Research in educational programs: Doctoral programs EU CEIBAL project, Tbilisi October 2010

1. Research in educational programs: Doctoral programsEUCEIBAL project, TbilisiOctober 2010 Alban Richard, Professor emeritus, UPMF, Grenoble alban.richard3@aliceadsl.fr October 26, 2010

2. Introduction Research and Doctoral programs in Europe have changed a lot during the last decade and are still in a transition period. The main drivers have been: • Bologna Process: extension to Doctoral Programs (3rd cycle) of the main principles (Learning Outcomes and Dublin Descriptors, better employability, common standards and guidelines, ECTS, QA schemes …) • EU Policies: European Research Area (ERA), support for European University Association (EUA) and other initiatives (Tuning 3, EURODOC…), European Qualifications Framework (AQF): Doctorate as the 7th and highest level of qualification • Challenges of global competition: European growth based on knowledge economies (European Council of Barcelona, 2002), with a 3% goal for Research to ensure European competitiveness Changes concern all the aspects of the Doctorate: • Institutional organization of doctoral programs • New standards and guidelines of a doctorate • Content of doctoral studies After a brief description of principles and changes (realized or proposed), I’ll present the example of the University of Social Sciences (UPMF) of Grenoble.

3. Principles of Doctoral Programs (from EUA): • Advance knowledge by contribution to original research + employability; • Meet new challenges and prepare for career perspectives; • Respect diversity on the basis of Quality and sound practice; • Acknowledge that doctoral candidates are early stage researchers; • Set an appropriate timeframe for a doctorate; • Guarantee transparent arrangements for supervision and assessment; • Achieve critical mass for Doctorate Programs through cooperation; • Develop innovative structures to accommodate interdisciplinary study and training of transferable skills; • Offer possibilities for mobility and international cooperation; • Ensure appropriate and sustainable funding for doctoral studies.

4. Institutional Organization(cf. EUA report) Trend towards structured programs & doctoral/ research/graduate schools: “Doctoral/ graduate/ research school is an independent organizational unit with a clear effective administration, strong leadership and specific funding supporting this structure” Different models: • master students & doctoral candidates, with crosscutting administrative support & transferable skills development • doctoral candidates only, often organized around a discipline or research theme, may involve several institutions Advantages: • achieves critical mass & provides a stimulating research environment; • Enhances interdisciplinarity & inter-institutional collaboration

5. Standards and guidelines(from EUA and EURODOC report) Access and admission: • Importance of flexibility in admission procedures – provided fairness and transparency is ensured – a question of institutional autonomy • The Master level, with its growing diversity, remains the main, but not the only entry point to doctoral training (equivalence, fast track possible for excellent students) • Greater attention should be paid to the ‘social dimension’ of the third cycle (equality of access to the third cycle)

6. Standards and guidelines(from EURODOC report) Thesis defense: • Review and critique of the thesis by supervisors before submission of the final thesis • Internal and external Jury members with appropriate expertise (transparency rules) • Thesis publishing and communication about results (public defense, scientific papers …)

7. Standards and guidelines(from EURODOC report) Supervision: • A major topic of debate and an important aspect of quality; • Contract between PhD candidate, supervisor and institution with rights and responsibilities: good practice in many HEIs; • Multiple supervision encouraged; • Supervision should be recognized as a part of workload; • Increased need for professional skills development for supervisors (training of supervisors).

8. Introduction to French Research and Doctoral programs Public Research in France is organized along a dual system: • Large Public Research Institutes (CNRS, CEA, INRA, INSERM, INRIA…), with labs in different places • Labs within HE Institutions, mainly public ones: Universities, Engineer Schools and Management Schools The tendency is • to create labs with a critical mass focused on specific research issues, through mergers between labs, research teams, and associate researchers from other labs • To increase networking between labs, through EU projects, detachment of researchers of Public Institutes, Post-docs … Serious assessment of labs, competition for sources of funding, imposed to reconsider their institutional organization. On the example of Grenoble Universities in France, we’ll see the last changes concerning: • Institutional organization of research within Universities • Doctoral colleges, • Doctoral Schools • PhD Teachings • Thesis and Chart of PhD students

9. Institutional organization (UPMF, 2000) Vice Presidency Research Scientific Council Faculty 1 Faculty 2 Faculty 3 3rd cycle Diploma (DEA in 1 year) Professors (research, teaching and tutoring) Research Labs PhD Students

10. Institutional organization (UPMF, 2010) Vice Presidency Research Scientific Council Doctoral College Faculty2 Faculty 3 Faculty 1 Doctoral Schools Professors (research, teaching and tutoring) Research Labs PhD Students

11. Institutional organization (next step ?) Grenoble Université Doctoral College UNI 1 UNI 2 (UPMF) UNI 3 INPG Faculties Faculties Faculties Doctoral Schools Professors (research, teaching and tutoring) Research Labs PhD Students

