Transcript The Irish Structured PhD - the Enhancement Themes website

The Irish Structured PhD
history, development, rationale and objectives
Dr. G.Honor Fagan
Dean of Graduate Studies NUI Maynooth
IUA Deans of Graduate Studies Group
Irish developments since 2003 Enhancing researchers’ education,
skills and career development
What was in place?
 What are the key developments?
 How do they reflect the international and
European context?
 What are the current debates?
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Doctoral training
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Needed more doctoral graduates to
compete effectively in the knowledge
economy (The number of PhD graduates
per 1,000 graduates of tertiary and
advanced research programmes was 18,
far behind Finland (48) and Sweden (75).
The Funding Context - Improving Quality
and Quantity
HRB PhD Scholars
IRCSET and IRCHSS Graduate Research Education
Programmes (GREPs)
 HEA’s PRTLI1 to 5 - International Panels assessing
competitive research bidding towards producing quality
research and a critical mass of top quality researchers
around strategic research themes who could engage in
research training.
 PRTLI 4 and 5 supporting themed research training
programmes and student cohorts. (Research
specialisation development)
 HEA’s - SIF 1 and SIF 2 – supporting development of
graduate infrastructure. (Mainstreaming development)
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Some Key Players
Irish Universities Association (IUA)
 IUA 4th Level Group (Deans of Graduate
Studies)
 Higher Education Authority (HEA)
 Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB)
 Research Councils - (IRCHSS) and
(IRCSET)
 Health Research Board (HRB)
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REFORM of 3rd and the creation of
4th level.
‘Graduate Education Forum –Key Guiding Principles’ 2006
The development of a quality graduate education system will be
reflected by the following features:
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The best possible graduate education experience for students
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The development of a ‘rounded’ individual in order to meet the challenges
of the workplace.
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A graduate education environment that is internationally attractive
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A four year programme with apprenticeship and taught courses and
structured entry and exit points
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The professionalisation of supervision.
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PhDs of a calibre that makes them sought after internationally
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Increased number of PhDs
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Infrastructure and capability to achieve ground breaking research
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Collaboration, where appropriate, to deliver complementarity
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Uniquely differentiated collaboration between academia and enterprise in
its widest sense.
The Structured PhD in 2008
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In 2008 the HEA review of the progress of the
structured PhD concluded that progress had
been made particularly on numbers, but there
was some concern that data collection was poor;
there was no agreed national definition of
structured PhDs or the aims of graduate schools;
insufficient evidence of student involvement;
relative emphasis on generic versus disciplinary
training, and heterogeneous level of progress.
What is the Irish Structured
Doctorate?
Answer to quality benchmark?
 During 2008, the seven Irish universities came
together to agree on the context, components
and definition of the Irish structured doctorate.
 In 2009 the IUA issued a statement on the
context and the definition of the developing Irish
structured doctorate.
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Balancing disciplinary integrity with national
objectives? (IUA Definition)
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The core component of a structured PhD programme is
the advancement of knowledge through original
research; at the same time the structured PhD is
designed to meet the needs of an employment market
that is wider than academia;
A high quality research experience, training and output
consistent with international norms and best practice;
To support the original research activity, the following
elements are included:
– a formalised integrated programme of education, training and
personal and professional development activities,
– the development of discipline-specific knowledge, research skills
and generic / transferable skills,
– declared outcomes and graduate attributes in line with national
and international best practice;
Definition (continued)
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Supervision by a principal supervisor(s),
normally with a supporting panel approved by
the institution;
Progress to completion is formally monitored
against published criteria and supported by
formal institutional arrangements in line with
national and international best practice;
Successful completion and examination of the
research thesis is the basis for the award of the
PhD degree;
Registration is normally for four years for a fulltime student. (IUA Statement, 2009)
What is the nature of the change?
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Shift from traditional to structured doctorates.
Emphasis on incorporating professional/career skills and advanced specialist
taught modules across university sector.
Improving quality and increasing numbers of doctoral students
New monitoring of the research student life-cycle
Enhanced supervisory arrangements. Developing graduate governance at
national and institutional level.
Investment in research education
Monitoring of research education and information reporting
Linking research education with key stakeholders in social and economic
development
Improvement in Research Student Experience
Inter-institutional co-operation towards quality programmes and student
mobility (Inter-Institutional Collaborative Agreement).
