Meeting and Managing the Challenges in Engineering Management Doctoral Supervision

Abstract

Professional engineers have a significant role in developing and managing critical infrastructure and systems that support society. A significant proportion of these professionals work as managers of projects and processes, many of them complex, over the course of their career. Such work requires the use of both technical and managerial skills. Because of this dual role of the engineer who is also a manager, research in engineering management can be quite complex and will require knowledge and skills in both of the engineering and management discipline areas. Supervisors of this research therefore not only require good knowledge of both engineering and managerial principles but also good educational skills, an ability to work in a supervisory team, and a practical approach to guiding and aiding research. Examples of engineering management practice are reviewed and linked to potential engineering management research and the resulting research journey. Challenges in this journey and how they can be addressed through good supervisory practice and the use of good research approaches like reflective learning are discussed. It is concluded that development by supervisors of good supervisory skills, a supportive supervisory style, recognition of the complexity of the research task, a good relationship between supervisor and research candidate with good communication between them, and the encouragement by the supervisor of good research practices all have a significant role in developing and encouraging engineering management doctoral candidates in the successful and positive achievement of their goals.