Grant university lecturers the right to hold Ph.D

Recent investments in Dutch higher education lead to an increase in PhD students. I mean, it’s time to do it Just a PhD candidate Tilburg Young Academy argues. Not only professors, university lecturers and associate professors should also be eligible for Ph.D.

In recent decades, the enormous influx of new students at Dutch universities has led to an unhealthy workload for almost all academic staff, who are forced to carry out their research work in the evenings and weekends due to a significant increase in the teaching load. With the recently announced new Investments Dutch higher education will finally try to remedy this situation, as it will make it possible to recruit a significant number of new academic staff at university lecturer level. And there’s more: with individual starter grants of 300,000 euros, these new fellows can start their new academic phase.

Regardless of whether these starter grants were initially A good idea This will undoubtedly lead to an increase in the number of PhD positions available at Dutch universities. Ph.D appeal For universities, because they have time to do labor-intensive research, each promotion brings a serious financial bonus to the university. Under the new starter scheme, university lecturers will have the option of employing a PhD student, and universities are unlikely to strongly encourage them because of all the benefits they bring.

Every PhD student needs a supervisor, and in the current system usually an experienced professor – because he is a professor – has the right to encourage PhD students: Just a PhD candidate. Therefore, new assistant professors will feel the urge to formally involve a professor in their program. This highly hierarchical system has proven problematic for at least four reasons, and the new scheme for start-up subsidies will unfortunately make matters worse.

Four reasons to open the ius promovendi

First, professors already have too much work on their plate. We know of no professor who has succeeded in fulfilling his duties within the hours associated with his/her appointment. So it’s often the “junior” colleagues who get the lion’s share of the (day-to-day) supervision. An increase in the average number of PhD students supervised per professor does not improve this situation – au contraire!

Second, basing the right to supervise PhD students solely on one’s rank in the academic hierarchy is questionable. Being a professor is not the same as being an expert and supportive motivator. In the current system, many professors supervise projects in subjects in which they are not experts because there are relatively few supervisors compared to the relatively large number of PhD students. And it is well known that the supervisor has a huge influence on the success of the PhD pathway. Ideally, PhD students choose their supervisor from among a large number of candidates. In this way, they will be able to find the best scientific and personal fit, thus making the radical Social security issues is reduced by the current system.

A third gender gap – in 2022! – Mind blowing among professors: only about A leg All professors at Tilburg University are women. In this generally transitional environment, the current system encourages university lecturers and senior lecturers to engage a professorship in their program if they receive external funding to attract one or more PhD students. Especially if professors Just a PhD candidate A male-dominated organization can maintain a male-dominated system where junior and female colleagues do more supervision, but the revenue ends up elsewhere. PhD students form a diverse and diverse group and are able to work with a diverse and diverse group of experienced role models.

Fourth, compared to sister universities known for producing high-quality research, Tilburg’s situation is excellent. Restrictions around Just a PhD candidate Rare in America, Germany, France and United Kingdom. Other Dutch universities such as UvA and VU University Lecturers and Senior Lecturers Just a PhD candidate And we have never seen them fall in international university rankings. The current situation places a significant group of Tilburg University’s scientific staff at a disadvantage compared to their (inter)national counterparts.

Step in the right direction

The solution to these problems is clear: provide it Just a PhD student Standard for associate professors and, after a portfolio test, for associate professors. Associate professors and many assistant professors have years of experience and are generally no less capable than professors of supervising their PhD students to the best of their ability. We find it impossible for them to outsource supervision work to a nail salon, provide fabricated data to their PhD students, recruit as many students as possible to make money, or participate in non-diploma-provided safety nets.

In the current period of recognition and appreciation, the merits of being a promoter should go to the person or persons to whom they are entitled, in the context of the intellectual, ancillary and moral support provided during the PhD process. Opening it Just a PhD candidate Principal supervisor of the PhD student In fact A necessary, appropriate and timely first step in that right direction and addressing the four pressing issues outlined above.

Translated by Riet Bettonviel, Language Centre

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