Introduction

The idea for a working group emerged from discussions during the PRIDE Network Masterclass on onboarding in doctoral education, held in Dubrovnik in August 2022. Following the masterclass, a motivated group of participants decided to engage in an European-wide working group to delve deeper into the onboarding process, its connection to the successful doctorate, and the most effective ways to implement the process. A kick-off meeting was held in December 2022. The 12 members of the working group are all managers or coordinators of doctoral education within a support unit of their university.

The subsequent process involved extensive information gathering and literature review, taking a look into both academic and private sector practices. In the summer of 2023, a survey was conducted among PRIDE Network members and other higher education institutions across Europe to gather insights into the prevailing practices of onboarding doctoral candidates. It resulted in 55 responses from 20 countries.

The primary goal of the working group has been to put together a handbook “Onboarding doctoral candidates: A practical guide.” that would be inspirational and helpful for professionals in doctoral education. At the core of this handbook are elements of onboarding processes garnered from real cases collected during the working group’s research.