P-NUT wants to use the survey to collect the perspectives of PhD candidates, 'to ensure that their views are represented in the ongoing discussions' on both topics, says Anannya Devi on behalf of the PhD network.
After all, both the right to confer doctorates and the exit qualifications are 'relevant to PhD candidates and are currently being re-examined by stakeholders within the UT', says Devi.
Limited promotion rights
An email from Rector Tom Veldkamp on behalf of the Doctorate Board confirms that the UT is considering adjusting the criteria for the right to confer a doctorate. This topic has been the subject of discussion within the UT for some time. Until 2017, the right to confer a doctorate and formally be a supervisor of a PhD candidate – the so-called ius promovendi – was reserved for professors. A change in the law made it possible for assistant professors and associate professors to also be allowed to grant a doctorate. At the time, the UT opted for a limited extension of the ius promovendi, with some additional requirements.
That limited right was a sore point for the Young Academy Twente last year. The University Council also wanted an extension of the right to confer doctorates, but the rector did not just change his mind. The policy change he hinted at last December seems to be coming. P-NUT therefore wants to gauge the opinions of PhD candidates, 'about their level of satisfaction with the supervision they receive, and what qualities they seek in a good promotor and a good supervisor’.
Submitted letter
The PhD network is also conducting a survey among their members about the exit qualification targets for a PhD. PhD candidate Max Rang addressed this topic last spring in a letter submitted to utoday.nl. Rang could not obtain a doctorate for principal reasons, he wrote, because of a wall of 'administrative nonsense'. This letter was followed by a petition, which was signed by several UT professors.
P-NUT does not specifically mention that case, but does say that the current attainment targets for PhD ‘do not completely capture the necessary skills and competencies required for success in today’s academic landscape’. The survey should therefore help to collect feedback from PhD candidates about the skills they expect to acquire during their PhD trajectory and on which exit qualifications they expect to be judged.
Incidentally, Max Rang is allowed to obtain his PhD in December – with one supervisor instead of two. After a conversation with rector Tom Veldkamp and TGS dean Ariana Need, he was granted an exception to the rule in the PhD regulations, he says.
