“在任何学科领域，是否有一个好导师都将决定学生的研究生涯初期的成败” ，甚至影响到学术以外的人生，一个差的导师甚至会造成人生的悲剧，比如近期因不堪忍受导师压榨在实验室自焚的南邮同学，那什么样的导师是才是好导师呢？

2005年，Nature创立了the Nature awards for mentoring in science，用于表彰在指导研究生方面卓有成效的导师。有关人员广泛收集总结了学生们对其导师的评价，总结成了给导师的16条建议，如对学生的智力与能力的尊重，对学生职业发展（甚至选择非学术道路）的尊重等等。

本文分别列出这16条建议，并引用学生的comments作为例证。基于我与自己的博士导师 & 我与本科期间的两个导师的各种经历，highlight了这些comment里让我深有感触的地方。在异国求学，一个supportive的好导师是如父亲一般的存在。

此外，我认为导师“nice”这个说法太笼统。我认为挑导师主要有两个维度：一个是做人，一个是治学。

真正的好导师，做人方面要正直、得体，尊重学生，让学生如沐春风，心情愉快，感到个人价值受到认可；做研究方面，要非常responsible，对学生的研究生涯发展很给力，所以push至少比放羊好一点，让学生紧张一点总比松懈要好——五年PHD实在是好短哒。

1 Be available：给学生及时的帮助和反馈

“乔治定期与他的学生见面，并且随时都可以见面。我不记得他曾取笑我们的见面，尽管对他的时间有着极大考验（他曾担任过部门主管，我是他的学生）。及时地提供明确的，建设性的评论。他从不负，甚至不会贬低任何学生，哪怕是新生。”\

“毫无疑问，查尔斯的导师风格的最大特点是他的随时可以联系。我在实验室的6年里，我很少注意到他没有对我们实验室内外的人敞开大门，实验室的任何人都可以与他讨论最近的实验结果。随时可寻求帮助以及查尔斯平易近人的态度，使得你不会害怕说话，无论你有什么结果，不管是积极的还是消极的。即使在离开他的实验室后，我发现他总是敞开大门与我们讨论科研想法。”

"George meets with his studentsvery regularly and is always available to them. I cannot remember him evercancelling an appointment with me despite the tremendous demands on his time(he was Head of Department for some of the time that I was his student). Hereads drafts promptly and provides clear, constructive comments. He is nevernegative and never belittles even the most junior of students."

"Undoubtedly the greatest attributeof Charles's mentorship style is his accessibility. Rarely in the 6 years I wasin his laboratory did I note him not to have an open door to discuss recentresults with anyone from within, or indeed from outside, her/his laboratory.This availability combined with Charles's approachable attitude resulted in amentor that you were not afraid to speak to, with whatever result you had inhand be it positive or negative. Even after leaving his laboratory I founds hisdoor was always open to discuss scientific ideas."

2 Respect：尊重学生的人格和智力

“玛丽对待她的合作伙伴，无论他们是在攻读博士还是教授，都同样尊重。在这样做的过程中，她激发了对她的合作者的信心。”

"Mary treats her colleagues,regardless of whether they are doing a PhD or if they are a fellow Professor,with the same high regard. In doing so, she inspires confidence in hercollaborators."

一般而言，被吐槽的导师都是这一点做得差，把学生当做干活机器。

3 Be generous：无私的分享精神

“Mark无私的分享自己的想法和赞赏他人的成功方面也是一种鼓励，不仅仅是对我自己，也是对新一代的年轻科学家。”

“Sally做了，并且仍然这样做是为了让他们能够利用自己的想法来发展，甚至完全自我创作，并允许他们在重要论文上担任主要作者，即使她可以让自己成为争取。”

"Mark's magnanimity in sharing hisown ideas and delight in seeing others succeed has also been an inspiration,not just for myself but for a whole generation of younger scientists."

"Sally did and still does this by allowing them to run with ideas that shehelped to develop or even produced herself entirely and by allowing them, totake on senior authorship on important papers even though she could claim itfor herself."

