Who can supervise my X-Tutorial?

Supervisors can be professors (including junior or substitute professors) or research assistants. The supervisor may be employed at a different affiliated institution than the one at which the student project leaders are enrolled. Applicants should therefore look for a supervisor in good time who will support the project in advance but also during the X-Tutorial.

What is the role of the academic supervisor in the X-Tutorials?

The academic supervisor who agrees to support and supervise the X-Tutorial as part of the application process will advise the student project leaders on the implementation of the X-Tutorial. The supervisors are in close contact with the student project leaders about the project implementation and preparation of the project's research results. However, the student project leaders carry out the X-Tutorial independently.

Does the supervisor have to be the same person who signs the institutional affiliation form?

No, the subject-specific supervisor should be a person who advises students on academic issues during the project. If this person is a professor, they can also sign the institutional affiliation form. This institutional affiliation is important so that the X-Tutorial can be implemented smoothly and the researching students receive the necessary organizational support from the department (e.g. when booking rooms, laboratory space or technology).

The institutional affiliation also regulates module responsibility if the student project leaders wish to offer their research project in the form of a research tutorial. The person responsible for the module certifies the successful completion of the X-Tutorial to the participating students so that they can receive credit points for their participation. As a rule, the subject-specific supervisor of the X-Tutorial is the person responsible for the module. However, there are also constellations in which the supervisor does not assume responsibility for the module because he or she does not have the necessary authority. In these cases, the professor who signs the institutional affiliation form awards the credit points for the participating students.

It is therefore important that you ask in good time whether the supervisor of your X-Tutorial has the necessary authority to be responsible for the module, i.e. whether he or she is allowed to award credit points for the X-Tutorial.

What if the supervisor only knows one of the two applicants?

Ideally, the supervisor knows both applicants. A brief personal meeting to introduce the project idea (e.g. via Zoom) is therefore recommended so that the academic supervisor can at least formulate an initial assessment of both applicants.