Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EPOC (Economic Policy in Complex Environments)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2021-03-01 al 2023-02-28
EPOC aims to strengthen the higher education system in Europe and at the same time will boost research on economics policy in complex environments. Furthermore, EPOC generates the largest network of European universities pursuing a joint structured doctoral program in Economics with a common research and training agenda delivering joint respectively double degrees.
Each of the 15 Early Stage Researchers has already generated substantial research results and presented them at the EPOC jamboree in September 2022. In addition, 11 research presentations at international conferences and research seminars have been given in the 16 months between September 2021, when they entered the EPOC programme, and February 2023.
With respect to the training program, all planned Research Training Schools have been completed as scheduled involving a large number of accomplished scientists both form within EPOC and outside EPOC as instructors. In addition, all ESRs have completed additional training attending local doctoral courses or summer schools during their first year of training. All ESRs have progressed substantially in their own research agenda and either have already completed their non-academic secondments or the start dates of their secondments have been fixed and agreed upon with the non-academic partners.
The ability to deliver a double degree from two EPOC universities is an important aspect of EPOC. Joint Supervisory Agreements (JSA), which determine the details of the joint supervision and degree procedure, have been succesfully generated for all 15 ESRs in the EPOC program.
All these insights have wider social implications. Apart from usual academic channels they have been disseminated through a policy maker meeting, social media and interaction with the non-academic partners in EPOC, in particular also during extensive secondments of the doctoral fellows at these partners. A project video explaining the societal challenges addressed by EPOC and the need for developing suitable tools to deal with these challenges has been produced and put online, as well as short videos for the individual research projects of all EPOC Early Stage Researchers. These activities will be intensified as more research results are generated by EPOC members. An additional policy maker meeting and the international EPOC conference at the end of the project will be important events in this respect.
With respect to internationalization of doctoral education in Europe the establishment of double degree arrangements at the different universities involved in EPOC has contributed to the strengthening of institutional structures fostering joint supervision and graduation of doctoral students.