The document discusses how the EDEN network can support PhD students and research. It addresses this question by considering: 1) The needs and aspirations of PhD students, such as gaining confidence, refining methodology, and maintaining motivation. 2) How to help students achieve their goals through workshops, supervision support, and defining expectations. 3) Empowering students in their research process by providing discussions with experts, collaboration opportunities, and training in open science methods. 4) Offering a platform for students to share ideas and research findings through the EDEN network's communities, events, and publications. 5) Benefiting the network from student work by identifying research trends, supporting events, and collaborating on communities

2. How can the EDEN network support
PhD students and research?
Moderator:
Wim Van Petegem, KU Leuven, EDEN Senior Fellow
Presenters:
• Antonio Teixeira, Universidade Aberta, EDEN Senior Fellow
• Albert Sangra, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, EDEN Senior Fellow
• Margarita Tereseviciene, Vytautas Magnus University
• Deborah Arnold, AUNEGe, PhD student @ UOC, EDEN Senior Fellow
• Nilza Costa, University of Aveiro

3. How can the EDEN network support
PhD students and research?
Questions:
1. How can we address the needs and aspirations of PhD students?
2. How can we help and support them in achieving their goals?
3. How can we as a community empower them in their research
process?
4. How can we offer them a platform to test new ideas or to share their
findings?
5. How can our network benefit from their work?

4. How can the EDEN network support
PhD students and research?
Questions:
1. How can we address the needs and aspirations of PhD students?
2. How can we help and support them in achieving their goals?
3. How can we as a community empower them in their research
process?
4. How can we offer them a platform to test new ideas or to share their
findings?
5. How can our network benefit from their work?

5. How can we address the needs and
aspirations of PhD students?
• Different types of PhD student = different needs
• PhD in continuity from Masters / in “later life”
• Part-time / full-time PhD
• Residential / distance learning PhD
• Gender
• Socio-economic background
• …

6. Example PhD student needs
“Academic” NEEDS SOLUTIONS
Gaining confidence as a
researcher
Confronting research with wider community of
experienced researchers, e.g. through
conference presentations
Role models, e.g. PhD students further into
the process
Refining theoretical knowledge
and methodology
Feedback from both experienced researchers
and peers
Getting published! Academic writing workshops
Tips and hints about journals
Simulation of review process

7. Example PhD student needs
“Material” NEEDS SOLUTIONS
Earning an income while
studying
Study grants
Part-time work as research assistant
Covering the cost of attending
conferences
Travel grants
Reduced fees
Virtual conferences (but limitations)
Specialist tools (survey
instruments, data analysis
software…)
Supporting the development and
dissemination of robust, open source
solutions
Individual financial support (grants/awards)?

8. Example PhD student needs
“Pastoral” NEEDS SOLUTIONS
Maintaining motivation
Overcoming loneliness
Overcoming “imposter
syndrome”

9. Possible PhD student aspirations
ASPIRATIONS SOLUTIONS
Getting a job in academia Providing opportunities to build professional
network
Informal careers advice (mentors)
Sharing information about job opportunities
Getting published (again!) Co-authorship opportunities
Reviewer opportunities with journals
Getting a research-related job
outside academia
Links with major research agencies, involving
PhD students and ESRs in responses to
research tenders
Changing the world! ;-)

10. How can the EDEN network support
PhD students and research?
Questions:
1. How can we address the needs and aspirations of PhD students?
2. How can we help and support them in achieving their goals?
3. How can we as a community empower them in their research
process?
4. How can we offer them a platform to test new ideas or to share their
findings?
5. How can our network benefit from their work?

11. Q2- How can we help and support PhD
students in achieving theirs goals?
Starting points (… referred internationally)
• PhD education is “taken for granted” (e.g any scientific competent
university teacher can supervise PhD students - Naylor, Chakravarti &
Baik (2018); Skakni (2018))
• Intellectual competences are not enough to a successful PhD
journey
• A “complex interplay of individual, interpersonal, and contextual
factors” (Skakni, 2018: 2) may influence a successful PhD journey

12. Factors which may influence a successful PhD journay
(… also referred internationally)
• Personal/Individual (e.g initial preparation of the PhD student;
his/her commitment during the PhD process)
• Institutional support (e.g. definition/discussion of the expected profile
of a PhD student)
• Supervision support (e.g. commitment to the supervisor process;
support to networking with the research commitment)

