Transcript Slide 1

Trends in Doctoral Training in Europe:
Conclusions from EUA projects
Alexandra Bitusikova
European University Association
UNICA meeting, Lausanne, 1 June 2007
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EUA Profile
Activities of EUA in the third cycle: from Berlin
to the Salzburg Principles & the Bergen
Communiqué to the London Communiqué
Results of the EUA Projects: Emerging issues
and continuing priorities
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Brief Profile of the EUA
Established in 2001 in Brussels
Non-governmental membership organisation
800 individual University Members
46 countries
35 National Rectors’ Conferences Members
Independent Voice for the University Sector:
 participation in policy dialogue (focus: EHEA and ERA)
 provide input to policy dialogue through projects and surveys
 provide services to its members
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Doctoral Training in the EU context
Doctoral training is the main link between the
European Higher Education and European
Research Areas (EHEA and ERA).
Doctoral training is in a process of change
reflecting the need to meet the challenges of the
fast changing global labour market and the policy
objectives of the EU, especially ambitious Lisbon
objectives (magic 700.000 and 3% of
investment) and the Bologna Process.
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EUA Activities in the Third Cycle: From Berlin via
Bergen to London
Berlin Communiqué: Doctoral Programmes defined as the
third cycle
EUA Doctoral Programmes Project 1 (2004-2005): aim to
link its activities to policy debate and to feed into the
preparation of recommendations for Bergen 2005
(Maastricht, Salzburg, Report)
Bergen Communiqué: BFUG asked to invite EUA to prepare
a report on the further development of the Salzburg
principles, to be presented to Ministers in London 2007
London Communiqué: EUA asked to continue to support the
sharing of experience among HEIs on the range of
innovative doctoral programmes and other crucial issues.
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Doctoral Programmes in Europe – Project 1
48 universities
22 countries
6 thematic networks
Structure and organisation
Financing of programmes/status of candidates
Quality of doctoral programmes
Identification of innovative practice (in terms of structures,
e.g. Co-tutelles, Ecoles Doctorales, Graduiertenkollegs etc.)
 Overview of all themes
 Models of interinstitutional, international co-operation i.e.–
Joint Doctoral Programmes
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Doctoral Programmes in Europe – Project 2 (1)
Goal: policy recommendations for Ministers
Challenge: respect the autonomy & responsibility of
universities
Methodology:
Steering Committee: EUA, Austria, France, ESIB, EURODOC
Terms of Reference prepared & endorsed by the BFUG
Identifying priority topics and design a plan of specific events
Outcomes of other events on key themes taken into account,
including a transatlantic dialogue (EUA/CGS)
 Questions on doctorates included in TRENDS V questionnaires
 The Nice Bologna Seminar as the opportunity to draw all the
threads together
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Doctoral Programmes in Europe – Project 2 (2)
Three thematic priorities identified:
 Focus on institutions = Master/PhD link & building critical
mass through doctoral/graduate/research schools
 Focus on programmes = supervision & transferable skills
training etc.
 Defining public responsibility/the role of the state =
funding, legal/regulatory frameworks
2 workshops organised around the first two topics
Third topic:
 workshop on “Doctoral candidates as young professionals:
funding and supporting mechanisms” (EUA/Austrian
Presidency/DG RES Conf.)
 Questionnaire sent to BFUG members on the funding of
doctoral programmes & candidates
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Key issues emerging from two projects:
Organisation and structures
Trend towards an increased development of
doctoral/research/graduate schools embedded in research
environment and achieving a critical mass. These
organisational structures:
 Include master students & doctoral candidates & provide
crosscutting administrative and transferable skills
development support/ or
 Include doctoral candidates only and may be organised
around a discipline or research theme & may involve
several institutions.
TRENDS V survey (920): 30% of institutions have
established doctoral schools
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Organisation of Doctoral Training in 46 Bologna
countries (EUA Survey 2006)
Overall trend – move away from individual based to structured
programmes. The main trend: towards a mix of different organisational type
or towards doctoral schools.
Doctoral education as
Number
Country
Individual based (1)
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Structured programmes only (2)
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Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus,
Georgia, Malta, Montenegro
Croat, Estonia, Lithuan, Spain
Doctoral/graduate/ research
schools only (3)
Mixed (1) and (2)
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France, Liechtenstein, Turkey
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Mixed (2) and (3)
Mixed (1) and (3)
Mixed (1), (2) and (3)
2
2
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Andorra, Austria, BelgiumFlanders, Czech Rep, Greece,
Iceland, Latvia, Poland, Romania,
Russia, Slovakia
Italy, Norway
Belgium-Wallonia, Netherlands
Albania, Armenia, Denmark,
Germany, Finland, Sweden, Switz,
UK incl separate reply from
Scotland
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Access and admission
Flexibility in admission procedures and full
institutional autonomy - important to keep (as there is
growing diversity of university missions and increase
importance of lifelong learning) provided fairness and
transparency is ensured.
