The heart of supervision: How Manish Verma shapes future leaders

A graduate supervisor serves many roles: mentor, teacher, guide, advisor and coach.

DeGroote’s associate dean of graduate studies embodies all of these, in addition to being a champion and advocate for doctoral students. Manish Verma is also professor of Operations Management at the DeGroote School of Business and was recognized with the President’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision during fall Convocation.

A champion for students

Manish has been described as knowledgeable, supportive, insightful, kind and inspirational by his PhD students Zahra Mashayekhi and Zeinab Vosooghi.

As a PhD supervisor, he provides advice and guidance to students by encouraging them to enjoy the journey and make the most of their learning experience.

“The best advice he gave me was that it’s completely natural to get stuck at some stage of research—everyone encounters it at some point,” adds Zahra. “This reassurance has helped me stay focused and persistent, knowing that such moments are a normal part of the research process.”

Guiding through challenges

Although he has received several awards during his academic career, this particular award is significant to him.

The role of a graduate supervisor covers a range of responsibilities and extends beyond sharing expertise and guidance in answering a research question. It is an important relationship that prioritizes student success and supports each student individually.

“One of my favorite memories of working with Dr. Verma was during a tough time when I had to undergo surgery while working on my PhD,” explains Zeinab. “I was really worried about how it would affect my research and my responsibilities as a teaching assistant. He was incredibly supportive—he reassured me about my thesis progress and even spoke to the course instructor to ensure my TA duties were covered. He also shared his personal number with me in case of any emergencies. His care and understanding made all the difference, helping me get through the surgery successfully and relieving a lot of my stress, which allowed me to focus on both my health and my work. I will always be thankful to him for that.”

The joys and challenges of supervision

Advising students and helping them realize their true potential is a challenging job, but there are several areas that Manish enjoys most.

1. Learning from enthusiastic students: “First, the excitement of learning about a new area (research questions) driven by an enthusiastic graduate student is sufficient motivation to immerse oneself in acquiring related knowledge so that appropriate guidance and navigation can be provided.

2. Fostering a successful environment: Interacting with individuals from varying backgrounds and geographies can be daunting, but a conducive environment can be co-created to facilitate open two-way communication and to ensure student well-being and success.

3. Leaning into uniqueness: Recognizing that each student is different, and handling their uniqueness with patience and humility often brings out the best in the student.

4. Helping to shape future leaders: Training the next generation of researcher/scholars/professionals who will launch their own successful careers in academia or in the industry is a huge motivation.”

A rewarding journey

Manish appreciates that the learning path for each student is unique and tailors his engagement approach to best support those he supervises.

“For me, the journey of each student through the doctoral program marked by academic and research accomplishments, and their personal growth has been most rewarding,” explains Manish. “Each student’s transition to a successful academic/industry life where they continue to contribute for the betterment of the community and the society is the highlight.”

Despite his accolades, Manish Verma is humbled by the support of his current and former students who nominated him for this award and wrote letters of support. But he is most proud of the accomplishments of each of his students.