Accessibility Tools
This publication provides an up-to-date overview of important developments in doctoral education in Europe. It serves as a follow-up publication to the previous large-scale study “Doctoral education in Europe today: approaches and institutional structures” (2017-2018).
With 138 responses from 28 European countries, the survey report outlines the strategic priorities and the main thematic areas in which European universities are engaging, in the field of doctoral education. The EUA-CDE survey, conducted between March and May 2021, gathered evidence on several important aspects in this field. This includes an overview of transversal skills training in Europe and how institutions assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on doctoral education.
This publication also provides insights into the current situation of postdoctoral researchers, namely questions about their number, the average duration of their employment, the nature of their work and the additional training they may receive while being part of a university.
Download also:
Version for print
Postdoctoral researchers are important contributors to European higher education, playing significant roles in research, but also in teaching and societal engagement. ...
The EUA Council for Doctoral Education has developed this publication at a time when global challenges such as the climate crisis and the need to build a more sustainable planet, together with emergin ...
In recent years, co-tutelles de thèse have become increasingly popular among universities in Europe in the area of doctoral education as one of the main components of their internationalisation strat ...
Based on data collected in 2021 by the International Association of Universities (IAU), Michael Gaebel and Henriette Stoeber reflect on the impact of the pandemic on European higher education. ...
This report presents the expectations of national university associations across Europe in terms of funding and system governance in the medium term (2022-2024). ...
As elsewhere in the world, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, universities in the EHEA have had to adjust to the sanitary measures. EUA conducted a snapshot survey of its national rectors’ conference mem ...
Higher education institutions are key actors in the transition towards carbon neutrality and sustainable societies, as well as in reaching the objectives of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and the E ...
This report provides a detailed analysis of long-term funding trends captured over the period from 2008 to 2019. It also offers an overview of the latest public funding developments in 2019 and 2020. ...
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, higher education institutions around the world adjusted their activities to an emergency online mode in the first half of 2020. As institutions have the main respon ...
In Europe today, almost every higher education institution uses digitally enhanced learning and teaching. Since EUA began exploring this topic in 2013, digitally enhanced learning and teaching has bee ...
Digitally enhanced learning and teaching is widely used across the European Higher Education Area, with general acceptance growing over the years and institutions widely acknowledging the benefits it ...
The process to renew the European Research Area (ERA) is gathering pace and is set to continue in the coming weeks, months and years. Building on previous policy positions, this policy input further e ...
In recent years, European universities and other stakeholders have taken interest in career tracking in doctoral education as one of the ways to better understand the potential professional future of ...
This report provides a detailed picture of the immediate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on university funding and offers insights into the implications expected in the future. It concludes with 10 ke ...
This briefing looks at the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on higher education in Europe over the past six months. In particular, it examines the sudden shift to emergency remote learning and teaching, ...
As European leaders work towards an agreement on the European Union’s next seven-year budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework, and the related Next Generation EU recovery plan to help the EU’s ...
The European Commission’s Industrial Strategy for Europe and the European Digital Strategy launched in the spring of 2020 offer an opportunity for a broad and holistic approach to fundamental challe ...
The European Commission’s new proposal for the next seven-year budget of the European Union together with the Next Generation EU recovery plan falls short of much needed investment in research, inno ...
In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, and its expected economic impact, this EUA briefing explores the possible implications for university funding in Europe in the short to medium term. ...
Fifteen university associations join together to call for an ambitious long-term EU budget for research, innovation and education to boost efforts to solve the manifold future challenges. ...
This EUA-CDE report presents the results of an extensive and unique study on the state of play of doctoral education in Europe. Offering findings gathered from more than 300 institutions across Europe ...
The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines for the continued implementation of reforms in doctoral education building on the Salzburg Principles and Recommendations. It is directed at ...
As defined in the Salzburg Recommendations, internationalisation is a significant component of developing the quality of research and of doctoral education within universities. At the s ...
The project “Promoting Collaborative Doctoral Education for Enhanced Career Opportunities” (DOC-CAREERS II) looked at how universities work with their business and other non-university partne ...
Major concrete results have been achieved by EUA with its large membership in moving forward the implementation of European Research Area policies and raising further awareness of their importance. Su ...
Quality assurance and doctoral education have been elements of the Bologna Process since the 2003 ministerial meeting in Berlin, but until rather recently, they have been developing on two differ ...
Abstract The ORPHEUS/AMSE1/WFME2 PhD standards document, published January 2012, is a practical tool for quality assurance of PhD programmes. Another document, the new PhD principles document: &ldquo ...
The starting point for the CODOC project was the need to develop a new, global approach to doctoral education, taking into account the development of new means of communication and easi ...
