EUA Council for Doctoral Education (EUA -CDE)

The mission of the EUA Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE), an integral part of EUA, is to contribute to the development, advancement and improvement of doctoral education and research training in Europe (http://www.eua.be/cde/Home.aspx). 
 
EUA-CDE fulfils its mission through the organisation of conferences, training seminars and other events on topics of interest to its members, the commissioning of research and analyses, advocacy, the provision of information and the dissemination of good practice. It also provides policy advice to the Board and Council of EUA on new trends and developments in relation to doctoral programmes and research training in Europe.  
 
“Doctoral education is a major priority for European universities and for EUA. It forms the first phase of young researchers’ careers and is thus central to the drive to create a Europe of knowledge, as more researchers need to be trained than ever before if the ambitious objectives concerning enhanced research capacity, innovation and economic growth are to be met.”
 
                               Professor Georg Winckler - EUA President 2005-2009
 
As a result of the studies carried out by EUA, it has been observed that suggested doctoral programmes are more oriented, multi-guided, more integrated and give more importance to improve multi-skills and more exchange programmes. The 2 crucial factors that affect doctoral studies and research are flexibility and determining the needs and interest areas of the candidates. In doctoral programmes, education and research must be complementary.