EAST-SPARK Toolkit
Welcome to the EAST-SPARK project’s resource collection for strengthening doctoral supervision. The materials have been developed to support facilitators of supervision training, current doctoral supervisors, and colleagues preparing to take on supervisory roles. They bring together guidance, tools, and practical insights designed to support more reflective, structured, and context-sensitive supervision practice. Where resources have not been developed directly within the EAST-SPARK project, the original sources are acknowledged accordingly.
Whether you are a prospective supervisor wishing to strengthen your supervision practice, an experienced supervisor seeking new ideas, or a trainer responsible for delivering supervision development programmes, these resources offer practical strategies, adaptable materials, and opportunities for reflection. They are intended to support professional development and to contribute to the continued strengthening of doctoral education in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. We warmly invite you to explore the toolkit and make use of the resources in ways that are most relevant to your own context.
Learn and listen about EAST-SPARK
Relevance
Both research on doctoral education and policy guidance, including the IUCEA guidelines, emphasise that high-quality doctoral supervision should not be taken for granted, but needs to be strengthened through deliberate training and professional development.
The EAST-SPARK toolkit brings together practical, field-tested resources for strengthening doctoral supervision across the full doctoral journey. Developed through collaboration among African and European partners, the materials support supervisors, trainers, academic leaders, and policy actors in addressing key questions of doctoral quality, supervisory practice, researcher development, and institutional capacity. Rooted in real training experience and designed for adaptation, the toolkit offers a valuable starting point for anyone seeking to improve supervision practice and deepen support for doctoral education in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
The EAST-SPARK training is structured over three days and follows the doctoral journey from its foundations to its later stages. Day 1 focuses on the role of supervision, candidate selection, project feasibility, and supervisory relationships. Day 2 turns to the ongoing research journey, internationalisation, and writing and publication. Day 3 addresses professional development, thesis completion and defense, and final reflection on supervisory practice.
The toolkit offers trainers a structured and adaptable resource base for designing and delivering high-quality supervision training. It brings together slide decks, handouts, and a facilitator’s guide that support interactive learning, reflective discussion, and practical engagement with key questions in doctoral supervision. The materials have been developed and tested in real training settings and are designed to be flexible enough for different institutional and national contexts.
For trainers, the value of the toolkit lies not only in the content itself, but also in the way it supports facilitation. The resources are intended to help create learning environments in which participants can compare experiences, examine challenges in their own context, and translate ideas into practical supervisory action. Trainers are encouraged to use the materials selectively, adapt them where helpful, and build on them in ways that respond to the needs of their participants and institutions.
The EAST SPARK 3-Days Training Programme
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
The EAST-SPARK training is organised across three days that reflect the full doctoral journey. Day 1 addresses the foundations of supervision, including the purpose of doctoral education, candidate recruitment and selection, project design, and supervisory relationships. Day 2 focuses on guiding the research journey, opening international perspectives, and supporting writing and publication. Day 3 turns to professional development, thesis completion and defense, and final reflection on supervision practice.
The EAST-SPARK toolkit supports supervisors in reflecting on doctoral supervision as a professional practice that develops over time. It addresses the doctoral journey from candidate selection and project design to supervisory relationships, writing, internationalisation, career development, and thesis completion. In doing so, it helps supervisors strengthen not only their academic guidance, but also their ability to create more explicit, structured, and supportive supervisory environments.
For supervisors, the toolkit offers practical guidance as well as opportunities for reflection. It encourages a view of supervision that goes beyond informal experience and individual style, and instead highlights the importance of clarity, feedback, planning, communication, and responsiveness to different candidate needs. Whether supervisors are new to the role or already experienced, the materials offer useful points of orientation and development for strengthening supervision in practice.
