Author: Derek Hutcheson, Vice Dean for Doctoral Education

As the autumn hues turns to darker nights, it is time to give an update on developments in the area of doctoral education within the Faculty of Culture and Society.

The external evaluation of the faculty’s doctoral studies has entered a new phase. Following self-evaluations prepared by the four subjects last winter, and a site visit by the evaluation committee in the spring, we received the evaluators’ final report at the end of September.  It is pleasing to see that the tone of the report is very favourable and constructive.  Doctoral students, supervisors, administrators and the faculty leadership are commended for their engagement and motivation to improve doctoral education. The summary states:

Our overall impression of the organisation of doctoral education at the Faculty of Culture and Society is promising. Clearly, the faculty and departments have created a sound foundation for maintaining high quality in their doctoral education and subjects. There are formal routines for, e.g., admission, selection/change of supervisors, and required control of doctoral students’ progress. The departments offer strong interdisciplinary research environments in which the students can work closely with senior researchers and there is also substantial administrative support around doctoral education. At the university level, the library is well prepared to support doctoral students in multiple ways.

The purpose of the evaluation was not just to benchmark ourselves against external standards (though it is pleasing that we have come through that part of the process well), but also to obtain inspiration for further improvements.  In addition to the above, a large part of the report comprises evaluations of each subject and recommendations and suggestions for further consideration at departmental, faculty and university levels.  Some of these focus on concrete issues – e.g., that all staff and doctoral students should better familiarise themselves with routines in the Study Handbook, and that we should develop the introduction process further – while others focus on strategic questions around research finance, critical mass of doctoral students, career support etc. 

Now that the evaluation itself is complete, we turn our attention to making use of its findings – starting with discussion of the suggestions it contains.  By next spring, it is the intention that these will lead to a plan for further improvements in doctoral education in the faculty.  As we enter this second phase of the process, we thank all who have been involved so far within the faculty and departments – and especially the evaluation committee itself – for their professional and thorough engagement with the evaluation. 

The evaluation is not the only thing happening in the field of doctoral education.  On 25 August we held an all-day conference focused on doctoral student welfare, which was attended by the majority of doctoral students and examined questions such as dealing with stress; preparing for publication (with guidance from the library) and defence; and international doctoral opportunities.  We are also running the ‘Hands-On Teaching’ programme again this session (it has run every third year since 2016), which focuses on supporting doctoral students in their teaching and career development. Finally, we welcome three new doctoral students to the Faculty. Adriana de la Pena, Sadiq Gulma and Fredrik Linander started in September in Urban Studies.  At the other end of their doctoral studies, we have two doctoral students who are due to defend their theses before the end of the year. ‘Nailing’ (spikning) is the last formal ceremony before examination, in which a copy of the printed thesis is posted publicly, physically hung with a hammered-in metal nail.  Therese Hellberg (Media and Communication Studies) ‘nailed’ her thesis on Tuesday 15 November, and Alicia Smedberg (Interaction Design) will do so on Friday, 25 November.  They will respectively defend their work on 9 and 16 December in dissertation defence ceremonies.  We wish them both every success in their examinations.