REFORMING THE EUROPEAN DOCTORAL EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE CONTEXT OF FORMATION OF GENERIC COMPETENCES
Authors:   Classic Private University, Derstuganova Natalia 
Published: February 2025

The article analyses the EU regulatory and recommendatory documents which manage the process
of reforming the doctoral education system in the context of formation of generic (universal) competences.
The problem of improving the higher education system, in particular training of higher qualification
personnel with a high-level complex of generic competences that are of great demand in the labour mar-
ket not only currently but in the future as well, is relevant for Ukraine. The reform of the national system
for training applicants of the third (educational and scientific) level is carried out in accordance with Euro-
pean principles and approaches. Therefore, it is timely to research the experience of reforming the doctor-
al education system in the EU, in particular, to analyse the EU regulatory and recommendation documents
which govern the process of reforming the doctoral education system in the context of developing gener-
ic competences.
Purpose. The purpose of the article is to identify the vectors of doctoral education development
by analyzing the EU regulatory and recommendation documents which govern the process of reform-
ing the doctoral education system in the context of formation of generic competences.
Methods. To achieve this purpose, a set of methods was used including analysis, synthesis, compari-
son, systematization and generalization of theoretical material.
It is established that the process of reforming the higher education systems of the European Union
which has been going on in the last decades is aimed primarily at reforming its most responsible link – doc-
toral education as a leading flagship of development of not only higher education, but also society as a
whole.
Establishment of productive relations between higher education systems of the European countries
and relevant research institutions, taking into account sustainable educational traditions and centuries-old
pedagogical experience of the EU countries, with respect for the linguistic, cultural and religious diversity,
became a solid foundation on which the new Europe of Knowledge was built.
Persistent work by all involved partners of this large-scale process of improving the higher education
system such as universities, research institutions, students, representatives of government and business cir-
cles, and other stakeholders was focused on achieving a new level of quality and transparency of higher ed-
ucation in the EU, including doctoral education.
Conclusion. The analysis of the regulatory and recommendation documents governing the process of
reforming doctoral education in Europe showed that the leading purpose of reforming the doctoral educa-
tion in the EU was the training of new generation scientists who, after completing their studies at the third
level of higher education, have a certain level of the formed competences, in particular a high level of devel-
opment of universal (generic) competences.
It has been revealed that over the last decades, attention has been significantly increased to the pro-
cess of developing universal competences in the applicants for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy during
doctoral training.
Nowadays, improving the process of forming the current complex of universal competences of Doctor
of Philosophy degree students during doctoral training is considered as an important component of a ho-
listic process of reforming doctoral education in the EU and has a direct impact on the training of scientists
of the new formation who are capable of successful self-realisation in both academic and non-academic re-
alities, and ready for the practical implementation of new progressive ideas that extend the boundaries of
existing knowledge.