13. Examples of ways to support PhD
education/Factors
FACTORS EXs
Personal/Individual PhD enrolments’ requirements
Workshops about “academic writing”
Institutional support Definition and negotiation of (i) what is
expected from a PhD student (“learning
agreement”) and (ii) duties and rights of a
PhD student
Supervision support Workshops about “supervision competences”
Evaluation and monitoring of the supervision
process

14. References
. Naylor, R., Chakravarti, S. & Baik, Ch. (2018). Expectations and
experiences of off-campus PhD students in Australia. Journal of
Further and Higher Education, 42 (4), 524-538.
. Skakni, I. (2018). Doctoral Studies as an initiatory trial: expected and
taken-for granted practices that impede PhD students‘ progress.
Teaching in Higher Education. Available at
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13562517.2018.1449742?journal
Code=cthe20.

15. How can the EDEN network support
PhD students and research?
Questions:
1. How can we address the needs and aspirations of PhD students?
2. How can we help and support them in achieving their goals?
3. How can we as a community empower them in their research
process?
4. How can we offer them a platform to test new ideas or to share their
findings?
5. How can our network benefit from their work?

16. Support in achieving research goals
• EDEN already is platform where research and good practices meet
• multidisciplinary approach
• professionals and experts from over the world
• Pool of summaries of doctoral thesis in the field
• Links to ongoing research
• Maping thematic areas in the field

17. Empowering researchers in their research
process
• discussions with experts;
• discussions with other PhD students;
• core supervisors;
• research innovations through collaboration of different
doctoral schools;
• methodological innovations;
• new competences needed for future research.

18. Open Science characteristics
https://ec.europa.eu/research/openscience/pdf/os_skills_wgreport_final.pdf

19. EDEN as a space to promote Open Science
• Promote awareness of Open Science
• Contribute to training and development of researchers
for Open Science.

20. How can the EDEN network support
PhD students and research?
Questions:
1. How can we address the needs and aspirations of PhD students?
2. How can we help and support them in achieving their goals?
3. How can we as a community empower them in their research
process?
4. How can we offer them a platform to test new ideas or to share their
findings?
5. How can our network benefit from their work?

21. How can the EDEN network support
PhD students and research?
Questions:
1. How can we address the needs and aspirations of PhD students?
2. How can we help and support them in achieving their goals?
3. How can we as a community empower them in their research
process?
4. How can we offer them a platform to test new ideas or to share their
findings?
5. How can our network benefit from their work?

22. How can the EDEN network support
PhD students and research?

23. EDEN Research portfolio
Josep M. Duart
EDEN Vice President for Research

24. Content
• EDEN members’ research
• Research trends
• Communities of Practice

25. EDEN members’ research
• Research events in EDEN
– Ph D Symposium for students and supervisors at RWSHs
– Sessions in Annual conferences on how to develop good research papers
• EDEN as a platform for Doctoral Schools
– Collaboration with EDEN members (Ph D programs), Short courses, Webinars
• EURODL and other research journal sessions
• Global Network
– ICDE Doctoral Global Consortium
– Regional Doctoral Schools

26. Research trends
• Identify the most relevant e-learning research trends
• Internal qualitative research to define research trends
– EDEN Fellows Council
• Support to EDEN events topics definition

27. Communities of Practices
• Collaborate with EDEN existing
Communities of Practice
• Promote new CoP according
with defined research trends
• Open debates and results
dissemination

29. EDEN 10th RWSH Barcelona Statements
http://www.eden-online.org/blog/
1.Personalization and adaptive teaching result
in a productive combination of teachers
supporting students’ particular needs and
reinforcing students’ aptitudes
2.Open education goes beyond the production
and use of OER. It is linked to the distributed and
networked structure of knowledge in the digital
age, as well as to the collaborative, flexible and
sharing nature of social networked
environments as potential learning contexts.
3.Teaching should integrate learners’
differences, interests and needs,
competences and digital technology potential,
shifting towards more participatory pedagogy,
supporting diversity of communication modes and
online communities
4.Formative assessment and feedback
consider that the implementation of
complementary ipsative approaches and the
reinforcement of teacher-learner dialogue through
different channels in networked environments
enhance learning.