Skills
A. Ethics and Social
Understanding
 B. Communication
Skills
 C. Personal
Effectiveness /
Development
 D. Team Working and
Leadership
 E. Career Management
 F. Entrepreneurship
and Innovation
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Guidelines for improving quality
Internationally Benchmarked?
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IUA 2004 Conference - was effectively a benchmarking exercise to
help guide the development of and innovation in Irish graduate
education.
This conference led to the 2005 IUA submission to government,,
‘Reform of 3rd level and creation of 4th Level Ireland’ (securing
competitive advantage in the 21st century (2005))
The conference proceedings explicitly present and discuss the
UKGRAD programme and NSF’s IGERT.
2008 - IUQB/IUA Conference – International doctorate education
2009 IUA Conference- The Irish PhD
EUA-CDE and Salzburg II – ‘The Irish PhD’ is making a contribution
to outcomes
Related to other national models?
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The Irish model incorporates aspects of other national models. For
example completion rates are benchmarked against the UK model,
where completion is a strong focus, monitored closely and where
timely completion is essential. However, we have a 4 year
completion expectation to ensure that the quality of the graduate
education does not deteriorate.
It could be argued that Irish Graduate Schools tend to fall
somewhere between the programme offerings of the United States
institutionalized Graduate Schools and the Finnish network model
which is particularly well embedded in the international research
system and offers a number of good examples of excellent interinstitutional and international cooperation.
The highly specialized networked graduate programmes developed
for GREPs, PRTL4 and 5 exemplify the Finnish thematic approach,
while the overall governance structure in schools in our 7
universities follow the US model (with fewer taught modules taken
throughout the programme which is specifically tailored to support
the research project).
Quantitative Progress
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From 2004/5 to 2008/9 there
was a 47% increase in PhD
numbers: 4,448 to 6,795
850 of this total is part-time
1,024 doctoral graduates in
2008 and the SSTI target is to
have 1,312 graduations per
annum.
A recent study indicated that
at least a third of enrolled
doctoral students are overseas,
evenly split between EU and
non-EU.
Qualitative Progress
An array of themed funded structured
PhD programmes in the Irish
universities:
 Benchmarked
 Inter-university cooperation
 Cohort funding
 Placements, rotations, innovation
focus.
 Professional skills and advanced
specialist skills
 Strongly themed.
 International Panel selection and
approval
 Critical mass
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An array of new supports for all
research students including:
professional skills,
monitoring through annual progress
reports,
advanced skills modules
enhanced supervisory support
and enhanced governance beyond
individual or team supervisor, and
beyond the department .
A majority of research students
participating in programmes with
between 30-60 taught credits
made up of professional and
advanced specialist modules.
Key debates and matters pending.
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Is there provision for 4 years funding from funding
agencies?
Answer: Not all have moved to 4 years and in current
climate argue they cannot.
Would the inclusion of taught modules undermine the
PhD’s core activity of original research?
Answer: The core activity of research has been maintained
in that there is no critical shift from this in the Irish
Structured PhD design.
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(continued)
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All of the funded themed programmes must target
national objectives and were subject to competitive
funding processes that ensured this - Do social
development programmes have parity with economic
development programmes?
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How do structured programmes balance disciplinary
integrity with the PhD’s role in reaching national
objectives?
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2009 budget levels dictate that the number of PhD
places that can be funded will have peaked in 2008 at
1055 graduates, and may well fall back to 960 by 2013.
Is this a problem?
Key Debates (in skills development)
How will the development of researchers’ employability
be integrated into programmes?
- Through professional skills training and a number of other
links where possible, transcripts that record training and
skills training modules, placements where appropriate,
stakeholders incorporated in advisory capacity.
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Which instruments of skills development are successful?
(Under review)
- Advanced Specialist Skills proving more enhancing than
the Professional/Generic Skills? Entrepreneurship and
Commercialisation skills seem to be working best.
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Issues and Challenges
Cohort PhDs are funded, but these are
very expensive doctorates.
 Mainstreaming of Structured PhDs? - Are
we creating a two-tier system?
 The 21st century degree? Interinstitutional, international and linked in.
 Translating research graduations into
positive social outcomes and empirical
evidence of same.
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