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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13 May. 2022Rethinking doctoral education for careers within and beyond the academy The training of doctoral candidates remains largely oriented towards academia. Given that increasing numbers of doctorate holders will eventually work beyond the academy, we need to rethink doctoral education. This article proposes several recommendations (‘rethinks’) emerging from empirical studies targeting collaboration, transferable skills and the relations between doctoral candidates and their future employers. Read more
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09 May. 2022Doctoral education in the pandemic and beyond As in almost every part of society, the Covid-19 pandemic came as a shock to doctoral education in Europe. Universities pivoted remarkably quickly, within days, to counter the enforced closure of facilities with online provision across almost all activities. And as the world attempts to move forward, under the partial shield of vaccination, it is possible to take stock of the impact upon doctoral candidates and the people and structures that support them and to assess what the experience means for the future. Read more
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12 Oct. 2020Enabling FAIR research data management through doctoral education Research data management following the findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) principles has quickly evolved into a major priority of European research policy. Drawing lessons from research in the FAIRsFAIR project, EUA project manager Lennart Stoy reflects on what doctoral education can contribute to this endeavour. Read more
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06 Mar. 2020Why doctoral candidates should develop their teaching expertise Developing teaching expertise alongside research will translate into a well-rounded generation of academics. Susan te Pas of Utrecht University explores in detail why it is smart to invest in teaching expertise, in particular among doctoral candidates. Read more
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28 Aug. 2019Doctoral education for the future — drivers and needs for development The political, cultural and economic environment of universities is changing at an accelerated pace. These dynamics place new demands on higher education. Maija Urponen considers that the rapid technological and environmental changes, digital transformation, and changing structures of work have consequences for the skills needed for successful doctoral careers both inside and outside academia. Specifically, the challenges posed by AI for knowledge production, the adoption of the UN’s SDGs, and the reorganisation of research work will require upskilling and reskilling. Read more
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07 Jun. 2019New strategies for translating transferable skills into diverse contexts Despite extensive efforts by universities to embed transferable skills training within doctoral programmes, Pam Denicolo, Dawn Duke and Julie Reeves observe that UK employers across sectors express a lack of key employability skills in doctoral graduates. The authors consider a core issue the lack of guidance on translating these skills into diverse contexts, both within and beyond academia. Read more