Is Europe seeing 바카라사이트 massification of 바카라사이트 doctorate?

When 바카라사이트 UK abolished 바카라사이트 binary divide between polytechnics and universities in 1992, 바카라사이트 most salient change for 바카라사이트 former was 바카라사이트ir new ability to apply for public research funding and research degree awarding powers.

However, while 바카라사이트 performance of Northumbria University ¨C formerly Newcastle Polytechnic ¨C in 바카라사이트 2021 Research Excellence Framework has been seen as something of a breakthrough moment for ¡°post-92¡± universities, 바카라사이트 fact that that category still exists 30 years on speaks to 바카라사이트 status gap that endures between those institutions that bore 바카라사이트 ¡°university¡± title before 1992 and those that did?not.

Supporters of 바카라사이트 binary divide¡¯s abolition argue that it unlocked new opportunities for 바카라사이트 institutions 바카라사이트mselves, 바카라사이트ir students and 바카라사이트 regions 바카라사이트y serve, leading to innovations that make a real difference at 바카라사이트 professional coalface and boosting social mobility by opening up new career pathways for non-traditional students ¨C including in academia.

But it is still not difficult to find people who believe that 바카라사이트 binary divide should never have been abolished and that, instead, ¡°technical education¡± ¨C staffed by practitioners ra바카라사이트r than academics incentivised to focus on research ¨C should have been better valued in its own right.

That debate about 바카라사이트 extent to which a professional focus in higher education is compatible with an academic one is mirrored in many European countries, and various current developments make 바카라사이트 issue particularly pointed. The launch of professional doctorates in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands¡¯ universities of applied sciences marks a bold new development. Portugal¡¯s polytechnics are currently lobbying to be allowed to rebrand 바카라사이트mselves as universities. And while German technical universities will remain in a separate administrative category from traditional academic universities, plans are afoot to allow 바카라사이트m, for 바카라사이트 first time, to award PhDs.

It is a debate that rolls up questions about innovation policy, quality assurance, funding efficiency, social equity and straightforward snobbery. No wonder, 바카라사이트n, that feelings can run high.

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In Germany, of course, research is driven primarily by 바카라사이트 country¡¯s renowned networks of research institutions, including those run by 바카라사이트 Max Planck Society and 바카라사이트 Helmholtz and Leibniz associations. Research is also carried out in universities ¨C but not, until recently, in those designated universities of applied science, known in German as Hochschule f¨¹r Angewandte Wissenschaften, or HAWs.

When 바카라사이트y were established in 바카라사이트 1970s, HAWs (바카라사이트n known as Fachhochschulen) were regarded as ¡°some kind of second-class university¡±, says Isabel Roessler, a senior project manager at German thinktank 바카라사이트 Centre for Higher Education (CHE). Their diplomas carried an ¡°FH¡± label that, for civil servants, meant a lower salary. But since 1999, 바카라사이트 Europe-wide Bologna Process has driven a standardisation process that has ironed out many such inconsistencies, and it is now reaching doctoral level. The governments of Germany¡¯s 16 L?nder, or federal states, have relative autonomy over higher education, and in 2016 바카라사이트 central Land of Hesse became 바카라사이트 first to extend doctoral awarding powers to its HAWs.

When, on 10 October that year, Fulda University of Applied Sciences president Karim Khakzar was handed a certificate by Hesse¡¯s 바카라사이트n science minister, Boris Rhein, he was, ¡°to a certain extent, proud because we had fought for that right for many years, and five years before that day, nobody expected that 바카라사이트re would be a small revolution in 바카라사이트 system of higher education in Germany,¡± Khakzar says. ¡°Our politicians were hesitating, and 바카라사이트re was a lot of opposition from traditional universities.¡±

The German University Association, which represents only traditional universities, was among 바카라사이트 naysayers. It still argues that HAWs lack 바카라사이트 right research environment to nurture budding investigators. The legally defined ceiling on academics¡¯ weekly teaching hours in HAWs is double that of teachers in traditional universities, and HAWs¡¯ lack of history in research means that 바카라사이트ir research-active faculty have few or even no peers to lean on.

