DocTalent4EU is a two-year HORIZON EUROPE funded project aimed at improving training and career development for PhD candidates.
While the number of researchers in Europe has increased substantially in the last years, this growth was higher for junior research positions than for senior research positions (European Commission, 2021).
Given that junior positions are often associated with more precarious conditions (Hnatkova et al., 2022) and do not necessarily lead to permanent contracts, it is crucial that doctoral programmes develop training curricula and services preparing PhD candidates for careers both within and outside academia.
Building from the results of DocEnhance, a previous Horizon project, DocTalent4EU will enhance transversal skills training and career development of PhD candidates by focusing on four interrelated pillars:
Pillar 1: Boosting skills intelligence and identifying the most demanded transversal skills
Pillar 2: Developing an interdisciplinary curriculum on selected transversal skills
Pillar 3: Implementing a digital credential system to facilitate and boost recognition of skills
earned during the PhD
Pillar 4: Providing career orientation support through the creation of local talent management
services.
To ensure that the activities developed as part of DocTalent4EU will benefit PhD candidates that will pursue careers outside of academia, the consortium will establish tight cooperation with stakeholders from industry, and public and social sectors. The results and outcomes of the project will be summarised in clear guidelines and policy recommendations with the aim of building capacity and informing policies in the domain of doctoral education.