4 Individual difference：尊重个体差异

每个学生想要追求的人生目标是不同的，每个学生也都有自己的私人生活。

“导师需要有能力与实验室的每个成员建立独特的关系。Francis 拥有这个个性，他能看到每个人的优势和天赋，然后设计项目以适应这些优势。她知道不是每个人都用同样的方式工作或者想要同样的东西，这个能力让她从每个人那里得到最好的结果。”

“并不是每个人都想成为研究员，有些人的能力更适合其他职业。鼓励年轻人接受他们可能不适合他们或者有压力或不感兴趣的工作是没有意义的。所以我认为有时需要鼓励他们进入其他方向。”

这段话让我非常感动——我觉得这种对个人意志与自由选择的无私尊重，简直是一种伟大的人性的光辉。正如原文[2]指出“除了在实验室里所做的事情，他们还有更多的生活。他们需要自由地“嗅闻玫瑰”，正如一位老师所说的那样。如果事情发生变化并且出现问题，我们要试着理解原因。如果个人生活变得艰难，那就给他们时间和空间。好导师会让自己意识到这一点。我们经常这么忙，我们没有注意到。所以，一位优秀的主管/导师会理解这些差异，并不会尝试在圆孔中安装方形钉。他们知道什么时候退缩，让人们做出自己的决定，也知道何时进来并提供帮助和表达同情。”

"A mentor needs the ability tocreate a unique relationship with each member of the lab. Francis possessesthis attribute and sees the strengths and skills of each individual and thendesigns projects to suit these strengths. Her ability to understand that noteveryone works in the same way or wants the same things from their livesenables her to produce the best results from people."

"Not everybody wants to be aleading researcher and some have skills that better suit them to otheroccupations. There is little point in encouraging young people to take on acareer to which they may be unsuited or which they will find stressful oruninteresting. So I believe it is necessary sometimes to encourage them intoother directions ."

there is more to life that what theydo in the lab. They need freedom to "smell the roses" as one menteeput it. If things change and appear to be going wrong we need to try andunderstand why. If personal life is becoming tough, then give them time andspace. Good mentors make themselves aware of this. Again we are often so busywe don't notice. 所以，A good supervisor/mentorappreciates these differences and does not try and fit square pegs in round holes.They know when to back off and let people make their own decisions and when tocome in and offer support and sympathy.

5 For Life：一日为师，终身为父

“Hassan 给他的学生持续不断的提供帮助：所以，在我和他一起完成博士学位二十年之后，当我有一个棘手的问题需要讨论或者急需一个建议时，他仍然是我的第一个想要寻求帮助的，他从来没有让我失望过。”

“同意知道一个博士生需要做出的承诺不仅仅是对一系列实验的日常概述，或者是开发一种新的物理数学理论的分析程序。它包括与学生建立融洽关系，并可能持续一生。”

"Hassan takes a continuing interestin his students: so, twenty years after I completed my PhD with him, he isstill my first port of call when I have a thorny issue to discuss, or urgentlyrequire a reference - and he has never let me down."

"Agreeing to supervise a PhDstudent entails making a commitment to much more than the day-to-day overviewof a series of experiments, or the development of a programme of analysis thatleads to new physical-mathematical theory. It involves forging rapport with thestudent that potentially lasts a lifetime."

6 Actively research：经常亲临一线的研究工作

站在一线领导，自己也要参与一线研究。穿上白大褂而不是只坐在办公桌前。

Lead from the front, be a researcheryour self, white coat on and not desk bound.

7 Balance direction：平衡指导与放手

又要放手让学生去explore自己的想法和project，又要在需要的时候给予学生关键性的指导和建议，以此可以有效地提高学生的自主性和能动性。

"As a research supervisor andmentor she/he has an incredible ability to find the perfect balance between:allowing the student to develop and explore their own ideas, research plans andprojects; providing them with expert guidance, direction when needed; and mostimportantly providing the inspiration to achieve their best."

