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Welcome

Welcome to the Web site of the series of International Conferences on Forces and Forms of Changes in Doctoral Education Internationally. The conferences focus on how to best prepare the next generation of leaders to confront a complex set of social, political, technical, and health issues within a global setting. There are numerous themes associated with globalization and the reform of doctoral education, such as the ways in which technology enables a new level of international research and policy networks, the renewed interest in and commitment to understanding the changing labor market for highly educated professionals, and the production of PhD recipients as they represent the leading labor force for knowledge-based economies. Taken together these issues create a powerful motivation to share information about how to educate these new leaders.

To facilitate the understanding of the "Forces and Forms" that shape doctoral education worldwide and interpret the emerging trends, the Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education at the University of Washington invites influential players in the international arena of doctoral education to our series of conferences, which are held biennially. Key issues visited include the need for a highly-educated labor force for the 21st century, the characteristics of this labor force, the impact of technology on research and education, the content and the pedagogy of doctoral education, the transition from doctoral education or postdoctoral appointment to stable employment, the changing demographics of the doctoral student body (i.e., gender, socio-economic class, race, and ethnicity) and the financing of graduate education, including the privatization of education throughout the world. We identify differences and commonalities among nations and share innovations and best practices currently shaping doctoral programs.

We hope these conferences will have the following impacts:

• Move a broad coalition of scholars, policy makers, funders, and administrators toward a better grasp of the issues of graduate education across nations and further international collaboration
• Encourage information sharing among participants about innovations and best practices currently shaping doctoral programs, and establish an international network and knowledge exchange
• Work toward establishing greater inclusiveness within the realm of doctoral education of underrepresented groups
• Examine ways in which issues can be addressed in policy to foster the education and training of leadership for a knowledge-based society in a global economy

We look forward to our future collaborations.

Maresi Nerad, Director of CIRGE
Mimi Heggelund, International Coordinator
Myan Baker, Conference Facilitator