CAISOR Archive of Academic Memoranda, AM-1992-001

Satsa på bred forskarutbildning i forskarskolor

by Erik Sandewall

Office memo, Department of Computer and Information Science, Linköping University, 1992.
[Bibtex reference].

Full text: [scan]

This article has no abstract.

The title of this memo reads "Start a program for broad research education in graduate schools". It argues that the traditional organization of Ph.D. study in Sweden is insufficient, namely, the organization where the student works entirely within the "subject" ("ämne") that is defined by one single professor. It proposes the creation of graduate schools where the student acquires research level competence in the areas of interest of several professors, as is standard practice in particular in U.S. universities.

This memo was written when I was a member of the TFR, Teknikvetenskapliga forskningsrådet (Engineering Science Research Council), and it was presented to the council in its work on planning for new initiatives. The TFR adopted the proposal and included its main ideas in its subsequent budget request to the Swedish Government. The results were marginal as far as the TFR was concerned since it never started any graduate school program, but soon thereafter the concept of graduate schools was adopted by the then newly-formed Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF). Graduate schools became its major funding structure during the first period of its operation, and I like to believe that this was inspired partly by the TFR initiative.