In 2005, the Salzburg Principles were established in the Bologna Process as the basis of the reforms for doctoral education. In the half decade that has passed since then, Europe’s univers ...
This report, “Collaborative Doctoral Education: University-Industry Partnerships for Enhancing Knowledge Exchange” presents the findings of the project “DOC-CAREERS: From Innovati ...
Doctoral education is a major priority for European universities and for EUA. In the context of the Bologna Process the importance of doctoral education as the third cycle of higher education and ...
This report aims to provide EUA members and other stakeholders in higher education and research with a broad view of the current landscape of doctoral programmes in Europe. EUA is grateful t ...
The Bologna Seminar on ''Doctoral Programmes for the European Knowledge Society'' provided the first major forum to discuss the new Action Line in the Bologna Process entitled “European Higher Educa ...
The European University Association is pleased to announce that it is strengthening its Secretariat with the appointment of a new senior team member. ...
In a joint statement, the European University Association (EUA), the Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN), Aurora Universities, The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universiti ...
The European University Association (EUA) has joined the “Improving Research Ethics Expertise and Competencies to Ensure Reliability and Trust in Science” (iRECS) project. ...
EUA-CDE has published a new report on the findings of the 2020 Thematic Peer Group on “Co-tutelles and Joint Doctorates”. The report outlines the conclusions of this second EUA-CDE Thematic Peer ...
On 17 November, EUA released the findings of a snapshot survey on the impact of Covid-19 on universities starting the academic year. Conducted at the end of October, it is based on the replies of 26 n ...
The secretariat of the Education Department of the Council of Europe launched a call for applications for the Best Practice Programme in Promoting Academic Integrity. The deadline for applications is ...
Scholars at Risk – Ireland and ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, organise the online conference “Academic freedom and intellectual dissent” on 8 June, from ...
The Education Department of the Council of Europe launched the application period for Best Practice Programme in Promoting Academic Integrity during Covid-19, open until 20 August. ...
EUROSTUDENT organises the EUROSTUDENT VII final conference online on 18 and 19 May 2021. Registrations are now open and free of charge. ...
The Eurasian Universities Union (EURAS) organises the Eurasia Higher Education (EURIE) Summit on 3 – 5 March 2021. ...
The European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN) organises the European Online Distance Learning Week (EODLW) on 2 – 6 November, with one extra day on 9 November focusing on the European Vocation ...
EUNIS, the European University Information Systems organisation, opened the registrations for the EUNIS2020 Congress “Virtual Helsinki”, which will take place online from 10 to 12 June 2020. Regis ...
The European Commission launched EUvsVirus, a pan-European non-profit online hackathon on 24, 25 and 26 April to connect civil society, innovators, partners and buyers across Europe to develop innovat ...
The Research Data Alliance (RDA) set up a Fast-Track working group on Covid-19 and launched a call for contributions to provide recommendations on the creation of a common framework for research ...
Due to the coronavirus crisis, the EHEA Ministerial Conference has been postponed to 18 -20 November 2020. The Conference will take place in the same location, La Nuvola Conference Centre. ...
The University of Aveiro in Portugal organises an intensive training session on Innovation and Global Engagement in Doctoral Education from 25 to 27 March. Registrations are open until 31 January. ...
The EUA Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE) brought together 225 participants on 7 and 8 June to discuss excellence through diversity in doctoral education. Hosted by the University of Ljubljana, ...
Registrations for the 11th EUA-CDE Annual Meeting “Excellence through diversity: Doctoral education in a globalised world” are now open. The event will be hosted by the University of Ljubljana on ...
Implementing an ethos of research integrity has become a crucial challenge for academic leaders and professionals working on doctoral education. Universities are facing uncharted ethical questions ste ...
Save the date! ...
Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) has become an important area of activity for universities across Europe, not least due to their key role in advancing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and ...
The 2024 EUA-CDE Thematic Workshop addressed the multiple dimensions of leadership in doctoral education. To meet today’s large-scale, complex societal challenges and to respond to the big transform ...
The 2024 EUA-CDE Annual Meeting focused on the topic of data from various perspectives. Hosted by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, it discussed this topic by looking into the available data on ...
Photos taken during the event are now available! The 2023 EUA-CDE Annual Meeting will focus on the different dimensions of communication in doctoral education and developing comprehen ...
The 2023 EUA-CDE Thematic Workshop will focus on how universities can develop a strategic approach to sustainability in doctoral education, while maintaining key principles and values. Topics ...
The EUA Council for Doctoral Education is organising an online focus group on 20 January. The event contributes to the development of a new EUA-CDE vision paper on the future of doctoral educa ...
The 2022 EUA-CDE Annual Meeting ddressed the question of time and timing, taking a close look at this key issue for doctoral education. Through workshops and sessions in various format ...
