Eurodoc Conference 2021: Improving Doctoral Training in Europe (July 14-15, 2021) | Eurodoc

Nowadays, early-career researchers face insufficient knowledge about Open Science, research ethics and integrity. Support in matters of mental health, career development, and the tracking of PhD holders is also often lacking among European higher education institutions. These issues have a profound influence on the efficiency and quality of doctoral training and warrant both discussion and understanding.

The improvement of efficiency and quality of doctoral training, as well as the conditions and support offered to doctoral candidates are also amongst the priorities of the Ministry for Higher Education in the Czech Republic, as defined by the Strategic Plan for the period from 2021. The Strategic Plan also aims to tackle the problem of excessively long studies and the low success rate of doctoral candidates.

These objectives entail the following questions: What good practices exist for doctoral training in Europe? Which aspects make for quality doctoral training and how to implement them? And how can we boost career prospects after awarding the PhD?

To answer these questions, we have divided the Eurodoc conference into six topic areas:

1. Strengthening the Quality, Openness, and Internationalization of Doctoral Training in Europe

• Good practices and quality assurance of doctoral training
• Financial conditions and employment status of doctoral candidates
• International collaboration in doctoral training

2. Advancing Supervision for Efficient Doctoral Training

• Role of the supervisor, and institutional support
• Good practices of supervision
• Communication and conflict resolution

3. Improving Career Development, Professional Guidance, and Support Services for Early-Career Researchers

• Transferable skills, career- and labor market perspectives for early-career researchers
• Empowering the research environment and support infrastructures
• Fostering inter-sectoral, inter-institutional, and international mobility as well as international collaboration

4. Implementing Open Science for Early-Career Researchers

• Research communication in the 21st century
• Training and practicing Open Science
• Research Data Management and good practices on FAIR

5. Promoting Research Integrity, Ethics and Good Research Practices

• Good practices of research integrity training in doctoral programmes
• Cultivating responsible research and innovation among early-career researchers
• Ethical principles of research

6. Mental Health and Importance of Work-Life Balance

• Mental health and support services for early-career researchers
• COVID-19 impact on mental health and well-being of early-career researchers
• Strengthening the social integration of doctoral candidates

We aim to discuss these key topics with experts from policymakers and university leadership to early-career researchers themselves, and share conclusions amongst the academic community and with anyone interested in the future of doctoral training. By bringing together all actors, we wish to facilitate collaboration between them all.

The Eurodoc Conference is free of charge. Save the date — registration will be available soon.