Until the post-war period, the general public did not relate much to scientists. Scientists were seen as intellectual geniuses, often a bit mad, nerds with books or in laboratories. They developed atomic energy or bombs, explored space, wrote intellectual books or worked with flies in laboratories. The symbol was Albert Einstein, the image of the mad and unwordly professor was everywhere like in Stanley Kubrik’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb or in films like Frankenstein or The Fly. This has changed radically in the last 20 years. Science is in the publi ..read more

Embarking on a doctoral journey is a challenge that requires dedication, perseverance and a relentless pursuit of knowledge. In this respect, the advent of digital doctoral communities is currently shaping new doctoral experiences. Doctoral candidates know the importance of being connected, even if remotely they need to be part of a larger community. They need to share experiences, doubts, successes, information, and sometimes, they just want a good laugh. It is necessary to support the creation of a doctoral community by the using channels other than those directly provided by universities o ..read more

Doctoral education in Europe has evolved over recent decades to become more articulated and responsive to societal needs and expectations. This is due to a variety of circumstances, notably the recognition of the doctorate's strategic relevance for the knowledge society and economy. The traditional concept of the doctorate sees it as primarily focused on developing original research to understand phenomena within a scientific field, based on the 'apprentice-master' relationship, and serving as a gateway to an academic career. However, this has arguably now given way to more instrumental, or u ..read more

Social background as type of diversity has thus far received little or no attention in doctoral education. While - at least in Germany - there is a growing debate about access opportunities for first-generation students and greater attention is paid to classism in society as a whole, there has been little discussion about their importance for academic career paths. However, the German higher education system is no better at promoting social mobility than the public school system, which has attracted criticism for decades. So how can we address this issue in doctoral education and thus ensure ..read more

The past few decades have witnessed significant growth in the number of doctoral degrees awarded. Multiple initiatives have been implemented to broaden the education of doctoral candidates and structure their training. Nevertheless, the training of doctoral candidates remains largely oriented towards academia. Given that increasing numbers of doctorate holders will eventually work beyond the academy, it is clear that doctoral education no longer uniquely involves the training of professors but also the training of versatile professionals who should be optimally employable both within and outs ..read more

When the European University Association Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE) published its landmark survey of the state of doctoral education in Europe in 2018, the pandemic was hardly imaginable. With 311 responses from 32 countries this was the largest ever survey of doctoral providers and charted a decade of rapid evolution including expansion, increasing structure in the form of doctoral schools and programmes, and a growing recognition of the doctorate as a preparation for a wide range of careers. A follow-up survey published this year has indicated the continued relevance of these ..read more

Between September and October 2021, the French national network of doctoral colleges (France PhD) conducted a countrywide field survey on doctoral education in France among doctoral candidates and their supervisors. The primary motivation for this unprecedented survey was to gather feedback from those most concerned with doctoral education and to provide input on actions to improve the practices and conditions of doctoral training in France. The second motivation was to update the general public perception of the functions of a doctorate, its importance for research, and the conditions under ..read more

In the summer of 2021, a consortium of four key players in Irish higher education published a study about the Irish National Framework for Doctoral Education, which had been conducted by a team of international experts commissioned by EUA Solutions. The key players were Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the Irish Universities Association (IUA) and the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA). The framework, which was introduced in 2015, is based on nine principles and drew inspiration from the Salzburg Principles (2005 and 2010). Five yea ..read more

Imagine you have just built your own motorcycle. You now must have it registered and inspected. The inspector finds a few problems with it. You grumblingly fix those and eventually your motorcycle is deemed street worthy. Along with the inspection certificate, you receive a request to sign over ownership of your motorcycle to the inspecting agency: as the new owners, they will make sure that it is kept safe for years to come. Surely this last part sounds absurd. But this is exactly what happens when researchers sign a copyright transfer agreement (CTA) with an academic publisher. They give aw ..read more

What would Wilhelm von Humboldt, who initiated formalised doctoral education over 200 years ago, make of doctoral education in Europe today? With increased numbers of citizens entering secondary and tertiary education, the number of individuals embarking on a doctoral education has also increased dramatically. This has led to an expansion of the numbers of doctoral candidates within established educational institutions, as well as the creation of new doctoral schools. Apart from the “one teacher, one pupil” model that Humboldt originally devised, modern doctorates vary widely in form, with th ..read more