Thesis Monitoring Committee (CSI)

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The Thesis Monitoring Committee  (Comité de Suivi Individuel, CSI) is mandatory for any re-registration. The CSI report must be uploaded on ADUM before october 30th each year. The objective is to have a better follow-up of the thesis work by making sure that 1/ the objectives set at the beginning of the thesis are progressing in the right direction and 2/ that the commitments of the supervisor/doctoral student are respected (see the doctoral charter and the training agreement signed at the beginning of the thesis). In case of scientific or relational difficulties, the committee can play a role of mediation or alert to the EDCSV. In all cases, the committee's opinion is consultative.
 
  • The modalities of the CSI presented here are MANDATORY.
  • Official texts on doctoral training (May 2016, translation):
    « Article 13 - A doctoral student's individual monitoring committee shall ensure the smooth running of the course based on the doctoral charter and the training agreement. In an interview with the doctoral student, it evaluates the conditions of his or her training and the progress of his or her research. It makes recommendations and sends a report of the interview to the director of the doctoral school, the doctoral student and the thesis director. In particular, it shall ensure the prevention of any form of conflict, discrimination or harassment.».
    …….
     « Article 11 - Enrolment shall be renewed at the beginning of each academic year by the headmaster, on the proposal of the director of the doctoral school, after consultation with the thesis director and, from the third enrolment onwards, with the doctoral student's individual monitoring committee. »

Composition of the CSI

In addition to the doctoral student, his/her thesis director (and, if applicable, the co-director or co-supervisor), the CSI is composed of three other members :
  • Two members, at least one  holding the HDR (habilitation to direct research), must be external to the team, at least one of them being external to the laboratory. These external members are chosen for their expertise in the disciplinary field of the thesis project.  One of these external members is the president of the CSI.
  • A third member of the jury is proposed by the doctoral student.  This person may participate in the scientific discussion and acts as the doctoral student's tutor. This person must have a permanent job of a scientific nature (researcher, teacher, technical staff, etc.) and must not have any links of interest with the thesis director (no current scientific collaboration or joint publications over the last three years).

The members of the jury must alert the Doctoral School in case of any identified problems .

The members of the CSI  undertake to respect the confidentiality of scientific (and non-scientific) information resulting from the interviews.

The composition of the CSI will be communicated to the ED by the doctoral student, for validation, before the first visit (1).

NB: It is possible that one of the members of the committee may not be accredited research supervisor (HDR) on the condition that his/her scientific expertise is recognized in the field concerned. It is also possible to have for the second CSI members different from the first one, if the research during the thesis deals with another scientific field.

WARNING
The members of the CSI cannot be referees for the thesis defence but they may be examiners.  

Frequency of CSI

  • The committee will meet (at least) twice if the duration of the thesis does not exceed 3 years:
  • The first visit (CSI 1) will take place during the first year of the thesis (between may and mid november) and the report (CR) will be required for registration in the second year (to be uploaded on ADUM before  October 30th).
  • The second visit (CSI 2) will take place during the 2nd year (between may and mid november) and the CR will be required for registration in the 3rd year (to be uploaded on ADUM before  October 30th).
  • An additional visit will be required by the ED for registration in the 4th year of thesis (2) (to be uploaded on ADUM before  October 30th).

Particular cases

  • In the case of an international co-tutelle, if there is an equivalent of the CSI in the country of co-tutelle, this will be accepted. However, the CSI that will follow the period spent in France will have to give rise to a specific report at EDCSV.
  • Doctoral students in international organisations (EMBL, ESRF, ILL) who have their own CSI formula, defined by the doctoral programme of these organisations, will send a copy of their reports to the EDCSV.

Conduct of the CSI meetings :

  • Prior to the CSI meeting, the doctoral student should send a progress report (3) a few days beforehand, allowing the external members of the CSI to familiarize themselves with the thesis topic.
  • On the day of the visit, the doctoral student will have to present the progress of his/her thesis work and the training followed during an oral presentation of at least 30 minutes followed by a discussion of at least 1 hour. This oral presentation should preferably be in English. During the second visit of the CSI, the prospects for publication (and/or patent), the professional project and the proposed timetable for the third year should be discussed.
  • This presentation and discussion will be followed by :
    • an interview between the student and the members of the CSI, without the presence of the thesis director (this phase of the CSI is indispensable);
    • an interview between the members of the CSI with the thesis director, without the presence of the doctoral student;
    • a final wrap-up interview with all parties.
  • At the end of the meeting, a report  (form for the CSI report can be downloaded here) shall be drawn up collectively, under the responsibility of the Chairman. This report must indicate the committee's opinion on the progress of the thesis project, the doctoral student's mastery of his/her project, the difficulties encountered and the committee's recommendations for the continuation of the thesis. The report, signed by all members of the CSI(electronic signatures accepted), will be uploaded on ADUM. Each member of the CSI may send a confidential comment to the EDCSV. These reports will be taken into account and signed by the EDCSV management. They may result in a meeting with the doctoral school, should a problem be identified.
  • In addition, doctoral students must send this form to marc.jamin@ibs.fr , with a copy to magali.pourtier@univ-genoble-alpes.fr , even if they have no particular comments to make. This document is only read by the management and remains strictly confidential.
Costs related to the organisation of committee visits are the responsibility of the team and/or research unit.
 

EDCSV management team


(1) EDCSV may delegate a member of the board (or a representative) in the event of a problem identified in the course of the thesis.
The validation of the selection of the members will be done by email: indicate the names, grades, HDR (or not), laboratories, and expertise of the 3 members you propose for your committee. Specify in your message your name, the name of your supervisor(s) and the name of your team/laboratory. Send this message to the ED correspondent for your laboratory (see below).
For doctoral students from the following laboratories: IAB, ILL, GIN, PAVAL, please send this information to marc.jamin@ibs.fr for validation.
For doctoral students from the following laboratories: BGE, EMBL, ESRF, IBS, please send this information to andres.palencia@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr for validation.
For PhD students from the following laboratories: LCBM, SYMMES, LPCV, BGE, Biosanté, please send this information for validation to christine.cavazza@cea.fr
For PhD students from the following laboratories: BIOsanté, HP2, LBFA, LECA, Lessem, TIMC, please send this information to laurence.despres@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr for validation.
For PhD students from the following laboratories: CERMAV, DCM, DPM, Institut Neel, LIPHY, LNCMI please send this information for validation to nicolas.spinelli@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr


(2)    Thesis extensions are derogatory. They must remain exceptional and must in all cases be justified and financed.

(3)    The progress report (5-10 pages) should also enable CSI members to assess the doctoral student's writing skills.
Published on  October 17, 2023
Updated on March 19, 2024