Linnéa Carlsson, chairperson of the Swedish National Union of Students' Doctoral Committee, comments on the report:
- It is welcome that UKÄ has mapped and discussed the need for research students for future academia. An important question will be how Sweden can continue to meet the academy's, as well as Sweden's, needs for research graduates in the next 10–15 years. The study "The university's future needs for doctoral graduates" contains several points that are important for how Sweden can continue to profile itself as a nation of knowledge in terms of doctoral education.
- The study shows that the number of doctoral students in the next 10-15 years will decrease, not least as a result of the assumed decrease in the number of foreign PhD students. Today, foreign doctoral students make up around 40% of all doctoral students in Sweden. In addition, interest in postgraduate education is predicted to decline. Something that, in combination, can lead to a shortage of doctoral graduates at our universities and colleges. Agricultural science and veterinary medicine, social science as well as humanities and arts are particularly singled out. Having said that, there are identified challenges regarding how Sweden can profile itself as a knowledge nation in the coming years.
Read the report here.