Symposium: The Doctoral Space revisited

The doctorate is a centuries-old institution, born in the 12th century in Paris primarily as a qualification to “profess”. It was re-shaped in the early 19th century in Germany as a research degree, the prerequisite for an academic career. Today, the PhD is increasingly regarded as an instrument of innovative career development – far beyond the academic realm. Conscious of the importance of this development, the Royal Flemish Academy of Sciences and Arts of Belgium has initiated the 2016 Thinker’s Programme.“The Doctoral Space revisited”

Flanders’ graduation policy is functioning well: doctoral schools in general provide a number of learning opportunities and Flanders’ innovation capacity, breeding in particular within strategic research centres closely linked to universities, is scoring high. But Flanders and Europe hold a potential “Starters Cloud” - a large number of researchers - still largely under the radar. The key question is: to what extent is Flanders – and by extension Europe – prepared to fully capture the vast pool of potential energy represented by this generation?

On the 7th of November The Academy brought together university stakeholders, young researchers, national and international policymakers to discuss the current challenges together with everyone concerned with the subject.