PNN Monitor: International Scholarship PhD Candidates

This report presents the first detailed study examining the working and living conditions of international scholarship PhD candidates (ISPCs) in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has several PhD trajectories, which differ from one another in terms of funding and the candidate’s employment status at the relevant institution. Approximately 3800 international PhD candidates receive a scholarship instead of a salary. While these candidates do similar work to employed PhD candidates, their financial compensation and employment benefits are considerably different. Public data on the working condition... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Kastelein, Anneke
de Blecourt, Charlotte
Zhu, Junfeng
Weedage, Lotte
Martínez Ibarra, Marcela
Stadel, Marie
Sluiskes, Marije
Vrooman, Roël
Woltman, Yvette
Dokumenttyp: report
Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
Verlag/Hrsg.: Zenodo
Schlagwörter: Dutch academia / PhD candidates / Scholarship PhDs / International PhDs
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29466314
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8375234

This report presents the first detailed study examining the working and living conditions of international scholarship PhD candidates (ISPCs) in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has several PhD trajectories, which differ from one another in terms of funding and the candidate’s employment status at the relevant institution. Approximately 3800 international PhD candidates receive a scholarship instead of a salary. While these candidates do similar work to employed PhD candidates, their financial compensation and employment benefits are considerably different. Public data on the working conditions, experiences, and problems of international scholarship PhD candidates is scarce. To better understand the challenges and needs of this group, Promovendi Netwerk Nederland (PNN) conducted a survey between 20 March and 15 May 2023. PNN obtained data from 250 international scholarship PhD candidates in the Netherlands, approximately 7% of the total population of ISPCs. The working conditions and experiences of ISPCs and their supervisors have been on the radar of The Young Academy [De Jonge Akademie] for many years as well. This report also presents the results of a survey that The Young Academy conducted between June and October 2018 focusing on the same group of PhD candidates and their supervisors. The main findings of the PNN survey show an urgent need for fundamental restructuring to ensure fair employment conditions guaranteeing fair living and working conditions for all ISPCs in the Netherlands. Given the precarious situation of these candidates, however, PNN also makes several short-term recommendations for immediate action based on the findings presented in this report.