Foreign students behind surge in popularity of PhD studies in Estonia
A fresh report from the Estonian Research Council (ETAg) shows that both the number of students admitted to doctoral studies and the number of defended dissertations have increased in recent years. Concerns over Estonian-language higher education have not disappeared, however, as the growth has been driven primarily by students from abroad.
Estonia's research landscape has undergone a thorough overhaul in recent years. The main driver behind the doctoral studies reform that took effect in 2022 was growing concern over the next generation of young researchers. The state also wanted to tie research work more closely to the needs of society and the economy. In particular, the aim was to achieve this by improving doctoral students' working conditions. Most doctoral students are now employed by universities as junior research fellows, giving them social guarantees and a stable income while allowing them to focus full-time on research work.
A fresh analysis by the Estonian Research Council (ETAg) shows that the changes did in fact attract more Estonian and international students to doctoral studies. The report identified trends characterizing the current state and near future of doctoral education.
Marko Piirsoo, head of ETAg's strategic analysis department and one of the report's authors, said it is still too early to assess the reform's effectiveness.
"Substantively, the most important goal is to link doctoral studies with the needs of the economy and society. This is a long-term objective and one of the measures created to support it was knowledge-transfer doctoral studies. We hope to see the results of that in the future," he explained.
Despite the upward trend, Piirsoo said it is clear Estonia still lacks young researchers in all fields, meaning Estonians rarely enter doctoral studies.
"The state has taken a major step by giving doctoral students junior research fellow status together with social guarantees. Perhaps the reasons should now be sought within the universities themselves. Why have universities failed to make doctoral studies sufficiently attractive?" Piirsoo asked.
In Piirsoo's view, part of the issue lies in what is taught in doctoral studies.
"We are too fixated on the idea that the end result must be three articles or one thick monograph. We should also ask entrepreneurs what they expect from a newly graduated PhD holder. The state has taken its reform steps; now the next stage is in the hands of universities, to renew the content and delivery of doctoral studies," he added.
In his assessment, it is inevitable that not every narrowly specialized field can be studied in depth in Estonian at the doctoral level.
"If Estonia wants to develop, for example, nuclear technology, do we really need to train a huge number of people entirely on our own from the very beginning? As a small country with limited resources, perhaps we should send talented young people abroad to study and then create conditions for them to return to Estonia and pass on their knowledge. Looking at the number of highly specialized degree programs at our universities, this is a serious question," he said.
Foreign PhD students' advantage
According to Mai Beilmann, president of the Estonian Young Academy of Sciences (ENTA), it is still too early to speak about the reform's long-term effects, though she nevertheless considers the changes necessary.
"It is certainly positive that doctoral students now have social guarantees after the reform: They have a stable income and health insurance. This has made the position of doctoral students more secure from both a social and labor-market perspective," Beilmann explained.
At the same time, she noted that fixed-term employment contracts may not ultimately work in junior research fellows' favor.
"Previously, doctoral students had more opportunities to extend their studies if necessary, whereas now there are fewer because at some point the employment contract and salary simply run out. If obstacles beyond the doctoral student's control arise while completing the dissertation and they are unable to graduate within the standard period of study, the end of the junior research fellow contract can create a difficult administrative problem," Beilmann added.
According to Beilmann, the question also often arises whether doctoral students should focus on teaching or studying. In her view, international doctoral students are in a more favorable position than Estonians because it is easier for them to concentrate on writing their research.
"The report perhaps does not make it quite clear enough that international doctoral students often complete their degrees faster precisely because they carry a lighter administrative and teaching workload. Estonian-speaking doctoral students are more easily assigned university teaching duties, for example supervising and reviewing bachelor's and master's theses," she said.
For example, in 2023 foreign nationals completed their doctoral degrees in an average of 3.8 years, while Estonians took 6.3 years on average.
Finally, Beilmann stressed the importance of universities having a clear plan for how to continue involving doctoral graduates in research work.
"In the end, the number of admissions alone does not determine the next generation of young researchers. Doctoral students need support and their opportunities must be preserved, but career opportunities at universities must also remain attractive enough for them to want to stay in the system after defending their degree," she explained.
According to Marko Piirsoo, the report's findings are nevertheless encouraging overall.
"Generally speaking, the reform has succeeded and the situation of doctoral students in Estonia has improved significantly."
However, it will take time to assess the reforms' longer-term impact, as doctoral students studying under the new system have not yet completed the standard duration of their studies.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski,
