International conference on doctoral education

[PRESS INVITATION 19 September 2012] This year, Karolinska Institutet will host the "EUA Doctoral Week" conference. On the agenda are important global trends in collaboration, financing and quality. One goal of the conference is to produce proposals for enhancing quality in doctoral education. Another important aim is to examine the best ways of investing in doctoral education.

Over 200 delegates from some 30 countries will be attending the 2012 EUA Doctoral Week, which will take place on 23-27 September on the KI Solna Campus. This conference is organised by the European University Association (EUA), and includes lectures, debates and workshops. There will also be a Speakers Corner, where participants will have the opportunity to talk for five minutes on the different topics raised.

"I'm particularly looking forward to the discussions on quality and quality assurance," says Professor Anders Gustafsson, dean of doctoral education at Karolinska Institutet. "Quality of doctoral education is something that is very important for all academic institutes these days."

The debates will deal with quality in a broad sense addressing questions such as: What is needed for universities to offer a working environment that will inspire the coming generation of scientists and researchers to stay in academia? The way different countries organise doctoral education is another issue that will be examined.

A new report on trends in doctoral education in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Southern Africa will also be presented during the event. One observable trend is the sharp increase in the number of doctoral candidates worldwide. It is also becoming more common for researchers working on different continents to engage in close collaboration. A concrete example of this is the ongoing cooperation between researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Ugandas Makerere University, which has improved medical knowledge of diseases that are particularly common in Uganda.

"These types of global collaborative projects benefit all parties and are vital to research," says Dr Jørgensen. "So it's good if such collaborations can be an integral part of doctoral education."

Finally, the conference will discuss different funding models for doctoral education, and examine the relationship with business as well as access to government grants and financing through funds and foundations. A debate will also be held on how the EU funds doctoral education.

Extracts from the programme:

Sunday, 23 September, 6.00 pm - 7.00 pm: Opening speech by Hannah Akuffo, adjunct professor at Karolinska Institutet and expert from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)

Monday, 24 September, 09.30 am - 11.00 am: "Doctoral education development and the changing global research community"

Tuesday, 25 September, 1.30 pm - 3.30 pm: "Funding and costing doctoral education"

Thursday, 27 September, 9.15 am - 10.45 am: "Managing quality in doctoral education"

To view the full programme in detail, go to:

• Doctoral_Week_2012/Programme.aspx

For further information, contact:

• Contact the press office