The Master, with its growing diversity, remains the
main, but not the only entry point to doctoral training.
Greater attention has to be paid to social dimension of
the third cycle (equality of access to the third cycle)
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Supervision and assessment
Supervision and assessment – still a major topic of
debate:
 Arrangements based on a contract btw PhD candidate,
supervisor and institution with rights and responsibilities
= good practice in many HEIs
 Multiple supervision encouraged
 Supervision should be recognised as a part of workload
 Increased need for professional skills development for
supervisors (training of supervisors)
 Assessment of the thesis – objective and transparent,
done by university expert committee (pref. with
international rep) without the supervisor as a member –
needs further discussion; public defense
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Transferable skills development
Transferable skills training should be an integral part of
first, second and third cycle
The aim at the third cycle: to raise awareness among
doctoral candidates of the importance of recognising and
enhancing the skills that they develop and acquire through
research, as a means of improving their employment
prospects & career development inside & outside academia
Adequate funding of transferable skills training – crucial
Teaching transferable skills should be recognised in
evaluation of academic staff involved.
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Research careers
Universities together with public authorities share a
collective responsibility for promoting attractive
research careers for doctoral and postdoctoral
researchers.
Status of doctoral candidate= early stage researcher
(out of 36 countries responding in survey in 24
countries status is mixed; in 9 countries candidates
have status of a student, in 3 countries – status of an
employee)
Whatever the status is, it is crucial that the candidate
is given all commensurate rights (healthcare, pension,
social security)
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Internationalisation and mobility
Universities are encouraged to enhance their efforts to
support mobility at doctoral level as a part of their
institutional strategy (joint programmes, co-tutelles,
European doctorates, transsectoral mobility,
internationalisation inside universities such as
recruiting more international staff, organisation of int.
summer schools and conferences; using new
technologies for e-learning or teleconferences, etc.)
Mobility has to be recognised as an added value for
career development of ESRs.
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Development of new doctorates
A range of innovative doctoral programmes are emerging as
a response to the changes of a fast-growing global labour
market (professional doctorates, industrial doctorates,
European doctorates etc.)
Diversity of doctoral programmes reflects diversity of
European HEIs that have autonomy to develop their
missions and priorities
Consensus: original research has to remain the main
component of all doctorates
Further debate on new doctorates as well as new vision of
the doctorate is needed.
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Funding, legal & regulatory frameworks:
EUA Survey
Target Group
Questionnaire sent to all BFUG governmental delegates. Recipients
were asked to gather responses from the relevant ministries and other public
agencies to provide a picture of national arrangements.
Survey Questions – 4 parts:
Structure of Doctoral Education
Status of Doctoral Candidates
Funding Channels, Mechanisms and Modes
Funding Levels
Responses Received (37)
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belgium-Flanders, Belgium-Wallonia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United
Kingdom (including separate response from Scotland).
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Summary of the survey
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Doctoral Education is under reform in many countries with new
national legislation only recently in place – hence responses were
incomplete in many cases.
Survey data demonstrate quite varied jurisdictions and
responsibilities for the funding of doctoral education in
European countries between government ministries, research
councils and other funding agencies.
Survey data tend to confirm that funding support is moving
towards more structured doctoral programmes with focus
on critical mass-building and research schools, on a competitive
funding basis.
Survey results suggest that there is a substantial gap between
the Bologna 3rd Cycle “policy push” and the limited availability of
data on essential issues, in particular the current levels of funding
support received by doctoral candidates, necessary to develop
evidence-based policy
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Funding levels: weakest part of the survey
Very few countries provided responses on questions related to
funding levels.
Some countries supplied information on the minimum to
maximum amount of public grants to doctoral candidates.
The amounts varied greatly across those European countries
that responded. Non-EU and EU New Member States generally
have lower levels of funding, below €5000 per year. In EU
Member States the amounts indicated ranged from €7000 to
€20000 with the higher end corresponding to salaries (and
hence the status “mix” of doctoral candidates).
17 countries reported on the increase of funding levels in
recent years.
18 countries monitor completion rate (data provided by
universities or special agencies)
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Implications for the implementation of Bologna 3rd
Cycle Reforms
Doctoral education is the key formative stage of a research
career (in both academic and non-academic sectors) and
therefore, funding problems and opportunities have to be
addressed here. Attractiveness of future career in research
is determined largely at the doctoral stage and hence the
status and financial support of the doctoral candidate needs
to offer adequate incentives.
Survey preliminary findings tend to re-inforce the need for
a coordinated approach and action at the national level
between government ministries, research councils and
other funding agencies (including European Institutions) on
doctoral programme financing and career development.
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Nice Bologna Seminar – Results
Final Conclusions and Recommendations:
http://www.eua.be/index.php?id=121
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www.eua.be
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THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR
ATTENTION