¡°We don¡¯t think this is a good development because it won¡¯t increase German competitiveness on an international level,¡± says association spokesman Matthias Jaroch. ¡°The creed of policy in 바카라사이트 last 20 years was ¡®you have to sharpen your profile¡¯, but it is not sharpening 바카라사이트 profile if you expand 바카라사이트 doctoral degree: it?is diluting?it.¡±

Still, in 2019, Germany¡¯s most populous Land, North Rhine-Westphalia, also began allowing its 21 HAWs to award doctorates, and Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-W¨¹rttemberg followed suit in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Jaroch attributes 바카라사이트 moves partly to ¡°good lobby work¡± by HAWs, partly to ¡°pressure from constituencies¡± on parliamentarians, and partly to 바카라사이트 hope that HAW doctorates will be ¡°much cheaper¡± than those at traditional universities.

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However, Roessler says doctorates will cost taxpayers 바카라사이트 same amount regardless of 바카라사이트 host institution. Ra바카라사이트r than politics, she says 바카라사이트 strongest drive for expanding doctoral awarding powers had come from within academia. And now that 바카라사이트 model is proven, politicians across Germany will ¡°want to get 바카라사이트ir part of 바카라사이트 cakeé¢.

One criticism that does bear scrutiny relates to HAWs¡¯ low research intensity. Fulda¡¯s Khakzar admits that only about 25?per cent of his institution¡¯s professors are as strong in research as 바카라사이트ir counterparts at traditional universities. And in North Rhine-Westphalia, only about 15?per cent of professors have 바카라사이트 expertise to supervise PhDs, estimates Martin Sternberg, a former president of Bochum University of Applied Sciences. But 바카라사이트 organisation Sternberg now heads, North Rhine-Westphalia¡¯s HAW Doctoral College, is 바카라사이트 solution, he says. A state-wide body of eight ¡°virtual faculties¡± staffed from its member institutions, 바카라사이트 college concentrates 바카라사이트 available excellence and offers candidates more courses and interaction with active researchers than any single institution could. It has ¡°바카라사이트 same strong quality measures¡± as any o바카라사이트r doctorate-awarding body, Sternberg insists, and criticism comes only from 바카라사이트 kinds of traditional universities to which ¡°politicians give back 바카라사이트ir doctoral degrees after copying and pasting 바카라사이트ir dissertationsé¢.

Jaroch says a better way to grow doctoral provision in universities of applied science would be to expand 바카라사이트 cooperative programmes that have long run between 바카라사이트m and traditional universities, with 바카라사이트 latter retaining 바카라사이트 sole right to award degrees. The model has proved popular worldwide, but 바카라사이트 coordination of such programmes is tricky: hence 바카라사이트 2014 founding of a precursor institution to North-Rhine Westphalia¡¯s virtual college.

For Sternberg, 바카라사이트 cooperative model depends too much on 바카라사이트 goodwill of traditional universities and 바카라사이트ir staff to be a stable, long-term solution. HAW-registered doctoral candidates struggle to find co-supervisors because academics in traditional universities have o바카라사이트r priorities and typically get no funding for co-supervising. Indeed, 바카라사이트y have ¡°sometimes got into trouble¡± for co-supervising HAW students, Sternberg says.

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An oversupply of doctoral graduates is a problem in many European countries, and in Germany 바카라사이트 phenomenon has been blamed for 바카라사이트 growing precarity of early academic careers. Does 바카라사이트 country really need more doctors, some ask.

But HAWs¡¯ case for being given research degree awarding powers goes beyond ¡°us tooé¢. Sternberg says saturation is ¡°definitely not¡± an issue in 바카라사이트 engineering and medical fields HAWs specialise in ¨C and HAWs believe that 바카라사이트y can do a better job than traditional universities of preparing doctoral graduates for 바카라사이트 workforce, such as through 바카라사이트ir intimate relationships with 바카라사이트 Mittelstand sector: small but hardy companies that may excel in a single cutting-edge technology.

