{"id":3305,"date":"2021-05-31T08:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T06:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogg.mah.se\/nyttfranks\/?p=3305"},"modified":"2021-05-31T08:25:27","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T06:25:27","slug":"postgraduate-research-schools-and-pre-summer-doctoral-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogg.mah.se\/nyttfranks\/2021\/05\/31\/postgraduate-research-schools-and-pre-summer-doctoral-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Postgraduate research schools and pre-summer doctoral news"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Author: Prof. Derek S. Hutcheson, Vice Dean for Doctoral Education, Faculty of Culture and Society.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This spring, a lot of focus has been on building up our research networks and exploring opportunities for externally-financed research. On 21 May, together with the International Office, MAU Innovation, the L\u00e4ros\u00e4ten Syd Brussels Office and the Grants Office, the Faculty held a well-attended workshop on funding possibilities for transnational research funded by the European Union. On 15 June, I will attend a national hearing (virtually) on the faculty\u2019s behalf. It will be held by Vetenskapr\u00e5det<\/em>, the Swedish Research Council, in preparation for a major investment in postgraduate research schools in the humanities and social sciences that is planned by them for 2022-24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Derek S. Hutcheson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many of you have been involved in early discussions about future postgraduate research schools (in Swedish: forskarskolor<\/em>), but there are many others who may only have heard about them in the background, and be wondering what they involve.\u00a0It struck me that it could be a good idea give some more information on how they relate to doctoral education, and what they could offer to us in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctoral education is usually based in a particular discipline, department and university.\u00a0 Historically, European doctoral education used to have two distinct traditions: the medieval idea that a doctorate was the highest scholarly achievement and licensed a doctor to teach at any European university; and the later concept that graduation with a doctorate was a sign that the recipient was ready to be an independent scholar, but not necessarily to become the \u2018master\u2019 to new \u2018apprentices\u2019 and thus supervise doctoral students him- or herself (a step that is marked with the later Habilitation<\/em> in Germany or the rank of docent<\/em> in Sweden).\u00a0From the early twentieth century, the United States developed a distinct model that focused on structured coursework alongside research.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To some extent, the last few decades have seen something of a convergence of these into a more globalised doctoral education approach, shifting the emphasis of doctoral education from the \u2018product\u2019 (the doctoral thesis itself) to the \u2018process\u2019 (the structures, content and training that lead to high-quality research).\u00a0Within this context, research schools are a further development that moves beyond individual institutions to doctoral-level cooperation between different educational establishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the exact definition of a \u2018research school\u2019 varies, in general it refers to a doctoral programme that is typically organised around a thematic rather than disciplinary base; involves collaboration between several universities; and is wholly or partially funded by external resources, rather than from a university\u2019s own (state-granted) funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the experiences in Sweden and Germany, the research school format has been seen to offer many positives for doctoral students, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n