Doctoral graduates’ transition to industry: networks as a mechanism?:Cases from Norway, Sweden and the UK

Increased public investment in PhD education to drive innovation has led to a recent rapid growth in the number of PhD graduates. Academic labour markets have not developed at the same pace. An ever-larger share of the graduates is finding employment in industry. The transition from academia to industry is not always easy. The present study aims to provide insights into the role played by PhDs networks in the job search after graduation. Our data comprise interviews with industry-employed doctoral graduates in STEM disciplines from Sweden, Norway and the UK. Our findings show that PhDs autonomously built personal networks can help match their specific scientific expertise with labour market demands. We distinguish country-specific patterns and characteristics of the transition, in which regional career paths are more (Scandinavia) or less (the UK) noticeable. The study has practical implications, in particular for PhD students and graduates, related to their career orientation.Funding Agencies|European UnionEuropean Union (EU) [722295]</p

Reconnecting the University to the Region of Twente : Findings from the RUNIN-Design Lab Think Tank

The RUNIN project's Design Lab Think Tank took place on 28th June 2018. Its aim was to discuss the topic of universities' engagement with society, specifically in their region. It used a world café format that brought together regional stakeholders to discuss how the University of Twente (UT) can incorporate societal questions in its core activities and, through this, create regional benefits. This report provides a description of the event, a summation of the initiatives proposed and an analysis of the discussion that was prompted by the sub-questions around the subject of universities' societal engagement

Doctoral education in the entrepreneurial university : enhanced employability?

This dissertation explores the issue of employability of doctorate holders through the theoretical lens of the model of the entrepreneurial university. It starts from the observation that there is a bottleneck in the academic labour market in many countries, making it increasingly difficult for recent doctoral graduates to engage in an academic career. Traditionally, doctoral education was designed for a career in academia; but the employment situations of doctorate holders call for more relevance of doctoral education and doctoral-level skills on the non-academic labour market. The main argument of this dissertation is that the openness and the interactions of the entrepreneurial university with its environment, in particular its region, makes it a relevant model to enhance the employability of doctorate holders outside academia. The thesis is based on five publications written either solely by the author or in collaboration with other scholars, mostly case studies compiling both qualitative and quantitative data and approaches. Three main findings can be highlighted from the research: (i) the entrepreneurial university increases its socioeconomic impact by building an alignment with regional stakeholders over the years and thanks to key individuals, by retaining human and social capital within itself and by broadening the scope of its activities and stakeholders; (ii) doctorate holders’ employability is key in the entrepreneurial university’s regional socioeconomic impact, as they are increasingly employed outside academia but are likely to experience job mismatches in this situation, mainly related to education and skills; (iii) regional stakeholders can take different types of initiatives to enhance the employability of doctorate holders, and increase the entrepreneurial university’s socioeconomic impact: more specifically, doctorate holders and non-academic employers can get to know each other better; intermediaries such as Science Parks can support them through the creation of meeting places. The dissertation contributes to the literature on the entrepreneurial university by focusing on the population of doctoral students and doctorate holders, at the crossroads of its three missions (education, research and ‘third mission’). It also suggests the following main recommendations: to universities, beyond adapting the content of doctoral education to the needs of non-academic employers, put emphasis on marketing it to them, so that they understand what it is worth; to doctorate holders, expand their knowledge of career possibilities, and behave entrepreneurially by initiating activities to complement what could be missing in their education; to non-academic employers, collaborate with universities and communicate their needs to them to influence the design of curricula.Avhandlingen undersöker anställningsbarheten för en disputerad person med teoretisk utgångspunkt i en modell av det entreprenöriella universitetet. I de flesta länder är det svårt för nyexaminerade doktorer att komma in på arbetsmarknaden, inte minst för dem som vill fortsätta inom akademin. Traditionellt är en doktorandutbildning utformad för en fortsatt karriär inom akademin, men på grund av de begränsade möjligheterna på arbetsmarknaden krävs doktorandutbildningar med större relevans och som även ger färdigheter inför en icke akademisk karriär. Huvudtesen i denna avhandling är att det entreprenöriella universitetets öppenhet och interaktionen med det omgivande samhället, inte minst med den närliggande regionen, ökar de nydisputerades anställningsbarhet utanför akademin. Avhandling baseras på fem publikationer skrivna antingen av en enskild författare eller i samarbete med kollegor och som grundar sig på såväl kvalitativa som kvantitativa studier. Tre huvudsakliga resultat kan lyftas från forskningen: (i) Det entreprenöriella universitetet ökar sitt socioekonomiska inflytande genom att skapa en plattform för samarbete med regionala aktörer, som utvecklas över åren och där mänskligt och ekonomiskt kapital i sig bidrar till att öka och bredda samarbetet ytterligare. (ii) De disputerades anställningsbarhet är en nyckel till det entreprenöriella universitetets möjlighet till socioekonomisk regional påverkan. Detta beror på att de disputerade i ökande utsträckning anställs utanför akademin och sannolikt upplever att det finns en miss-match i kunskaper och färdigheter. (iii) Regionala aktörer kan ta olika typer av initiativ för att öka anställningsbarheten för nyexaminerade doktorer och därmed också öka det entreprenöriella universitetets socioekonomiska inflytande. Mer specifikt bör doktorander och arbetsgivare utanför akademin lära känna varandra bättre. Intermediärer som närliggande forskningsbyar, Science parks, kan ge stöd genom att inrätta olika typer av mötesplatser. Avhandlingen bidrar till litteraturen inom området entreprenöriella universitet genom att sätta fokus på doktorander och nyblivna doktorer i skärningspunkten mellan utbildning, forskning och den ’tredje uppgiften’. I avhandlingen ges också rekommendationer: Till universiteten: Utöver att anpassa innehållet i doktorandutbildningen till behoven hos arbetsgivare utanför akademin behöver akademin också lägga tonvikt på marknadsföring så att företagare och organisationer i regionen inser värdet av en doktorsexamen. Till nyblivna doktorer: utvidga kunskaperna om vilka karriärmöjligheter som står till buds och agera entreprenöriellt för att komplettera de brister de upplever i sin utbildning. Till arbetsgivare utanför akademin: samarbeta med universiteten och kommunicera vilka behov de har för att påverka läroplaner och inriktningar

