PhD education in a knowledge society An evaluation of PhD education in Norway Taran Thune, Svein Kyvik, Sverker Sörlin, Terje Bruen Olsen, Agnete Vabø and Cathrine Tømte NIFU Report 25/2012 at a glance for the IME-faculty How does the current system of doctoral education in Norway perform in terms of Quality – with regard to whether Norwegian doctoral training maintains high international standards Efficiency - with regard to whether Norwegian doctoral training is adequately organised and the extent to which resources are used efficiently Relevance - with regard to whether society receives appropriate and necessary competencies How does the current system of doctoral education in Norway perform in terms of Quality – with regard to whether Norwegian doctoral training maintains high international standards Efficiency - with regard to whether Norwegian doctoral training is adequately organised and the extent to which resources are used efficiently Relevance - with regard to whether society receives appropriate and necessary competencies

Executive Summary (1) Quality –Norway has a high quality PhD education system....the PhD education system in Norway is well- funded, well-organised and offers very good working and learning conditions for PhD candidates, as well as good career prospects for PhD graduates.

Executive Summary (2) Efficiency – Norway has taken a definitive step towards becoming a standardised PhD education system with a strong focus on monitoring quality and efficiency. – Supervision remains a crucial issue. Even though there have been positive developments over the last decade, the quality and access to supervision for PhD candidates is not satisfactory for a considerable minority of PhD candidates. Efforts to increase the professional development and training of supervisors are recommended.

Executive Summary (3) Relevance –One area where almost all higher education institutions have a considerable way to go concerns explicating the relevance of the competencies acquired during the PhD period, for different labour markets and occupations. –We recommend that the higher education institutions take steps to acquire more knowledge about the careers of their doctoral degree holders and that the institutions and relevant national agencies take initiatives to develop better practices in promoting generic skills training.

Recommendations for Quality of PhD education To promote input quality –improving practices in international recruitment at the PhD level –investigate the effects of initiatives that promote the recruitment of master’s students and better integration between master’s and PhD levels (i.e. Integrated PhD) To promote quality of PhD courses –the evaluation recommends the use of individual study plans at the PhD level To promote better supervision and support for PhD candidates –the evaluation recommends that supervisor training is made a formal requirement for being a main supervisor of a PhD candidate, and that supervisors and prospective supervisors are given training and professional development opportunities. –to create good and active learning environments for PhD candidates we recommend that they distribute new PhD positions to allow for concentration of resources in research groups, based on institutional strategies and prioritised research areas. To promote organisational efficiency and completion rates –monitor the completion rates of all PhD candidates

Retrospective and perspectives (1) Evaluation in 2002: – Norwegian doctoral education was of a high quality – major problems persisted with respect to the efficiency of the system, e.g. producing graduates in a timely fashion. The Bologna process (1999) and (the European or) National Qualification Assurance framework (2012): – profound changes have occurred in Norwegian doctoral education since 2002, common PhD - in replacement of the discipline specific doctoral degrees; doubling in the number of PhD candidates; growth in the number and diversity of providers on PhD education; efforts to professionalise and standardise the provision of doctoral education. Evaluation in 2012: – completion rates and time-to-degree are not satisfactory in several fields of science and still fall short of government targets.

Retrospective and perspectives (2) Doctoral degrees awarded at IME Source: DBH Computer Science Electric Power Engineering Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering Cybernetics Mathematical Sciences Telematics Total

Retrospective and perspectives (3) “The international committee members who assess the scientific quality of Norwegian PhD dissertations generally find their quality is of a high international standard.” » “There are indications that the volume of research work required for a PhD dissertation has decreased since 2002.” » “The issue of critical diversity and critical mass in PhD education must be addressed, and collaboration between the many, relatively small, PhD programmes and higher education institutions in the provision of PhD courses is strongly encouraged”

Retrospective and perspectives (4)

Quality of PhD education (1) Supervision remains a crucial issue. – positive developments over the last decade, the quality and access to supervision for PhD candidates is not satisfactory for a considerable minority of PhD candidates. – Efforts to increase the professional development and training of supervisors are recommended. – In the 2009 survey of PhD scholarship holders, organised by the Norwegian Association of Researchers (Thune & Olsen 2009), 63 per cent of PhD scholarship holders agreed that the number of PhD courses they have been offered has been satisfactory, and 50 per cent agreed that the quality of PhD courses is high and relevant to the research they are carrying out. In a NTNU survey (NTNU 2009), more than 50 per cent of candidates claim they are satisfied with the variety, quality and relevance of PhD courses.

