Doctoral candidates / third cycle 2007-2009
Bologna Activities
The legal status of doctoral candidates was at the centre of attention at the Bologna seminar on the third cycle. There is a growing consensus that doctoral students should be considered as early stage researchers, but very often they do not enjoy the same rights as other higher education staff.
Actions carried out in the Bologna work programme 2007-2009
In the London Communiqué Ministers invited higher education institutions to pay increased attention to doctoral candidates, early stage researchers and doctoral programmes. EUA was invited to continue to support the sharing of experience among higher education institutions, which it did. The EUA conducted workshops focused on the development of doctoral education in Europe; access, recruitment and admission to doctoral programmes were among the topics.
At the EU French Presidency Conference “Young Researchers in Europe", Rennes, France 20-21 November 2008 the EUA presented the outcomes of her DOC-CAREERS project.
Bologna Seminars
7-9 December 2006, Nice: Doctoral Programmes in Europe
3-5 February 2005, Salzburg: Doctoral Programmes for the European Knowledge Society
Introduction
Third cycle: doctoral education - 2009
Doctoral education as third cycle was formally introduced to the Bologna Process by Ministers meeting in Berlin in 2003 and has since become an increasing priority.
EUA Report on collaborative doctoral programmes between universities and industry
At the Lausanne meeting of the EUA-CDE, EUA presented a new report showing that collaborative doctoral (PhD) programmes, established between universities and industry, are becoming increasingly important across Europe.
Amongst the recommendations, the report encourages universities to establish sound institutional tracking of the professional paths of their doctorate graduates, to inform curricula and career opportunities for doctorate candidates and holders. It also highlights that the committed support of governments to such programmes will be essential in developing university-industry collaboration and specifically in doctoral education, in particular for developing relations with small and medium size companies who do not have the same resources to manage collaborations as larger R+D focussed companies.