...
In the light of the current coronavirus pandemic, the EUA Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE) chose to replace the 2020 EUA-CDE Annual Meeting with a series of online sessions and a webin ...
Nowadays, doctoral candidates pursue different careers both inside and outside of academia. Many will become highly qualified knowledge workers for the public and private sectors, while others ...
Recording of the webinar is available on the EUA YouTube Channel. Doctoral education is at the forefront for the future of research, but how does its current landscape look like today in Euro ...
The Annual Meeting of EUA-CDE is the largest and most comprehensive event dedicated to European doctoral education. It is an opportunity for all stakeholders in doctoral education from Europe ...
The EUA-CDE thematic workshops provide a forum for exchange and discussion between members. The tenth edition focused on ethics and integrity in doctoral education and research training. ...
The EUA Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE) was proud to present its 10th annual meeting, titled ‘Doctoral Education and Harnessing Digital Possibilities’. The event was hosted by Tal ...
The EUA-CDE Thematic Workshop on doctoral education reform in Europe reflected on the impact and outcomes of newly implemented practices and institutional structures. ...
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of EUA-CDE, the Meeting highlights diversity as an enduring characteristic and strength of doctoral education in Europe. ...
The 2019 EUA-CDE Annual Meeting explored the many aspects involved in the larger social contribution of doctoral candidates and doctoral schools and their exchange with various sectors of soci ...
The 2019 EUA-CDE Thematic Workshop will focus on inter-institutional collaboration in doctoral education. Participants will reflect on how universities with different goals and levels of devel ...
A new Finnish pilot scheme for doctoral programmes offers a transformative model for higher education, emphasising interdisciplinarity, real-world relevance and mental health support, states Minna Hen ...
For Anders Ahlbäck, universities must embrace inter- and transdisciplinary education to equip students with the skills to tackle sustainability challenges. Here, he presents an approach to achieving ...
The culture of interdisciplinarity and co-creation is one of the strongest assets of research and innovation in the quest for sustainability. As honest brokers and exponents of this approach, universi ...
Universities must rethink the way they address digital transformation. Strategic planning must evolve to take advantage of opportunities in the digital world and organisations must learn to use data m ...
In May 2022, the world of higher education met for the first UNESCO World Higher Education Conference in over a decade. Here, after returning from the event in Barcelona, EUA’s Thomas Jørgensen rec ...
What will the future hold in terms of geopolitics, digitalisation and democracy? How will this affect universities? This University World News piece delves into different scenarios, offering a reflect ...
The quality-led rationale of digitalisation in learning and teaching slowly moves back onto the agenda of higher education institutions – accelerated and enriched by experiences resulting from the C ...
A new EUA study reveals that higher education institutions in Europe are highly engaged in activities that address environmental challenges and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ...
Sustainability is an important issue for universities. At Trinity College Dublin, the current strategic plan articulates sustainability as a priority supported by two goals: alignment to the UN Sustai ...
The Covid-19 crisis has led to a widening of the scope and role of internal quality assurance at universities and a shifting of the focus of evaluation practices. With the challenge of ensuring the qu ...
On the occasion of EUA’s 20th anniversary, President Michael Murphy and long-time senior expert and Director Michael Gaebel look back at two decades of global university collaboration. Offering a br ...
The EU recovery plan offers an immediate chance to invest in education and research as we approach the economic fallout of the Covid-19 crisis. This article, informed by the latest EUA data on public ...
The new ERA will need to bring all sides to the table so that we can shape the future of Europe’s R&I sector together, writes the European University Association’s Stephane Berghmans. ...
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the European University Association, Andrée Sursock analyses two decades of transformation and renewal in Europe’s higher education landscape, and charts ...
When Covid-19 forced universities to quickly switch to online and blended learning and teaching, the European University Association was already deep into the preparation of a study on the topic. This ...
Students from disadvantaged and marginalised backgrounds still struggle to participate in higher education. Covid-19 has made inclusion even more difficult. EUA expert Luisa Bunescu discusses three so ...
As the world faces complex challenges, universities are taking the time to reflect about the future strategically. How do we want Europe’s universities to look in ten years? What should be their rol ...
In Europe, there is little provision of leadership development schemes in higher education. Given the pace and intensity of transformations in our societies and invariably in our universities, institu ...
The Covid-19 pandemic presents new challenges for inclusive teaching. This article shares the experience of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy and discusses how to act towards inclusi ...
We enter into a New Year, a world more enriched and more impoverished than just 12 months ago. We have endured great loss of life, a heavy burden of illness and deep economic shock. Yet, lessons from ...
In this article, the EUA Secretary General contributes to UIIN’s newly released “The Future Universities Thoughtbook - Universities During Times of Crisis”. She analyses how universities have ri ...
