1. Making Doctoral Mobility Work in and Beyond the Doctoral Phase
Lessons from Experience
7th Annual Meeting of the EUA Council for Doctoral Education, Liverpool, June 2014
Professor Louise Ackers
and Dr Chris Coey

2. Mapping the Population, Careers, Mobilities and Impacts of Advanced Research Degree Graduates in the Social Sciences and Humanities
The data:
13 countries
2,500+ survey responses
325+ interviews

3. Foreign or international doctoral students in POCARIM countries (minus Latvia) by discipline 2011*
* Adapted from OECD (2011) Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard

4. Case study one Portuguese national; entire PhD study in France
“The idea of coming back to Portugal was the thought that it would be easier but now I recognize that it would be easier to get into academia in France because here this market is completely closed. I thought it would be easier because there is a lack of doctorates but the thing is that the PhD doesn’t matter”.
“What does matter is the network one has in the university. It is possible to lecture with a simple degree or masters as long as you’re attached to someone ‘sponsoring’ you”

5. Case study one Portuguese national; entire PhD study in France
“Professionally, in international terms, there is this thing in France that is that when I say who my supervisor was, people almost consider me as out of this world. I don’t even understand the full dimension of this situation. Here it doesn’t matter. Most people don’t know who he is”

6. Case study one Portuguese national; entire PhD study in France
“We can be proficient in a language but if we do not understand the institutional and organizational culture of a country, we are outside. And this is how I feel. I feel illiterate. Only now I start to learn a bit of the Portuguese institutional language. But, for me, that is like if was graduating just now. It's a big barrier. Or perhaps it's not even a barrier. What I feel is that I'm invisible. Because they don't understand. Only a couple of people do. They don't understand what my added value may be.”

7. Case study one Portuguese national; entire PhD study in France
Lessons:
Information and advice to inform decisions
Building appropriate networks
Comparability of costs and conditions of PhD study
Lessons:
- 1 - There is a need for proper pre-departure advice and information to ensure that at early/transitional career stages that the best decisions can be made. This includes advice on the nature of national labour markets, the visibility of individual, institutional and national networks and reputations, and the nature of national academic cultures (especially when they might be discipline specific – nb her French-style theoretical disposition).
- 2 – need to engage throughout the PhD phase with future academic labour markets and ensure that appropriate networks are built (cf other examples of US returnees)
- 3 – note the disincentive of a dual-site PhD for this person – different tuition costs, different health benefits and status between FR and PT, therefore chose France only rather than FR-PT PhD.
Contrast w/FR24, Slovakian undertaking PhD in France – with frequent return moves for teaching… international experience essential for employability but continuity in employment in SK HEI throughout period.

8. Case study two
Polish national; post-doc (x2) in France. Based in Poland with partner in France.
“I didn’t know French then, when I went there they spoke to me in English, and they did with me too, but it turned out that apart from them, few people spoke English, and I had problems with.. I don’t know... in the halls of residence, in the canteen, at the doctor’s, and I just had to start learning French”

9. Case study two
Polish national; post-doc (x2) in France. Based in Poland with partner in France.
“…from the professional point of view I really wanted to come back here, because my work there was very kind of individual, it was this way, that although I did have a desk and a computer, I went there and I was alone, no- one was interested in what I was doing, and I practically stayed in research which lasted a year and consisted in analysing, or more accurately in cleaning data and so I just cleaned the data for a year, it was soul-destroying, I missed getting out of the house and seeing people, like here you go to students, or we have some seminars. Or when I am in [in Poland], there are lots of projects and meetings, and we try to do something together”

10. Case study two
Polish national; post-doc (x2) in France. Based in Poland with partner in France.
Lessons:
Opportunism vs strategy – managing the tensions
Playing a full part in the life of a community in the host site
Academic leadership

11. Case study three
Portuguese national; PhD (geography) in France and Portugal (dual site)
The mobility was very important and still is important […] They mainly improved my curriculum, the reputation, my network, the possibility to participate into French or European projects. This is very important. Without the mobility to France, it would be very difficult […] It improved my networks, the access to funds and to cooperation. And this facilitate the publications.

12. Case study three
Portuguese national; PhD (geography) in France and Portugal (dual site)
Lessons:
Structure programmes, engagement and opportunities
Strategic and informed career planning from early stage

13. Lessons from experience?
“Now when I look back, that [not going abroad] is the only regret about my career and education. I wish I would have done it. I believe it may add a lot to someone. […] But with the lack of experience and vision of that period, it was not something I thought of”
Information and advice
Engagement and embedding
The role of mobility

14. Questions:
What kind of information, pre-departure counselling and training would help prospective mobile doctoral candidates access, choose and exploit appropriate mobility opportunities?
How can policymakers and institutions assist incoming internationally mobile doctoral candidates to make the most of their experiences?