ERASMUS Mundus Program Guide - EACEA - Europa

5 ACTION 1 B: ERASMUS MUNDUS JOINT DOCTORATE
PROGRAMMES (EMJD)
5.1 INTRODUCTION
In many European countries and in other areas of the world, doctoral training is currently going through an
intensive cycle of reflection and reforms whose pace and nature vary in accordance with the country, the
type of HEI or the fields of study concerned.
Although there is no European consensus for a single “Doctoral programme model”, or for any kind of
“European Joint Doctorate”, some clear trends may be identified. These aim, on the one hand, to clarify and,
to a certain extent, formalise the nature of doctoral training (on issues such as objectives, access, status of
doctoral candidates, duration, recognition, links with research and/or the economic sector, etc.) and, on the
other hand, to pool resources and close the gaps between fields of study, academia and society (through, for
instance, the creation of doctoral/ graduate/research schools or “co-tutelle” arrangements, joint ventures and
spin-offs between HEIs, research organisations and enterprises.)
In this respect, the EMMC model, with its high level of integration combined with the wide diversity of
approaches, appears to be an ideal basis on which participating HEIs will be able to experiment and build
new models for future European Joint Doctorates.
While the European Commission already has long-standing experience of awarding financial support to
young researchers, including doctoral candidates, through the Marie Curie fellowship scheme and in
particular the Initial Training Networks, EMJDs have to be seen as complementary to these funding schemes
in terms of the focus they bring to the doctoral programmes themselves and their institutional dimension, as
well as the contribution they make to the shaping of doctoral studies in the European Higher Education Area.
As a result, the primary aim of EMJDs is to develop structured and integrated cooperation in higher
education, in order to design and implement common doctoral programmes that lead to the award of
mutually recognised joint, double or multiple doctorate degrees.
Therefore, beyond the research activities themselves and the individuals involved, the institutions have to be
seen as the key target of the Programme. They are expected to contribute to the promotion of innovative
models for the modernisation of doctoral studies, focusing on institutional cooperation and the development
of joint governance models (i.e. recruitment, supervision, assessment, awarding of degrees and fee policy).
In this context, EMJDs should:
contribute to the advancement of knowledge, including in its professional context, through original
and independent research;
address new challenges in scientific but also in socio-economic terms;
contribute to reinforcing the links between universities/research organisations and other sectors
(including industry, commerce and the service sector) in order to strengthen the transmission and
exploitation of knowledge and to enhance the innovation process;
become a reference at European level and thus contribute to improving the overall quality of doctoral
education and research in Europe.
From the point of view of doctoral candidates, the EMJDs should explicitly address the issue of
employability and therefore:
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