Evaluating industry-based doctoral research programs: perspectives and outcomes of Australian Cooperative Research Centre graduates

Abstract

Researchers of the future will need to be able to work across the increasingly porous boundaries between university, industry, government and community sectors. Concerns have been raised internationally for several decades about the content and approaches adopted in doctoral programs. Innovative doctoral programs that facilitate students' experiences of industry-based research have been introduced around the globe as one approach to addressing these concerns. While some of these new national approaches have been studied, systematic evaluations that track research graduates' actual employment preparation and outcomes remain patchy. This article reports on a comprehensive study of graduate preparation and employment outcomes of an Australian doctoral program that has been designed to produce industry-ready graduates: the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) program. This article argues that CRC doctoral programs appear to provide greater experience of industry and access to professional development, that result in higher numbers of graduates gaining employment in industry and in public sector research organisations.