12. Doctoral college It’s a new institution, attached to the research services of the University and dedicated to: • Standardize rules among the different doctoral schools attached to the college: chart of thesis, recruitment, tutoring, jury, allocation of credits for seminars ; • Manage directly some teachings for PhD students during their thesis years (seminars on methodology, professional insertion and technical competencies); • Give exemption of MA (equivalence) for attending doctoral studies; • Organize attribution of grants (doctoral contracts from Ministry and University) for funding PhD students • Control the progress of PhD students during their thesis (for example Presentation of thesis subject in English, with first tasks realized, at the end of the first year); Each year, the Director of the Doctoral College reports to the University Scientific Council

13. Doctoral schools They replace the old DEA and are much more structured. They are dedicated to larger fields of research than DEA (economy, management, Law …). They can be linked to several labs of the Faculty in which Teachers are doing their research. Such labs are focused generally on narrower research fields. Doctoral schools are: • Defining rules of doctoral studies; • Managing their PhD students (recruitment, teachings, jury) and dedicated infrastructure; • Organizing advance teachings (conferences, seminars with credits) in their specific fields of research; The Director of the doctoral school: • Reports to the Scientific Council of the University; • Organizes meetings of the Council of the Doctoral School (3-4 times a year): • Prepares the accreditation process or assessment (reports) for the Ministry of Education; • Assesses with the Tutors the progresses of PhD students during their thesis

14. PhD Teachings The example is taken from the UPMF Doctoral College and the Doctoral School of Management Sciences (EDSG 275) sharing Teachings at the Doctorate level Each PhD student has to attend seminars (compulsory (*) and optional) of both Doctoral College and its own Doctoral School for obtaining 36 credits in 3 years

15. UPMF Doctoral College Teachings

16. Financing of PhD students in EDSG 275 90% of PhD students have an identified financing  34% have an allocation or a doctoral contract

17. Chart of PhD students Preparation of a thesis is based on a mutual agreement between a PhD student and a Tutor, Professor or equivalent (HDR), on a thesis subject and work conditions during the thesis. It induces mutual rights and obligations defined in a chart of thesis, undersigned by both ones. The objective is to ensure a high scientific quality. Besides them, enrolment has to be signed by the Directors of the Doctoral School and of the welcoming lab. The main points of the chart are: • Thesis, a step in a personal and professional project: clear objectives, information about possible future jobs and types of financing • Subject and Feasibility of the thesis: subject agreed between PhD student and Tutor, defining the research project (present state of research in the field, insertion of the project in the field of the research team of the lab, scientific goals and prospective steps, methods and potential co-operations, teachings and eventual mobility in other labs) • Tutoring during the thesis: data on the other thesis managed by the Tutor, frequency of meetings, planning of reports and Tutor’s remarks • Thesis duration: 3 years with possibility of a 4th, and less often a 5th year. • Publication and valorization of the thesis: scientific papers, patents • Mediation procedures

18. External assessment (AERES) of a Doctoral School AERES: Assessment Agency of Research and HE (MEN): assessment sheet Criteria rating for items: A : Satisfying, B : Acceptable, C : Insufficient • Context: Doctoral School (ED) title, ED Director, ED Nature, Main Institution attachment, Other attachments, Local policy, Research labs, Scientific policy • Policy, Governance and infrastructure: Council, Governance, Secretariat, Infrastructure, Common resources, Ways of Communication and Information of students • Analysis of results and causes: Number of doctorate students, number of Tutors, number of students by Tutor, number of thesis/year, average duration of thesis (months), rate of Students leaving • Tutoring: Chart of thesis, choice of thesis subjects, student admission, ED tutoring, jury criteria, jobs ex PhD students • Financing of thesis: Rates of financed and non financed thesis, Minimum required • Doctoral Teachings: Number of hours required, variety of courses, organization of scientific events • National and International attractivity • Global assessment: strengths and weaknesses • Global Assessment (A, B or C) on: Quality of scientific labs attached, ED Management, Tutoring PS: assessment of ED 275 in French available as an example

19. External assessment (MEN) of a Research Unit Work plan of the evaluation team (experts ): Day agenda discussion by the team (0.5 h Behind Closed Door/BCD) Activity of the Unit (1 h): Presentation of the Unit activity by the Unit Director (with all or part of the Unit Council): Main aspects, eventual thematic changes and scientific project, members of the Unit Meeting with the Research Teams of the Unit (1 h): Presentations by the Heads of the teams of thematic axes and results Meeting with the Unit Council (1 h BCD) Meeting with the Doctorate students (0.5 h BCD) Meeting with the Meeting with the Representatives of the Institutions managing the Unit (0.5 h) Discussion of the evaluation by the team of experts (0.5 h BCD)