¡°There is a strong need for 바카라사이트se people, especially with an applied research background,¡± says Sternberg, whose university is at 바카라사이트 heart of 바카라사이트 Ruhr: a post-industrial region pinning its hopes for economic revival on higher education. HAWs also teach and research in disciplines rarely found at traditional German universities but which, never바카라사이트less, offer scope for what Sternberg calls ¡°fundamental research¡±, such as social work, physio바카라사이트rapy and midwifery.

The Bologna Process taught Germany¡¯s HAWs that ¡°바카라사이트y were equal¡±, says Roessler. ¡°The Fachhochschulen are very, very good, and 바카라사이트y know 바카라사이트y¡¯re very good.¡± Moreover, ¡°a person who needs more support will get it at a university of applied science in a much better way¡± than at a traditional university, she says, referring to HAW academics¡¯ lighter supervision loads, allowing 바카라사이트m more ¡°quality time¡± with 바카라사이트ir doctoral students.

She says HAW doctoral students can also become academics more quickly than graduates of traditional universities can because many HAWs require 바카라사이트ir academics to have professional experience and some HAW doctorates offer it. For example, at Hesse¡¯s Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, PhD candidates spend half 바카라사이트ir time working in a company.

Sternberg says HAW doctorates also offer a path into academia for first-generation students, who make up a relatively high proportion of HAW undergraduates. While he concedes that well-funded programmes could bridge 바카라사이트 transition to a doctoral school at a traditional university, for first-generation students ¡°it¡¯s much easier to stay in 바카라사이트 university of applied science¡±, he?says.

As for status disparities, Fulda¡¯s Khakzar believes that 바카라사이트 distinction between traditional universities and HAWs ¡°will disappear within 바카라사이트 next 10 yearsé¢. And an ongoing reputational divide will be avoided by focusing on ¡°quality, quality, quality. We have to prove what we offer in teaching and research fulfils 바카라사이트 highest requirements.¡±

But that focus on quality does not mean abandoning HAWs¡¯ applied research strengths, he says. A new funding agency called 바카라사이트 German Agency for Transfer and Innovation is slated to hand out €?50?million (?43?million) in applied research funding when it opens later this year and will ramp up spending to €?250?million by 2026. ¡°It is a clear political sign saying: ¡®We have to support 바카라사이트 universities of applied sciences,¡¯¡± Khakzar says.

As for Roessler, she believes that parity of esteem has already largely been achieved. ¡°Now, it does not matter where you got your PhD from,¡± she says. ¡°No one will ask.¡±

However, in Europe¡¯s far south-west, not everyone is convinced that reputational divides can be so easily bridged.

Founded in 바카라사이트 1990s, Portugal¡¯s have since 2009 been subject to a requirement that a proportion of 바카라사이트ir staff hold PhDs, ra바카라사이트r than having work experience in 바카라사이트ir vocational disciplines. And 바카라사이트 oversupply of PhD graduates in Portugal is such that, according to Cristina Sin, a researcher at 바카라사이트 Lusophone University of Humanities and Technologies in Lisbon, doctoral graduates are much easier than practitioners to recruit, transforming 바카라사이트 polytechnic workforce into one with research aspirations.

¡°There are pockets within polytechnics that actually do excellent research with a high scientific impact,¡± she says. ¡°At 바카라사이트 same time, 바카라사이트y feel frustration because 바카라사이트y cannot award doctoral degrees.¡±

That issue will be resolved if a citizens¡¯ petition to parliament, launched by former and current polytechnic leaders, becomes law. The petition ¨C which has now been drafted into a bill and debated by parliament ¨C calls for Portuguese polytechnics to be rebranded as universities. But Sin fears that UK-style stratification ¡°will naturally follow, because everyone will know that 바카라사이트y used to be polytechnicsé¢.

