Six-month report

All postgraduate research students have to complete six-monthly reviews as a condition of their higher degree registration. It is basically a means of ensuring some progress has been made and to provide some goals for the following six months. According to the progress report guideline:

"Together with the annual review it provides formal reporting of the progress of the student's research and an opportunity to report and perceived problems or training needs."

Which is all reasonable enough.

The form is broken down into two main sections, one of which is completed by the student alone and the other by the student and (principal) supervisor. The first section provides an area in which the student can outline their past work, including progress made against any previously determined objectives. If it is the first report i.e. the student has only been going for six months, then they have to highlight any research achievements to date and training skills seminars or lectures they have attended.

The second section speaks for itself, in that it determines the work-scheme for the next six months. In my case, it will basically amount to writing a paper on the research we have conducted so far and the accumulation of the results concerning the initial value problems we have been studying.

The six-monthly report is the little sister of the annual report. The University of Surrey annual progress report is available here if you are interested in what is assessed.