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With training, doctoral graduates can stand out from the crowd in the jobs marketplace
Better training means doctoral graduates can now stand out from the crowd in the race for jobs Photograph: Str/AFP/Getty Images
Better training means doctoral graduates can now stand out from the crowd in the race for jobs Photograph: Str/AFP/Getty Images

Want to hire creative risk-takers? Doctoral graduates could be the answer

This article is more than 10 years old
Over half of PhD graduates now go into jobs outside academia. David Bogle says huge improvements in the training of doctoral graduates deserve more attention from employers

Not so long ago I heard a recruiter from a major financial institution bemoan the lack of creativity and research skills of graduates, but add in the same breath that they didn't recruit doctoral graduates. Clearly she wasn't aware of the quiet revolution taking place in doctoral education in the UK and, increasingly, across Europe.

The transformation in the world of doctoral training is set out in a new report from the League of European Research Universities (LERU), whose 21 members produce over 12% of Europe's doctoral graduates. Our study, Good practice elements in doctoral training, sets out how universities are training creative, critical, autonomous, intellectual risk-takers in ways that go well beyond preparing them for a life in academia.

It's a good thing too, since the Royal Society reports that over half of doctoral graduates now go into jobs outside academia immediately on graduating. The figure for France is similar and for Germany even higher. Our report shows that non-academic careers fairs and advice for researchers are well developed at, among others, Freiburg, Utrecht, and Pierre & Marie Curie universities as well as at the UK members of LERU: UCL, Imperial, Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh.

Good practice – where are universities getting doctoral training right?

Good practice is wide-ranging: it varies from a four day entrepreneurship module with training and business plan development at KU Leuven university to funding research network events with speakers from academia and industry driven entirely by doctoral candidates at Zurich University. Our report spotlights many more examples from research masterclasses to leadership development and research project management.

Many universities provide a diverse programme which allows their doctoral candidates to attend the events they think will most benefit them, since they must guide their own development as future research professionals. Much guidance will come from their research supervisors but this gives them plenty of additional opportunities.

What more could be done?

While progress is certainly being made, there is more to be done to improve doctoral training further. Employers, universities and governments all have a role to play.

Employers

A few major companies engage closely with universities but many firms still do not, particularly smaller enterprises who could benefit greatly. Many spin-offs from university research do recruit doctoral graduates, but too many companies cling to the old view that such graduates' focus is too narrow and they have too little to offer.

We believe employers should:

Engage with universities in shaping and delivering training, which will also help them appreciate how training of doctoral graduates has changed
Recognise that frontier research is the core business of research intensive universities with a key role in ensuring competitiveness and prosperity

Universities are the key players. We should:

Provide a well-rounded professional development programme that enables doctoral students to put together personalised training
Have systems allowing students to track and assess their own development, with guidance
Promote innovation in research training and sharing of best practice
Engage with employers in training and research so we're clear what they want and they have a better understanding of the academic research world

Government and funders also have a role to play. They should:

Ensure funded programmes demonstrate effectiveness in developing research skills
Support programmes that encourage intellectual risk-taking

Thanks to some far-sighted thinking at our research councils, British universities with large doctoral populations are well ahead on professional development, but our western European competitors are catching up. And of course they're now starting to recruit more heavily from outside Europe as we have done so successfully for so long.

Employers are beginning to appreciate the change. I still hear some say they don't recruit doctoral graduates, but all mine get snapped up quickly! Recently one of my doctoral students went to work at MW Kellogg and another at Pfizer in the USA. I am proud to say that of my 30 doctoral graduates, all but two chose to pursue careers outside academia.

We in the UK want to continue to recruit the brightest and the best from all over the world. They are the engine of much of our research effort and the best are often recruited to our companies to drive innovation forward. We need to watch out and make sure we keep ahead.

David Bogle is professor of chemical engineering, head of the UCL graduate school and chair of the steering group of the League of European research universities (LERU) Doctoral studies community – follow it on Twitter @LERU_Office

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