Challenges to European Universities and what will it mean for doctoral education Dr. Thomas Ekman Jørgensen The Future of Doctoral Education where do we go from here? 8th EUA-CDE Annual Meeting TUM, Munich 18 June 2015
EUA Council for Doctoral Education EUA European University Association 850 universities and rectors conferences in 48 countries Developing evidencebased policies Advocating these policies Promoting development of universities as institutions Council for Doctoral Education (CDE) a membership service focused on doctoral education Development of doctoral schools Doctorate-specific policy development Consultancy services 238 members in 35 countries (from Faro to Tomsk) 3
Increased political attention to doctoral education Inclusion in the Bologna Process 2003 Salzburg Principles 2005 Salzburg II 2010 Increased importance for the European Research Area Innovation Union 2010 The Commission commits itself to better doctoral training in Europe Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training 2011 Triple-i : international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral National legislation Much of this is connected to the discourse about the knowledge society as a driver for growth 4
Why are we here? To discuss where European higher education is going in the next decade! Universities have reformed doctoral education in the last decade At the same time, the European context for higher education and research has changed What are the consequences for doctoral education?
Past policies - Salzburg Salzburg Principles Establishing a framework for doctoral education in the Bologna Process Doctoral Education based on research, but embedded in institutional strategies Salzburg Recommendations Underlined research Focused largely on how to embed Good practices for establishing structures 5 years later, structures have largely been established
The rise of the doctoral school 90% Universities with doctoral schools 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 2006 (TRENDS V) 2009 (TRENDS 2010) 2011 (ARDE) 2013 (ERA Survey)
Doctoral Schools 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Programme level Faculty level One for the whole institution Inter-institutional doc. schools betweens several universities Other (e.g. departmental level, non-university research institutions) Source: ERA Survey 2013 8 EUA European Research Area Survey 2013
Procedures (internal QA) universally implemented 100% 90% 5% 10% 9% 7% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 95% 90% 90% 93% No Yes 30% 20% 10% 0% Admission Progress monitoring Supervision Thesis assessment Source: ERA Survey 2013 9 EUA European Research Area Survey 2013
De-privatisation/integration
Political context Universities receive increasing political attention Bologna process new framework (QA, QF, Bachelor-Master- Doctorate) University reforms (governance, autonomy, accountability, funding) Massification (no longer just relevant for a small number of persons) Knowledge and growth Knowledge society discourse Post-industrial societies Lisbon Strategy Europe 2020 Universities play a key role for knowledge production and training ( Knowledge between to ears ) Doctoral education moving from the private supervisor-supervisee relationship, towards integration in institutions and in society
Legal frameworks 1999-2010 were the years of implementation of the Bologna Process Common European project Consensus about the goals Reforms embraced by university leadership 2010-2015 Crisis years with different impact on universities Youth unemployment Tightening budgets (but not everywhere) Many different national reforms Rise in national legislation concerning doctoral education Continuous new legislation/national frameworks or revisions for the past 5-6 years (latest France, Ireland coming)
Investment and growth in doctoral education 120000 European Union (27 countries) 115000 110000 105000 100000 95000 90000 85000 80000 75000 70000 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Competition! Research is a factor in competition Rankings very research-indicator based proliferation since 2003 Includes many doctorate-related indicators (EUA Ranking Report) Playing the rankings game leads to new priorities for research, recruitment and promotion (RISP project 2014) National excellence schemes 2005-2006 in Germany, 2010-2011 France Germany has special doctoral education funding line Pressure on individual researchers Political pressure on institutions trickles down to the individuals in universities
Funding drivers performance based and competitive funding (DEFINE project) Public funding for research BE-fl 37.29% 62.71% BE-fr 25% 13% 62% ES 20% 80% FI HU 100% 100% IS 85% 15% LV 100% NL 30% 40% 30% PL 45.0% 50.0% 5.0% SE 39.0% 10.0% 40.0% 11.0% SK 100% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% negotiated block grant formula-based block grant competitive funding other direct funding
The importance of indicators in funding formula Nr of BA students Nr of MA students Doctoral degrees Amount of EU/international funding Amount of external funding MA-degrees Research evaluations Nr of ECTS Nr of Doctoral students BA-degrees Nr of staff Research contracts International students Successful patent applications Doctoral theses Diversity indicators International staff Graduate employment rate Scientific activities Floor space Community outreach Patent applications National rankings International rankings Major role of input related indicators (number of BA and MA students) Nevertheless, significance of output elements such as doctoral / MA degrees awarded, external funding obtained 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Collaboration Between universities National alliances (Russell Group, U15) European networks (EUA, LERU, Coimbra, Santander) Global networks and alliances Part of the internationalisation agenda Joint programmes Capacity building projects Universities and the private sector Common
Open research Possibilities of ICT Big data Big science Social media (fx academia.edu) Digital challenge Open access (requirement in funding H2020) Digital learning MOOCs (2012) Blended learning Digital campus Access to information is no longer linked to place Universities are made of bricks as well as clicks
Open access policies (EUA OA Survey 2014) Figure 1. Existence of an institutional policy on Open Access to research publications 6.6% Yes 19.8% 21.7% 51.9% My institution is in the process of developing an Open Access policy My institutions is planning to develop an Open Access policy My institution is not planning to develop an Open Access policy
E-learning a common concern (TRENDS 2015)
The agenda for universities has become increasingly crowded over the last decade Bologna Process Doctoral schools Rankings Excellence initiatives Open access MOOCs 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Summary: What now? New questions to be asked How is the crowded agenda influencing doctoral education? How can doctoral education help universities meet challenges? What can universities do? Policies and structures?
Thank you for your attention 23