EUA Council for Doctoral Education
The Doctoral Debate
“The Doctoral Debate” is an online platform featuring original articles with commentary and analysis on doctoral education in Europe. Articles focus on trending topics in doctoral education and state-of-the-art policies and practices. The Debate showcases voices and views from EUA-CDE members and partners.
All views expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of EUA Council for Doctoral Education. If you would like to respond to this article by writing your own piece, please see The Doctoral Debate style guidelines and contact the CDE team to pitch your idea.
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08 May. 2019Doctoral education and language: from university requirements to workplace needs In doctoral education, language training should be revisited to bring doctoral candidates closer to the skills requirements of the workplace. As Annalisa Zanola of the University of Brescia writes, doctoral candidates need to communicate in international contexts during and after their academic experience, making specific public speaking modules a must, with special attention to multilingualism and intercultural dialogue. Read more
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20 Mar. 2019One thesis, two diplomas: the real challenge presented by cotutelle agreements The internationalisation of doctoral studies plays a central role in preparing doctoral candidates for future careers in various sectors of society. In many universities, candidates have the possibility to receive a double degree, even though the drafting of cotutelle agreements is a very long process due to different regulations. Francesc Sepulcre, Eugenia Miranda and David Artigas from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia point out the main challenges associated with such agreements and how can universities overcome them. Read more
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07 Mar. 2019Opportunities and challenges of training “triple-helix knowledge workers” in collaborative doctoral programmes Increasing interaction between universities, industry and government – the “triple-helix” model - creates new ways of training knowledge workers to meet labour market demands in the knowledge-based economy. Que Anh Dang and Marta Vizcaya Echano from Coventry University discuss how triple-helix partners seize the opportunities and overcome the challenges of co-constructing collaborative doctorates from their diverging perspectives. Read more
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17 Jan. 2019EUA-CDE study examines doctoral education in Europe todayEUA-CDE presents a new report on the state of play of doctoral education in Europe. It is the result of an extensive and unique study offering findings gathered from more than 300 institutions across Europe. As EUA-CDE Chair Luke Georghiou points out, it provides an overview of the deep transformation that has taken place in doctoral education over the past ten years. Read more
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06 Dec. 2018EUA-CDE explores mental health and wellbeing in doctoral education Throughout the month of December, and as the holidays draw near, The EUA-CDE Doctoral Debate will address the mental health and wellbeing of Europe’s doctoral candidates. We are pleased to present an in-depth examination of this very important topic as it emerges in our community as a challenge many higher education institutions face. Read more
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06 Dec. 2018Developing an evidence-based approach to supporting the mental health of doctoral candidates Universities need to follow a solution-based approach to adequately address mental health and wellbeing among doctoral candidates. This includes providing appropriate support structures and developing an understanding of the diverse reasons that lead to such challenges for doctoral candidates. EUA-CDE Steering Committee member Barbara Dooley shares her perspective regarding the overall relevance of the topic and how to tackle it. Read more
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06 Dec. 2018“Wellbeing” and “mental health” in academia: nomen est omen? In current debates, the terms “mental health” and “wellbeing” are often used interchangeably and are not clearly defined. Katia Levecque and Anneleen Mortier from Ghent University discuss why universities would benefit from a thorough reflection on how wellbeing and mental health are explicitly and implicitly conceptualised. Read more
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06 Dec. 2018Are we looking after the wellbeing of our doctoral researchers? There is increasing interest in the wellbeing and mental health of researchers. Janet Metcalfe and Sarah Nalden from Vitae discuss how a recent project exploring the experiences of doctoral researchers and institutional support for their wellbeing and mental health reveals challenges and suggestions on how to provide appropriate support. Read more
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06 Dec. 2018Safeguarding the mental health of doctoral candidates in Europe Rather than a problem, mental health is an opportunity for the scientific community to create healthy and empowering working conditions. Mathias Schroijen tells us how Eurodoc aims to raise awareness and advocate for independent research on mental health among early-career researchers in Europe in order to provide preventive policies and share good practices. Read more
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23 Nov. 2018A European view on doctoral education in the United States In the US, "PhD students" have traditionally focused on classroom time and course requirements, while their European counterparts, "doctoral candidates" followed the apprenticeship model. Now in Europe more institutionalised and structured doctoral programmes have taken shape. However, in the US, overregulation, higher costs and less time for independent research are cause for concern. Read more