Training Technology Leaders of the Future

Training Technology Leaders of the Future

Will be presented on the Sixth Annual Global Summit on Graduate Education, From Brain Drain to Brain Circulation: Graduate Education for Global Career Pathways, from 4 - 6 sept 2012 in Kloster Seeon, Bavaria, Germany.

Gerard van der Steenhoven

Twente Graduate School and Faculty of Science & Technology,

University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

In 2011 the European Physical Society published a report on the status of doctoral phase education in 26 European countries having signed the so-called Bologna agreement. On the basis of questionnaires that were sent out among doctoral candidates and supervisors, a large amount of information was collected. Two conclusions are cited here:

Although limited to physics, the conclusions can – with a certain margin of uncertainty – be extended to other science and engineering disciplines: a large fraction of young people with a recently earned PhD will take up a position in industry and/or move abroad. Hence, our doctoral training programs should provide courses that enable PhD students to better prepare them for a future outside academia. As an aside, it should be noted that such global skills are beneficial for those pursuing a scientific career as well, since many of the competences required for a successful career in industry – such as entrepreneurship, financial and organizational skills – are of growing importance for a modern professor as well who has to acquire research funds, organize projects etc.

The question that needs to be answered is how to prepare our doctoral students in science, engineering and medicine for such a future. (For medical students the issue is somewhat different given their rather homogeneous job perspectives. However, new mixed academic programs are emerging – like the Technical Medicine program at the University of Twente – for which the same arguments apply.) The question can be split in two parts:

At the Twente Graduate School (TGS) in the Netherlands we have developed an educational model to address both issues. Starting PhD students are invited to participate in two short workshops within 3-4 months after entering the program. The first half-day workshop is largely aimed at making the new doctoral students aware of the importance of acquiring skills that go beyond the specialization of their research subject. This step is very important, since most young scientists and engineers are very eager when it concerns their own research project, but have difficulties in focusing on anything that is beyond a PhD defense. Since TGS requires students to spend the equivalent of (about) 15 ECTS on courses and workshops aimed at acquiring broadening skills, it is very important that students are motivated to spend time on these subjects. Apart from the introductory workshop, which is also meant to meet fellow students and get familiar with the TGS system, a few month later a half-week workshop is organized on research management. This subject has been chosen to enable students learning a lot about broadening skills in a setting that is still familiar to them: a scientific research project. In fact, various – mutually different – projects are given to teams consisting of 4 – 8 students originating from various disciplines. The scientific content of each project is made clear at the beginning, while the student teams are asked to develop a plan for all non-scientific aspects of managing a research project. In this way the students are forced to collect information – either from local specialists or through the web – on diverse subjects such as research funding, business plans, science communication, ethics, strategic management and project organization. The teams have two days to prepare their plan, while the end results are presented to a panel of local professors in a competitive form. The same teams are also asked to review one of the projects of the competing teams; in this way a critical attitude is created, which is also of obvious importance for almost any future career – inside our outside academia.

Both workshops are well received by the students, although improvements can still be made. In the first two years of operation we have noted difficulties arising from creating student teams with mixed backgrounds. The background knowledge and attitude of science and engineering students on the one hand, and those from the social sciences and humanities on the other hand, differs considerably. At the university wide graduate school of the University of Twente (TGS), we try to mix the two orientations as the actual societal problems usually require both technical and social skills in order to arrive at realistic solution. Any grand themes such as the development towards a sustainable society and healthy aging, illustrate this point. In the future we intend to improve the research management workshop by selecting different subjects and – possibly – paying more attention to the composition of the student teams.

As a third step in our training program aimed at preparing our doctoral students to pursue a successful global career, we ask them to follow courses on selected broadening subjects such as

Moreover, a number of practical courses are offered on academic skills (writing, presenting etc.) and career development. Together, the entire package of workshops, courses and specific skill training corresponds to an equivalent of 15 ECTS. We also require a similar effort on specialized courses in the subject field of the student, which are usually followed in the framework of an (inter)national research school.

How can the outcomes of this training program be assessed? As the Twente Graduate School was only established slightly more than two years ago, it is too early to provide definite conclusions. However, we have established a set of formal targets (“learning targets”) which the doctoral students need to achieve once they have completed their graduate education. By informing the students about these targets, and verifying afterwards through questionnaires whether or not these targets have been reached, we can verify whether or not the TGS model is effective in preparing our students for a successful career after their PhD. More information on the formal definition of the TGS learning targets, or PhD profile, can be found on the local TGS website.

Acknowledgement. I am grateful to Clemens Pouw and Petra de Weerd-Nederhof who – as directors of the Twente Graduate School – have crucially contributed to its concept.