Abstract:

In the recent years, the third cycle has been put high on the agenda of the higher education institutions (HEIs) of European Union (EU), as well as at the Research Area. The experience gained has enabled the mapping of good practices in this field and the drawing up of guidelines. The Salzburg Principles establish that the main objective of a PhD process is the development of research skills. However, they emphasize that there is also space and need for students to develop, through training, a relevant set of transversal skills that allow them to adapt to different professional situations. In this context, the “reforming doctoral education in Armenia in line with needs of academia, industry and current EU practices” (ARMDOCT — EU Erasmus+ program: 609850-EPP-1-2019-1-AM-EPPKA2-CBHE-SP) project emerges. The project has a duration of 36 months having started in 2020. The consortium consists of 15 members: 4 EU HEIs, and 11 from Armenia, including HEIs, Institutes of National Academy of Sciences (SRIs) and the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES).

The overall objective of the project is reforming doctoral education in Armenia in line with the Salzburg Principles with the emphasis on policy, legal framework (including by-laws) and institutional procedures supporting integrative and internationally oriented doctoral studies involving universities, research institutions and industry, and resulting in the establishment of Doctoral Schools. In this paper is described the approach to reforming doctoral education in Armenia through ARMDOCT project and the results achieved so far.

The project specific objectives will be achieved through realization of seven principal Work packages:
1. Capacity building on Policy and Practices of Doctoral Education;
2. Development of Policy and Legal framework for a new Doctoral education;
3. Development of Institutional Regulatory framework;
4. Piloting Doctoral education Policy, Legal and Institutional framework;
5. Project Quality Assurance and Monitoring;
6. Dissemination and exploitation;
7. Project Management.

There are eight major outcomes (tangible results) of the project, including the:
1. Development of National Policy for Development of Doctoral Education in Armenia (NPD);
2. Development of National Framework for Doctoral Studies and Award of National Diploma of Doctor (NFDS);
3.Legal framework (NPD and NFDS) adopted by the Armenian Government;
4. Institutional Handbook for Doctoral Education (online) adopted by institutional authorities;
5. Developed Training packages by EU partners (publicly available in the project's download area);
6. Pilot reports of newly established five Doctoral Schools;
7. Trained staff (53 participants) of HEIs, SRIs and MoES;
8. Network created (memorandum signed between consortium members and beyond for DE development).

The triangle of:
(i) national policy revision and adoption based on the Salzburg Principles and synergies with the EU agenda,
(ii) adaptation of institutional regulatory framework based on that and
(iii) piloting the Doctoral Education in line with the new national and institutional revisions is considered as an innovative “formula” to transform the Doctoral Education in the country.

The novelty of the ARMDOCT project in Armenia is the holistic approach directed to the formation of the third cycle, instead of fragmented revision and reforms.

Keywords:

Armenia, higher education, doctoral studies, education, erasmus plus, internationalization.