| After 3 months | Have completed your Training and Supervision Plan (TSP or OBP in Dutch) |
| After 9 months | Have completed your graduation plan (GP) |
| After 1 year | Have a formal assessment, the go/no go-interview, and update your TSP/OBP |
| After 2 years | Have completed at least one chapter of your thesis, or you have submitted at least one article to a peer-reviewed journal (aim to write one chapter of your thesis per year) |
| After 2 years | Have an outline of your thesis, including a detailed table of contents and preliminary title of the thesis |
| Beginning of the last year (Year 4) | Agree with your supervisor(s) on a date for finishing the manuscript |
| The last 6 months of your contract | To be spend on writing the synthesis and the introduction of your thesis |