Doctoral Degree – An Opportunity for the Economy or the Academy? The Case of Slovenia

Valentina Jost and Nada Trunk Sirca
Additional contact information
Valentina Jost: International School for Social and Business Studies, Slovenia
Nada Trunk Sirca: International School for Social and Business Studies, Slovenia, and Faculty of Management Koper, University of Primorska, Slovenia

from International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia

Abstract: Today, higher education institutions are recognised as the key agent in creating knowledge society and knowledge-based economy. The key task to achieve this objective is to prepare doctoral students for careers in various sectors of society, especially in the economy. In the past few years, the role of doctoral studies has changed significantly. If they were traditionally treated as an entrance ticket for academic career, nowadays we recognise the importance of doctors of philosophy in various spheres of society. Our paper deals with doctoral students in terms of their employability, i.e. whether they have an opportunity to work in the economy or higher education. In accordance with this perspective, we provide statistics on the enrolment in and completion of doctoral studies, which indicate the need for a thorough market analysis and the modernisation of doctoral study programmes so that they will prepare future doctors of philosophy for careers in various sectors, especially in the economy. On the one hand, we have witnessed a significant increase in the enrolment in doctoral studies, and on the other, an increase in the number of unemployed doctors of philosophy. Once elite, doctors of philosophy today face an increasing competition, which is why individuals should in making their decision whether to enrol in doctoral studies or not take into account their own interests and the needs and demands of the labour market.

Keywords: higher education; knowledge society; doctors of philosophy (PhD); employability; labour market (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations Track citations by RSS feed

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.issbs.si/press/ISBN/978-961-92486-3-8/papers/ML11-65.pdf full text (application/pdf)
http://www.issbs.si/press/ISBN/978-961-92486-3-8/MakeLearn2011.pdf Conference Programme (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:isv:mklp11:581-588

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Knowledge as Business Opportunity: Proceedings of the Management, Knowledge and Learning International Conference 2011 from International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia
Series data maintained by Goran Dakovic ().