Follow-up and Mediation

The Doctoral School plays an important role in preventing and managing conflicts arising in the course of a PhD. When a serious conflict cannot be resolved easily within your host institution or research unit, the Doctoral School should be notified promptly so that it can initiate a formal mediation procedure. However, the Doctoral School is not the only avenue for recourse. Such conflicts may involve issues of scientific integrity, professional ethics, harassment, or discrimination.

These avenues for recourse are available to both doctoral students and supervisors.

If an issue is identified during the CSI or through direct contact from the doctoral student or supervisor with the Doctoral School, and if it is an incident without serious consequences (for example, difficulties in communication), a follow-up process may be put in place:

1 – The Deputy Directors contact the CSI members to assess the situation.

2 – Regular follow-up of the doctoral student is put in place by the internal CSI member and/or a member of the Doctoral School’s Monitoring and Mediation Committee.

3 – The Monitoring and Mediation Committee may arrange separate meetings with the doctoral student and the thesis supervisor. If the issue is not resolved at this stage, a formal mediation procedure may be initiated and maintained until the thesis defence or until a satisfactory solution is found.

Mediation | At Doctoral School level

• In the event of a more serious issue, or if the issue has not been resolved through the follow-up process, the Doctoral School’s Monitoring and Mediation Committee will establish a mediation panel composed of 2 to 3 people (members of the Monitoring and Mediation Committee, internal CSI members, site CSI contacts, etc.). Separate meetings with the doctoral student and the thesis supervisor will be organised in an attempt to resolve the conflict. The Doctoral School management will ensure that there is no conflict of interest or other relevant connection between the mediation panel, the doctoral student, the thesis supervisor, or the research team.

  If, during the examination of the case, it emerges that the issues concern scientific integrity, discrimination, or violence, the case will be referred to the appropriate bodies of the institutions to which the host laboratories belong. These bodies will keep the Doctoral School informed of the progress of the case. Such cases are considered to be “under mediation”, even if they are subsequently handled by bodies outside the MIcrobeS Doctoral School.

• As long as mediation is ongoing and no definitive solution has been reached, the thesis supervisor is not authorised to supervise new doctoral students. In particular, they may not submit a project for the Doctoral School recruitment competition or enrol new doctoral students funded through their own resources. Once the mediation procedure has been closed, the thesis supervisor will be notified that the procedure has ended.

  The procedure is closed when the mediators report that the mediation has ended successfully, and in any event no later than when the doctoral student defends their thesis.

  The Doctoral School Council will be informed of cases where mediation does not end successfully and will decide on the appropriate course of action.

  With the approval of its Council, the Doctoral School reserves the right not to authorise an HDR-qualified researcher to immediately take on a new doctoral student under their supervision if, for example, it considers that the researcher should first complete specific training before doing so.

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