Information for supervisors of students taking the course VMFX75

The overall aim of the course and two-month scholarship is to provide an opportunity for students who are curious about research to learn more and to try it out. The courses provide students with increased knowledge about the research process and the research community in general.

The VMFX75 course is comprised of 2 parts. The first is part-time studies during the spring semester (corresponding to 2 weeks of full-time studies). During this part, most of the sessions are scheduled during evenings (18-21) and concern topics such as pitch talk, scientific writing, journal clubs, ethics, statistics, career, scientific writing, etc. During the second part (corresponding to 10 weeks of full-time studies) an independent research project will be performed. Before the research project can be started the student must contact a research group at the Faculty of Medicine where the project can be performed. There must be a supervisor that at least holds a PhD. The student writes a project plan according to a template. The project plan will be discussed at a seminar and be assessed by the course leader. The deadline for submission is 2025-04-22.

Students taking the course VMFX75 are fully financed by the Faculty of Medicine and you as a supervisor do not have to pay anything.

What can you expect from the student?

To be admitted to the course, students must have 90 credits within their major, a 15-credit independent research project (such as a summer stipend) and be a current student at the Faculty of Medicine at Lund University.

Students are expected to make a time and work plan together with the supervisor. It is important that the student is involved in the planning and that they write the project plan. During summer, under supervision, the student will work on the project and at the end report the results by presenting a scientific poster as well as in an extended written abstract.

What can the student expect from the supervisor?

The teaching mainly consists of independent work on a research project under supervision. Hence, as a supervisor, you are expected to provide supervision meetings during the summer and support the student´s work. Supervision can be in person or digital and should be planned. Supervisors are expected to provide input on the student's extended abstract, which should be written according to the template.

At the end of the course, supervisors shall assess the student's completed project work according to set criteria. The assessment is done together with the student in QPS and should be completed on the day or day after the presentation. Link to supervisor assessment and criteria is found here:

Supervisor assessment of autonomy-VMFX70-75.pdf

Examination

The poster presentation, and joint dinner is scheduled August 19, 17-21. Location: Forum Medicum. Supervisors may attend the poster presentations if they like but not the dinner.

What if something goes wrong?

The students who apply are often motivated and curious, there are seldom problems. However, sometime unexpected things happen. To avoid problems regarding project progress it is important to have a plan for supervision. If you have communication issues, sit down and talk it through. If you can´t solve the problems, please don´t wait until the end of summer to contact the course leader or someone in the planning committee. It is hard to find solutions if it´s close to the end of the course.