SOCIETAL DIMENSION OF DOCTORAL EDUCATION IN THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA: PRIORITIES AND TRENDS

Abstract

The article identifies trends in the societal dimension of doctoral training as a cycle of higher education in the EHEA. The use of the appropriate research methods allowed to characterise the essence of the societal dimension of higher education in the Bologna reform documents; to identify the specificity of the societal dimension of doctoral training within the framework of the Salzburg process, which outlines priorities for reforming doctoral training at the EHEA; to find out current trends in the development of the societal dimension of doctoral training in the EHEA and the ERA. It is shown that the most significant are the following trends in the development of the studied phenomenon: taking into account in the process of development and realisation of PhD programs the needs for productive employment of young scientists; intensification of cooperation of the University with a wide range of stakeholders in the formation of professional and transversal competences and personal qualities of PhD students; development of open educational and scientific spaces (inter-university, national, international), including educational, scientific and social resources, which not only give young scientists new opportunities to implement their own scientific projects, but also require qualified and competent participation in the further development of the content of such space; structural and cultural changes in approaches to the organisation of doctoral training (introduction of structured doctoral programs and collective guidance); transformation of the University into a friendly to PhD-students ecosystem, which implies their full participation in all spheres of the university life: educational, scientific, innovative, and social.