8 Celebrate：为学生庆祝他们的成功

“Jane 明白社交生活和工作结合在一起的重要性。我们实验室总是热衷于为实验室成员提供咖啡和蛋糕，户外活动，或去她家烧烤。”

“有人第一次提出他们自己的新想法或实验，这应该在实验室大家都在的场合公布庆祝，因为它是对大多数年轻科学家来说具有重要意义的里程碑。”

"Jane sees the importance ofbringing people’s social lives and work lives together. Our lab is always keen tocelebrate the achievements of its members with coffee and cakes; outings forlunch; or BBQs at her house."

"The first time a person comes upwith a novel idea or experiment of their own. This should be an occasion forpublic recognition within the lab as it is a milestone of great significancefor most young scientists."

9 Building a community：培养一个共同体

在研究组里培养和谐的关系与社区归属感，鼓励合作而非竞争。

“Eli 设法创造了一个科学氛围浓厚的实验室，提高了科研效率，这里没有复杂的人际竞争因素，很多实验室尤其是美国的实验室，这一点很明显。”

"Eli manages to create a nurturingyet scientifically intense lab atmosphere that promotes the production ofhigh-quality science without the element of interpersonal competition that isunfortunately so evident in many laboratories, particularly here in the UnitedStates"

10 Be social：大家一起玩~

“我的目标是通过全年支持社交活动，庆祝实验室每一个成员的生日来建立团队精神。最初都是我组织了社交活动，但我现在将细节留给其他成员，这样我们我们可以享受各种各样的大家都感兴趣的活动，从划独木舟到卡拉OK“。

“我学到的最有用的一件事就是巧克力饼干对每个人的幽默和热情的作用都比任何一种感觉良好的谈话都要多。从一开始，血糖的作用对于生物学家来说应该是显而易见的，但我只是通过实验学到了这一点。请注意，愉快和鼓励的谈话也很好，因为它像杜松子酒和滋补品一样。”

"I aim to build team spirit bysupporting social events throughout the year and by celebrating every birthdaywith a morning or afternoon tea at work. Originally I organized social eventsmyself, but I now leave the details up to group members so that we can enjoy adiverse range of events that reflect the interests of the group, from canoeingto karaoke".

"The most useful single thing I'velearned is that chocolate biscuits do more for everyone's good humour andenthusiasm than any amount of feelgood talk. The role of blood sugar shouldprobably have been obvious to a biologist from the outset, but I only learnedthis by experience. Mind you, cheerful and encouraging talk are good too, asalso are gin and tonic."

11 Create networks：创造机会

给学生创造合作与展示的机会。

"An important catalyst for many ofus was Rene’s attitude to networking – he endeavored tosend all his students and postdocs to good scientific meetings because herealized how important it was for us to start making connections with peers inour field early in our careers. Right from the start we were exhorted to takeevery opportunity to talk to people because it was a strongly held opinion ofhis that you learnt just as much at breakfast conversations and inpost-conference drinks as you did from the presentations themselves. It was notuncommon to hear that he had lobbied for an opportunity for a postdoc to speakat a conference rather than doing so himselfbecause he recognized the value ofbecoming known, especially given our distance from North America andEurope." 

"Elizabeth has maintained contact with her previous students and is quickto make links between the many people she knows and any project that comesunder her discussion. She encourages collaboration and would very quickly pointto potential collaborators. Liz also would be quick toinclude students in onsocial occasions with high profile scientists visiting the university. Thisallowed students to get to know the scientists, and vice versa, and againserved as a time when students could voice their thoughts and ideas to veryknowledgeable and experienced researchers."

小小的comment：我觉得B在这方面可以加强。比如，介绍他的“contacts to promote their students and young staff”， 比如“when a distinguished scientist comes to visit the School they, notonly introduce them, but also give them an opportunity to present or discusstheir work”，比如，如果B能多给我指点一些其他学校的合作研究者就更好了。

12 Question & Listen：问好问题，激发好的答案

用一连串的好问题persistently keeps the questions flowing to help the answer come along

"Rather than directly providing mewith interesting ideas, he/she is able to ask the right questions to allow meto come up with my own theories and ideas."

"Elspeth makes you feel special.She makes you feel valued and is genuinely interested in people’s welfare. She doesn’t preach. She questions and lets you speak. She listens and providesan environment where you can put forward ideas and then she facilitates theevolution of your own answers."