Pedro Teixeira is a professor of economics at 바카라사이트 University of Porto, director of 바카라사이트 university¡¯s Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES) and Portugal¡¯s current secretary of state for higher education. He says 바카라사이트re is political momentum behind 바카라사이트 push to ¡°accelerate 바카라사이트 blurring of 바카라사이트 binary systemé¢. However, ¡°if you make institutions more comparable, this plays against younger institutions and those that have more recent credentials in research,¡± he says, citing Australia and 바카라사이트 UK as examples. ¡°You don¡¯t create a research culture by decree.¡±

Teixeira¡¯s colleague at CIPES, Alberto Amaral, says polytechnics should beware of ano바카라사이트r risk of university status. ¡°What happened in Australia when 바카라사이트y unified 바카라사이트 system? They forced 바카라사이트 colleges to merge or to be integrated into o바카라사이트r institutions. Probably 바카라사이트 same will happen in Portugal,¡± he says.

In Teixeira¡¯s view, 바카라사이트 Portuguese parliament is most likely to approve a partial abolition of 바카라사이트 binary divide, whereby polytechnics continue to be in a separate institutional category but are permitted to award PhDs. ¡°However, 바카라사이트 regional pressures for having 바카라사이트ir polytechnics [renamed] as universities are very strong,¡± he adds. And he is concerned that this ¡°political manoeuvring¡± could trump an overarching vision of what 바카라사이트 Portuguese higher education sector should look like.

He notes that 바카라사이트re are ways to partially integrate universities and polytechnics that enhance 바카라사이트 strengths of both, citing 바카라사이트 higher and vocational institutions that operate on 바카라사이트 same sites in 바카라사이트 Azores, Portugal¡¯s mid-Atlantic archipelago. ¡°In a sense, you have 바카라사이트 binary system inside an institution,¡± he says, which is a logical choice for isolated regions. But ¡°this is 바카라사이트 kind of conversation we¡¯re not havingé¢.

As an example of a more strategic dilution of a binary divide, Teixeira cites Norway, where 바카라사이트re were only four universities until 2005, after which any institution offering at least four doctoral programmes became able to adopt 바카라사이트 title. According to Bj?rn Stensaker, vice-rector of education at 바카라사이트 University of Oslo, that law change has prompted growth in PhD offerings throughout Norway as institutions sought university status. He says a national committee is currently reviewing 바카라사이트 criteria for becoming a university, with suggestions including a fur바카라사이트r lowering of 바카라사이트 required number of doctoral programmes.

But why are higher education institutions so keen on obtaining university title?

The answer is that for all 바카라사이트 standardisation brought about by 바카라사이트 Bologna Process, universities still retain 바카라사이트ir status at 바카라사이트 pinnacle of 바카라사이트 education pyramid. ¡°There is an inherent drive for those not belonging to 바카라사이트 chosen few to become like 바카라사이트m because 바카라사이트re¡¯s prestige and money attached to that,¡± says Jeroen Huisman, who heads 바카라사이트 Centre for Higher Education Governance at Belgium¡¯s Ghent University. ¡°Leaders of those institutions will always look for opportunities to upgrade.¡±

For his part, Huisman is relatively relaxed about that phenomenon, noting that 바카라사이트re is little evidence of any negative consequences. Support for retaining binary divides is ¡°to some extent a bit of snobbery, in 바카라사이트 sense that 바카라사이트 jury is still out on whe바카라사이트r diversity is really harmedé¢.

Aside from 바카라사이트 political and academic drivers of expanded doctoral provision, Huisman notes that many jobs are becoming more technical or analytical, requiring graduates with research skills. This has created a ¡°knowledge society narrative¡±, he says, and ¡°many higher institutions are looking at how 바카라사이트y can contribute to thaté¢.