In a rapidly-changing labour market, how can students be prepared to be citizens of the world, as well as the future job creators and workers? Wyn Morgan and Catherine O’Mahony look at the definitio ...
The radical digitalisation of higher education due to the Covid-19 crisis offers an opportunity to engage in deeper institutional change addressing the digital and green transitions. As Natalia Timus ...
Change is in the air. The Covid-19 crisis has turned our lives upside down, but well before this happened there was already a palpable feeling that today’s challenges are changing society in unpredi ...
UNESCO’s Global Open Science Partnership is well-timed in promoting a much-needed global dialogue on Open Science. EUA expert Bregt Saenen discusses the initiative, its evolving backdrop and why it ...
The Covid-19 crisis led to major push towards Open Access, which is now well on its way to becoming a global reality. EUA Board member Patrick Lévy looks at this key moment in the movement’s histor ...
Providing students with the skills for multidisciplinary collaboration and entrepreneurship supports social impact. The Tampere Universities community promotes this endeavour through multidisciplinary ...
During the Covid-19 crisis, universities innovated greatly in various fields to bring solutions to complex and unprecedented challenges. This article by Annick Castiaux analyses an innovation project ...
The university campus matters, which was demonstrated best – ironically – when the campus was closed during the coronavirus crisis. University communities missed both the silence and buzz that are ...
During the Covid-19 crisis, enhanced breakthrough innovation from basic research made it easier for Norway to cope with and recover from the most challenging phase of the pandemic. Toril Nagelhus Hern ...
In the coming academic year, virtual mobility might be the only reliable option for some institutions in the fallout of the Covid-19 crisis. EUA expert Michael Gaebel gives a vision for the future of ...
In this in-depth analysis of the lessons presented by the Covid-19 crisis for universities, EUA President Michael Murphy delves into the question of what universities might do differently now to grow ...
In Georgia, higher education institutions traditionally offered classroom learning and teaching before the Covid-19 crisis. The state of emergency changed this as universities quickly switched to onli ...
Almost 90% of European higher education institutions moved online in April and May due to the Covid-19 crisis. This would not have been possible some ten years ago. EUA expert Michael Gaebel gives a b ...
As universities across Europe move to online learning and teaching amid the coronavirus crisis, questions might arise about what steps may be needed to ensure quality. EUA expert Tia Loukkola explains ...
Confinement due to the coronavirus is a great challenge for the international mobility of researchers and students, but international collaboration remains crucial for universities. EUA experts Thomas ...
The coronavirus pandemic demonstrates the renewed importance of universities’ civic engagement, whether it takes the form of a direct contribution to healthcare, research on the virus, or explaining ...
EUA President Michael Murphy assesses the challenges and opportunities brought by the coronavirus pandemic to Europe’s universities, in particular in relation to funding, digital tools, Open Science ...
Refugees bring with them skills, qualifications and experience – including in the medical field. This has been frequently stated but requires proactive acknowledgement and enhanced integration measu ...
As the coronavirus pandemic impacts the global economy, funding for universities is bound to take a hit. EUA’s Thomas Estermann explains what the crisis means for the higher education sector in Euro ...
A new year brings new opportunities to address global challenges. EUA President Michael Murphy addresses university leaders and the crucial role of higher education in discovering solutions to urgent ...
The Global Convention on Recognition will provide a strong instrument for higher education institutions in dealing with the increasing global mobility of students. Allan Bruun Pedersen, Vice-President ...
Why should sustainable development be on universities’ agendas? Monika Skadborg from the European Students’ Union discusses the purpose of higher education institutions and why it is strategically ...
Universities have a key role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and it is clear that they are ready to face the challenge. However, as EUA’s Thomas Jorgensen explains, universities still ...
It is at the apex of higher education, research and innovation, but issues around integrity and employability must be addressed for doctoral education to continue to thrive, says Luke Georghiou. Ambi ...
In the Upper Rhine region, the universities of Basel, Freiburg, Haute-Alsace and Strasbourg together with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are breaking new ground in cross-border cooperation. The ...
The research ethics process is facing increasing challenges posed by new technologies and social developments. ...
The FRINDOC project was managed by a consortium of six partners, coordinated by EUA, and consisting of the University of Hong Kong, Stellenbosch University, Imperial College London, the University of ...
At the meeting point between higher education and research and in support of early career researchers, doctoral education plays a key role in addressing the key challenges that research currently face ...
The European University Association’s Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE) is inviting applications from member universities to host key events in 2026 and 2027. ...
The call for participation for the 2025 EUA-CDE Thematic Peer Group on “Doctoral schools: building bridges beyond academia” is now open. ...
