Doctoral Programmes in the Bologna Process (2006-2007)

The Bologna Process so far has been, understandably, mainly concerned with the compatibility of structures and the mobility of people. In his presentation to Ministers in Bergen, EUA President, Professor Georg Winckler, underlined the importance of linking the Bologna Process to the needs and challenges of the emerging knowledge society and specifically to the EU’s Lisbon goals.

One of the main ways that EUA is engaged in demonstrating the importance of linking these processes is through a continued emphasis on the unique role of universities in doctoral education and training the promotion of researcher careers. The important innovative feature of the EUA project on “Doctoral Programmes” completed in autumn 2005 was the “evidence-based” dialogue established between its forty-nine university partners and higher education policy makers on the present landscape of doctoral training, current practices and issues for reform.

The key event in 2005 was the Salzburg Conference (February 2005), an official “Bologna Seminar” which identified “ten basic principles” for the future development of doctoral programmes. The results of this conference fed into the drafting of and are, indeed, reflected in the Bergen Communiqué which formally requests EUA to prepare a report on doctoral programmes for the London Ministerial meeting in 2007. EUA has now launched a series of activities in this area for 2006, designed to ensure broad discussion and further development of the work done hitherto, working together with the Austrian and French governments, EURODOC and ESU.

EUA activities include two workshops focused on specific aspects of doctoral programmes; a working group on the funding of doctoral programmes and doctoral candidates at the conference 'A Researchers Labour Market - a Pole of Attraction' on 1-2 June 2006 in Vienna; and a final Bologna Seminar. The main objectives of these activities are to share examples of good practice from universities across Europe and to disseminate the results of the EUA Doctoral Programmes Project and the Salzburg recommendations.

  • The first workshop which was held in Brussels from 23-24 March 2006 focused on two aspects of doctoral programmes: the supervision, monitoring and assessment of doctoral programmes; and generic (transferable) skills training and its relation to learning outcomes and employability. 

    Presentations from the first workshop
  • The second workshop took place in Brussels from 26-27 October 2006, and focused on the organisation of graduate/doctoral/research schools and their place in the global competition; the link between the Master and the doctoral level; the European dimension and mobility.

    Presentations from the second workshop

 

 

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