Doctoral education at the intersection between academia and the profession in Europe: towards innovative pedagogies of writing

Research Project, 2024

The collaboration involved an international, interdisciplinary group of researchers who over the course of ayear investigated the status of doctoral education in Europe, and the current educational situation forindustrial/professional PhDs in four countries: Sweden, Norway, Spain (Catalunya), and the UnitedKingdom. This research initiative was motivated by the changing landscape of doctoral education in Europeand globally. Although universities continue to generate discipline-focused, theoretical research, mostdoctoral programs nowadays also aim to prepare PhD graduates for professional careers. As a result, newtypes of doctoral education are emerging that entail a partnership between academia and professionalentities, governmental organizations, and the industry.Our collaboration aimed at pooling knowledge from existing research, as well as the experiences andperspectives of professional educators. We identified potential needs and challenges, specifically in terms ofwriting and other genres of knowledge communication in doctoral training. This work culminated in thepublication of a report in the Chalmers studies in communication and learning in science (Negretti et al,2025). In this report, after reviewing key relevant research, we summarize the educational challenges andneeds of doctoral education in four European contexts, and report on what we learned from colleagues atconferences and through our network. Based on this work, we provide some recommendations forsupervisors, directors of studies, and other stakeholders involved in industrial/professional doctoraleducation. We conclude by emphasizing the need for a re-examination of doctoral education programs, andby underscoring the crucial role that universities must take in this re-examination.