Doctoral education and employment in the regions: the case of Catalonia

Even though the doctoral degree was originally designed for an academic career, there is an increasingly important labour market for doctorate holders outside academia, mainly because of a shortage of job opportunities within it. Doctoral degrees are granted only by universities; thus, universities are the only suppliers of the doctoral workforce to the labour market. Understanding the needs of non-academic employers is thus crucial if universities are to adapt their doctoral education curriculum. Many studies have analyzed labour markets for doctorate holders at national and transnational scales, but few studies focus on the regional scale. The present study explores regional data for Catalonia in Spain on the employment situation of doctorate holders in order to define the characteristics of the regional, non-academic labour market for doctorate holders. Descriptive statistics suggest a high retention rate of doctorate holders within the region and a large part of doctorate holders (two-thirds) having a job that does not require a doctoral degree. This study highlights the existence of a skills mismatch that might be linked to the preference for a better paid or more stable job, or to the lack of development of skills that represent added value in the eyes of employers. These characteristics can be formulated as hypotheses to be tested in further qualitative or quantitative studies. They have several implications for universities, non-academic employers and regional policy-makers, such as the need to work on the valorization of the doctoral degree in the non-academic labour market

Doctoral graduates’ transition to industry: networks as a mechanism? Cases from Norway, Sweden and the UK

Increased public investment in PhD education to drive innovation has led to a recent rapid growth in the number of PhD graduates. Academic labour markets have not developed at the same pace. An ever-larger share of the graduates is finding employment in industry. The transition from academia to industry is not always easy. The present study aims to provide insights into the role played by PhDs’ networks in the job search after graduation. Our data comprise interviews with industry-employed doctoral graduates in STEM disciplines from Sweden, Norway and the UK. Our findings show that PhDs’ autonomously built personal networks can help match their specific scientific expertise with labour market demands. We distinguish country-specific patterns and characteristics of the transition, in which regional career paths are more (Scandinavia) or less (the UK) noticeable. The study has practical implications, in particular for PhD students and graduates, related to their career orientation.publishedVersio

Doctoral graduates’ transition to industry: networks as a mechanism? Cases from Norway, Sweden and the UK

Increased public investment in PhD education to drive innovation has led to a recent rapid growth in the number of PhD graduates. Academic labour markets have not developed at the same pace. An ever-larger share of the graduates is finding employment in industry. The transition from academia to industry is not always easy. The present study aims to provide insights into the role played by PhDs’ networks in the job search after graduation. Our data comprise interviews with industry-employed doctoral graduates in STEM disciplines from Sweden, Norway and the UK. Our findings show that PhDs’ autonomously built personal networks can help match their specific scientific expertise with labour market demands. We distinguish country-specific patterns and characteristics of the transition, in which regional career paths are more (Scandinavia) or less (the UK) noticeable. The study has practical implications, in particular for PhD students and graduates, related to their career orientation