With the new academic year approaching, it is worth planning time in advance – for academics studying for a doctorate as well as those combining teaching with research. The start of the autumn semester traditionally brings a heavier teaching load, which often pushes research to one side.
Why start preparing for the new academic year in August?
The academic year at universities in Azerbaijan usually begins in mid-September and is divided into two semesters, each including a teaching period, weeks of interim assessment and an examination session. For an academic combining teaching, supervision of students or their own research, August is often one of the few periods in the year when the teaching load eases, leaving time to review progress and plan ahead. These weeks are a good opportunity to revisit the individual research plan and work out which points will need attention in the first semester.
What to do before term starts
Before the academic year begins, it is worth settling organisational matters that are harder to deal with once term is under way.
These include:
- updating the individual research plan to reflect actual progress
- checking the university's academic calendar for assessment dates and department meetings in the autumn semester
- confirming submission and review deadlines for the journals being targeted
- drafting an article or abstract if a conference is planned
- gathering documents confirming presentation of interim research findings
How should the workload be divided across the first semester?
At most universities, the first semester runs from around mid-September to the end of December, with the examination session sometimes continuing into late January – exact dates vary by university. To stop work on the dissertation being left until the final weeks, it helps to divide the workload into stages:
- completing data collection or the literature review in September
- focusing on analysing results and writing up in October and November
- preparing materials for the report closer to the end of the semester
The timing of doctoral candidates' interim assessment also differs between universities – at some it takes place early in the academic year, at others closer to the end – so it is best to check the date in advance.
What the first-semester report should include
The report on the individual work plan is usually reviewed at a department or academic council meeting and includes several sections:
- Details of progress made on the individual research plan during the reporting period.
- Publications and manuscripts prepared or submitted for print during the semester.
- Participation in conferences, seminars and other academic events.
- Amendments to the individual plan for the following semester, where required.
The exact list of documents and the report format are set by each institution's internal requirements and by the research field, so it is best to check these in advance with a supervisor or the doctoral studies office.
What determines the assessment of the first-semester report?
The results of the reporting period are usually reviewed at the relevant department meeting, after which a decision is drawn up with a recommendation for further assessment. The assessment generally takes into account not only the amount of work completed but also how well it is documented – through publications, evidence of presentation and feedback from the supervisor. It is worth organising materials as early as August, so that time is not spent searching for scattered documents when the report is due.
Careful planning of tasks in August and timely preparation of the first-semester report allow an academic to avoid a last-minute rush at the end of the year and to approach interim assessment with results already organised. A clear understanding of the report's requirements, together with early work on publications, makes assessment easier to pass and frees up time for further research.
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