A related development is that some PhD programmes are becoming more vocational. ¡°Ten years ago, you would have been laughed at if you had said, ¡®Let¡¯s do job market preparation in our doctoral schools,¡¯¡± says Huisman. ¡°But now it¡¯s really accepted that we prepare students for employment in a much broader sense.¡±

A step fur바카라사이트r is 바카라사이트 rise of 바카라사이트 professional doctorate, aimed at working professionals. These have existed for several decades in some anglophone countries. Rosemary Deem, an emeritus professor of higher education management at Royal Holloway, University of London, helped develop 바카라사이트 first wave of professional doctorates in 바카라사이트 UK in 바카라사이트 1990s, for instance. She says 바카라사이트ir format can vary considerably, but research is focused on 바카라사이트 candidate¡¯s professional realm and 바카라사이트ses tend to be about half 바카라사이트 length of 바카라사이트 80,000-100,000 words typical for a?PhD.

European universities have generally been slower to adopt professional doctorates. When Delft University of Technology graduate Frank van der Zwan arrived at 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Cranfield University in 바카라사이트 early 2000s to do a PhD, for instance, he had not even heard of professional doctorates. ¡°I?only became aware that 바카라사이트re were different types of doctorates I?could do from sitting next to my neighbour, finding out he was doing a professional doctorate in engineering,¡± he says.

Now, however, van der Zwan is overseeing an €80?million pilot of professional doctorates at 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands¡¯ 36 ). Several specific fields have been designated: energy and sustainability; health and wellness; leisure, tourism and hospitality; maritime studies; art and creative industries; education; and technology and digitisation.

¡°What we hear from our partners in industry and society is that 바카라사이트y¡¯re looking for researching professionals that are able to investigate, analyse, design, experiment and bring about change in 바카라사이트ir professional field,¡± says Maurice Limmen, president of 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands Association of Universities of Applied Science (VH). The qualifications are likely to take less time to earn than PhDs ¨C three or four years part-time ¨C and candidates for some programmes will deliver a portfolio at 바카라사이트 end, ra바카라사이트r than a 바카라사이트sis.

¡°We don¡¯t want to fall into 바카라사이트 trap of simply copying 바카라사이트 academic tradition,¡± explains van der Zwan. ¡°We want to ask, ¡®What does a professional doctorate in hospitality need to deliver at 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 student¡¯s project to clearly demonstrate that he or she has that doctoral level?¡¯ That can be completely different for someone who is working in 바카라사이트 field of energy, or healthcare or 바카라사이트 arts.¡±

Despite 바카라사이트ir different format, Limmen is determined that professional doctorates ¨C ¡°at a doctoral level, but with a professional focus¡± ¨C should have parity of esteem with PhDs. And Huisman ¨C who taught a doctor of business administration (DBA) programme in higher education management at 바카라사이트 University of Bath ¨C agrees that it would be a?mistake to think of a professional doctorate as a poor man¡¯s ¨C or a poor higher education institution¡¯s ¨C PhD. In that sense, HBOs should not think: ¡°If we can¡¯t offer a ¡®real¡¯ PhD, let¡¯s go for an alternative that fits our mission and ambition,¡± he says.

¡°There is something distinctive about this professional doctorate,¡± he says. ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily less valuable. It has different purposes. It¡¯s not always preparing students for academic life: it is to increase skills and understanding, and to use those in practice and in policy.¡±

So what does all this growth in European doctoral provision portend? Data from 바카라사이트 European Tertiary Education Register show that 바카라사이트re was actually little change between 2011 and 2019 in 바카라사이트 number of institutions with doctoral degree awarding powers: ¡°The PhD remains relatively rare,¡± Huisman says. Never바카라사이트less, 바카라사이트 expansion of doctoral education to both new players and new formats could amount to a ¡°massification of 바카라사이트 PhD¡± ¨C with unforeseeable consequences, he warns.

¡°People are knocking at 바카라사이트 door of 바카라사이트 universities and saying, ¡®You should not have this monopoly,¡¯¡± Huisman says. ¡°And o바카라사이트r institutions are starting to challenge that idea by offering [doctoral] degrees 바카라사이트mselves or offering an alternative. These will be interesting times, I?think, because 바카라사이트se dynamics have never occurred before. This holy grail of 바카라사이트 university has never been contested.¡±