Quality of PhD Education (2) – Academic training

Quality of PhD education (3) In terms of emerging issues, the issue of "critical time" for the research training part of the PhD is raised. – Many supervisors, particularly those in the medical and natural sciences, express concerns about the risk that too many and too diverse a set of demands are being placed on the PhD period, in a way that has negative long-term consequences for the development of science. – To promote a better integration between different learning objectives, increasing flexibility in how learning goals can be achieved and the use of individual study plans is recommended. – Better integration between the master and PhD levels and further training in the post-doc period are international trends which might help to address such challenges in Norwegian PhD training.

International trends and perspectives In Norway, about 33 per cent of PhD graduates are not Norwegian citizens, – and in the areas of natural sciences and technology 73 per cent of PhD programme units report having a majority of international PhD applicants. it is a worrying sign that more than 70 per cent of these units claim that their applicants do not have good enough qualifications to be admitted to a PhD programme. – Such increasing international recruitment at the PhD level is positive, but poses short and long term challenges for the higher education institutions, which need to be addressed. Recruitment procedures and quality control of PhD applicants is important, as is the integration of international PhD candidates and finding efficient ways to promote international experiences for all Norwegian PhD candidates.

The PhD community at IME 2012

Relevance of PhD education almost all higher education institutions have a considerable way to go concerns – explicating the relevance of the competencies acquired during the PhD period, for different labour markets and occupations. The general picture of the labour market for people with a doctoral degree is positive: there is virtually no unemployment and the large majority of PhD graduates find relevant work. However, the data indicates that increasing numbers of PhD holders will work outside the research and higher education sectors, in a range of clinical, advisory and managerial jobs, jobs which require sophisticated scientific knowledge and analytical skills. Due to this, there is a need for the higher education institutions to strengthen their focus on the increasingly diverse career trajectories of their PhD holders, and consider how PhD qualifications are used in different occupations and sectors. most higher education institutions do not have strong policies or tools to enhance relevance. We recommend that the higher education institutions take steps to acquire more knowledge about the careers of their doctoral degree holders and that the institutions and relevant national agencies take initiatives to develop better practices in promoting generic skills training.

Quality Assurance at IME Quality of PhD education

On the agenda Get supervisor course/seminar up and running annually Continued development of the status reporting and associated QA process Improved prediction of ph.d. completions Follow up the mid-study evaluation process Continued enforcement of QA activities Adapt and implement general NTNU measures (e.g. handbook/guidelines)

Salzburg principles 1.Original research consist the core of PhD training 2.Doctoral education, training and career development for researchers are an explicit responsibility for the higher education institutions 3.Diversity in research training is seen as a strength 4.Doctoral candidates should be recognised as yearly stage researchers, with appropriate rights and benefits 5.Supervision and assessment is key to doctoral education and supervision should be based on a contractual arrangements between all involved partners 6.PhD education should achieve critical mass through adopting innovative practices and by multi- institutional collaboration 7.Doctoral education should operate with an appropriate time duration (3-4 years) 8.Promoting innovative structures to cope with demands for inter-disciplinary and transferable skills 9.Doctoral education should promote mobility across disciplines and countries 10.PhD education needs appropriate and sustainable funding Clues to success in PhD education: Critical mass and diversity, transparent recruitment and admission procedures, team based supervision and professional development for supervisors, training in transferable skills, specific quality assurance systems for doctoral education based on peer review, diverse approaches to internationalisation, strong institutional priorities and collaboration across institutions and sectors. Source: European University Association 2005; 2010