Monday 22 August 2016

phd - How can I find a second supervisor?


I'm in the second half of my Phd in a technical field in Germany. As it is common in Germany, it is not a structured PhD program but an independent PhD without any course work/mentors etc. I am not very satisfied with my supervisor because he cannot help me at all, since my topic is not his primary interest and he is very busy since he is not yet a professor. I do everything alone from choosing the specialisation of my topic to writing (my first) papers, and I got used to that. I like my topic and I get the money and besides the bad supervision, my supervisor so I decided not to change the PhD. However, I would really like to find a second supervisor who could give me advise and has a better reputation in my field.


How should I approach potential professors with my request? I would not need too much help or any money, just the name of someone who is at least a little known in this field and I would be willing to do some work for them. Is it very uncommon and unlikely to find a professor who is willing to do that?


I tried once at a summer school to ask another professor and it would have worked out but I experienced afterwards that my supervisor was not at all happy about that so I have to make sure beforehand that he agrees with my choice.




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