13 Enhancing criticism：加强批判思维训练

通过各种方式，锻炼学生的批判性思维。

"Catherine has focused on equippingpeople with the skills to be fully functioning members of the scientificcommunity, able to prepare grant applications, review manuscripts, speak atconferences and engage with scientific administrators in a constructive manner.Such a holistic approach to running a scientific group will ultimately bringenormous benefit to the group’s alumni, giving them all the skills necessary to carve out theirown niches in the academic world."

"To the uninitiated, the scientificliterature is a baffling mass of conflicting ideas and results, accepted wisdomand false assumptions. The mentor can help by alerting the new student topapers that he/she considers of particular interest, and by going over the mostpertinent ones with the student in some detail. It also helps greatly for thelaboratory or department to establish a ‘journal club’ wherestudents regularly take turns dissecting one or two relevant current papers andtheir background, with input from other students and faculty members.Participating in such discussions can greatly sharpen the student’s critical acumen and judgement."

这里还有一段更详细的建议，读起来比较高端，离我这种三年级博士生还有很远的感觉——

“A journal club is one strategy, studentsshould not only participate in the critique of key papers but they shouldregularly take the lead by selecting, reviewing and critiquing papersthemselves. Students should be involved from the beginning in the team's grantapplications. They should also be put in the position of interviewers in mockinterviews. They should take the position of journal referee of paperssubmitted from the group and be encouraged to make a decision re acceptance,resubmission or rejection. The actual reviews that come back then provide thebasic for a very rich discussion. In summary, we should create a situation whereour students practice all the things we do that make us a scientist. "

14 Enhancing writing：加强写作训练

锻炼学生的科学写作能力，直到好的writing成为学生的第二天性。

"Given the vital role ofpublications and grants in any scientific career, learning to write effectivelyis an essential key to career advancement. Therefore, I try diligently toinstil the basics of clear scientific writing. After an extended discussion withthe student of the results to be shown in a paper, I nearly always let him/herprepare the first draft and then begin the reiterative revision process, using ‘track changes’ to show what has been done."

所以，一个好的练习是present students with a manuscript theyhave not seen with either the abstract, introduction or discussion omitted andgetting them to write their version which can then be compared with theoriginal. 正如文章[2]指出，“The morewriting we give students to do the more we burden ourselves but that is part ofthe contract. A positive comment on all the mentors was that they gave feedbackon written work very quickly. Hard to do but essential.”

15 Enhancing presentation：增强做学术报告的能力

有可读性的演示，有逻辑的报告，能够清楚的表达。

“她还希望学生们在参加会议之前先在小组中练习演讲，并通过提问和反馈找到改善表现的良好技巧。”

“尽管学生很少有做学术报告的天赋，但是如果有足够的实践和建议，所有学生都可以学习。我总是建议学生在报告前一两周给我提供草稿，以便留出足够的时间进行修改。”

文章作者还指出，“This was often embarrassing in that the standard of honours seminars and graduate student presentation was way better than the presentations of senior staff members the students experienced at conferences. ”哈哈哈哈。

Enhancing presentation: good readable slides, logicalpresentation, and clear speaking

" She also expects students to givepractice talks in the group before presenting at conferences and has developeda good technique for improving seminar performances through questions andfeedback."

"Although few students have anatural gift for giving a scientific talk, all can learn if given sufficientpractice and advice. I always suggest that the student provide me with arun-through a week or two before a presentation, to allow sufficient time forrevisions."

文章作者还指出，“This was often embarrassing in thatthe standard of honours seminars and graduate student presentation was waybetter than the presentations of senior staff members the students experiencedat conferences. ”哈哈哈哈。

16 Seek feedback：听听反馈

有什么优点和不足，听听学生怎么说。

参考文献：

[1] Adrian Lee, Carina Denis and PhilipCampbell. Nature s guide for mentors. Nature 447, 791-797 (14th June 2007)

[2] Adrian Lee and Larry Hulbert.Guidelines on Research Mentoring.