, also in the sense of perseverance - in short: TUD. 😊