The government has put together a team of nine experts to think about what the PhD program should be like in the future and how it can help the country. This sounds like an idea but it is happening at a time when there are a lot of questions about the PhD program.
In the twenty years the number of people getting a PhD in Norway has more than doubled. For a time this was seen as a good thing. It meant research and more talented people.. Now things are changing.
The number of people getting a PhD has started to go down. This is partly because universities have money to fund PhD programs. When universities have money they often cut back on temporary positions like PhD programs. This is not a problem for universities it is a problem for young researchers who want to get a PhD.
There are fewer PhD positions available which means there are fewer chances for young researchers to even try to get a PhD. Norway wants to be a country that values knowledge but on university campuses people are worried. Some young researchers are worried that it will be harder to get a PhD and that this will make it harder for Norway to compete with countries for research talent.
A new team of experts led by Professor Silje Haus-Reve is going to look at the PhD program and figure out how to make it better. They will think about how good the program’s how relevant it is and what the job market needs. They will report back in 2027 which’s a long time from now.
Some people are already talking about the PhD program. How it should be changed. Some critics say that the team of experts is too focused on how the PhD program can help the economy. They are worried that the PhD program will only be seen as a way to train people for jobs.
Other people like Professor Yngve Troye Nordkvelle think that Norway should think bigger. He thinks that Norway should have PhD programs that are like the ones in the UK and Australia where students work with companies and government agencies to do research that is relevant to real life.
Some people disagree about what the problem’s. Some researchers say that most people who get a PhD in Norway are able to find jobs even if they are not in academia. They say that the idea that Norway has many PhDs may not be true.
Something is changing. If universities have money some fields like medicine and technology may get more funding while smaller fields may get less. This will change what kind of research is done and what kind of questions are asked.
Norways review of the PhD program is supposed to be about looking to the future.. It is also a way to think about what research is for and who it should help. The answers to these questions will shape not the PhD program but what Norwegian universities are like for years to come. Norway PhD program is very important. The PhD program should be changed to help the whole country. The PhD program should be relevant to the job market. It should help people get jobs. The PhD program should also be about more than getting a job it should be, about doing research that helps people.