The EAST-SPARK training follows a three-day structure that covers the main stages and dimensions of doctoral supervision. Day 1 focuses on core foundations such as supervisory roles, candidate selection, feasible project design, and supervisory relationships. Day 2 explores the management of the research journey, internationalisation, and writing and publication support. Day 3 addresses professional development, the final phase of the doctorate, and reflective evaluation of supervision practice.
The EAST-SPARK toolkit provides academic leaders with a valuable resource for strengthening doctoral supervision as part of institutional quality development. It highlights supervision as a key element of doctoral success and research capacity building, and it offers materials that can support supervisor development, local training initiatives, and broader conversations about doctoral structures, expectations, and support systems. In this way, the toolkit speaks not only to individual practice, but also to institutional responsibility.
For academic leaders, the relevance of the toolkit lies in its ability to connect day-to-day supervisory questions with wider organisational and strategic concerns. It can support the development of more consistent supervisory practice, more deliberate preparation of supervisors, and stronger attention to doctoral progression, completion, researcher development, and career readiness. The toolkit is therefore a useful resource for institutions seeking to strengthen doctoral education in a practical, context-sensitive, and sustainable way.
Further Readings
- Taylor, S., & Kiley, M. (2024). A handbook for doctoral supervisors. Routledge.
- Luneta, K., Golding, J., Kapenda, H. M., & Nalube, P. P. (Eds.). (2023). Doctoral supervision in Southern Africa: From theory to practice. Springer.
- Motshoane, P. (2023). The need for the development of emerging postgraduate supervisors. Journal for New Generation Sciences, 21(1), 74-85.
- Taylor, S. (2023). The changing landscape of doctoral education: A framework for analysis and introduction to the special issue. Innovations in education and teaching international, 60(5), 606-622.
- Nerad, M., Bogle, D., Kohl, U., O’Carroll, C., Peters, C., & Scholz, B. (2022). Towards a global core value system in doctoral education (p. 290). UCL Press.
- Taylor, S., Kiley, M., & Holley, K. A. (2021). The making of doctoral supervisors. London: Routledge.
- Frick, L. (2019). PhD by publication–Panacea or paralysis?. Africa Education Review, 16(5), 47-59.
- Arvanitis, R., & Mouton, J. (2019). Observing and funding African research (Doctoral dissertation, Centre Population et Développement).Minds.
- Beaudry, C., Mouton, J., & Prozesky, H. (2018). The Next Generation of Scientists (p. 216). African Minds.
- Manderson, L., Bondjers, G., Izugbara, C., Cole, D. C., Egesah, O., Ezeh, A., & Fonn, S. (2017). Enhancing doctoral supervision practices in Africa. Journal of Higher Education in Africa/Revue de l'enseignement supérieur en Afrique, 15(2), 23-40.
- McCulloch, A., & Loeser, C. (2016). Does research degree supervisor training work? The impact of a professional development induction workshop on supervision practice. Higher Education Research & Development, 35(5), 968-982.
- Baptista, A., Frick, L., Holley, K., Remmik, M., Tesch, J., & Åkerlind, G. (2015). The doctorate as an original contribution to knowledge: Considering relationships between originality, creativity, and innovation. Frontline Learning Research, 3(3), 55-67.
This presentation was created jointly by Fredrick Nyamwala, Caroline Ayuya Muaka, Caroline Kimathi, Stephen Ojiambo Wandera, Emmanuel Mutungi, Alinane Linda Nyondo-Mipando, Fanuel Aaron Lampiao, Tukae Atiyo Mbegalo, Brighton Emmanuel Maburutse, Angela Meyer and Lucas Zinner in the framework of the EAST SPARK project. The content has been inspired by the authors‘ own experience, the academic literature and various training courses in which the authors have had the opportunity to participate. In this regard, the authors would like to express their special thanks to CREST at Stellenbosch University and CARTA.
It is intended to be shared under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Everyone is welcome to use, adapt, or distribute this content, provided that it is done under the same condition and proper credit is given to the authors. This work has been made possible through the support of the OEAD,