Jan Petter Myklebust and Eric Beerkens25 May 2013 Issue No:273
The number of doctoral candidates in the 13 Dutch universities jumped by
almost 60% in the decade to 2010 and is now close to 4,000 students
each year. An OECD country report on tertiary education in The
Netherlands in 2008 said the proportion of foreign students at doctorate
level was then 20%, with some 640 PhDs conferred.
Through the ongoing internationalisation of graduate education in The Netherlands, a broad variety of different PhD trajectories have emerged.
The PhD candidate as an employee of the university is the traditional model and is still widespread, especially in the hard sciences and life sciences.
Increasingly, however, foreign PhD candidates come to The Netherlands to pursue the degree while being funded by their own governments. Chinese government-sponsored students and DIKTI students – lecturers funded by the Indonesian Directorate General of Higher Education – are important examples.
The PhD premium
The output-based financing in the Dutch system – through a so-called ‘PhD premium’ where universities receive around €90,000 (US$116,000) for each graduate – is an important factor contributing to the growth.
Data collected by the Dutch Association of Universities indicates that 50% of PhD candidates at the three technical universities are foreign, with 60% from Europe, 25% from Asia and Oceania, and 10% from North America. The percentage of international employed PhD candidates for all universities was 45% in 2010, up from 35% in 2006.
The first five years after 2000 saw the third highest growth rate of international students in the world in The Netherlands, after South Africa and New Zealand.
According to a Nuffic report, in 2011-12, 69,450 international students were in the country, up 45% since 2007-08. But this large number included exchange students, while those enrolled in degree courses amounted to 56,131 in 2011-12.
Spain and France had more than 2,000 students at Dutch higher education institutions, while Italy, Bulgaria, the US, the UK, Poland, Indonesia, Greece, Turkey and Romania each had more than 1,000.
Not enough Dutch PhD students
But The Netherlands authorities are worried that doctoral training – especially in the fields of natural sciences, life sciences and engineering – is not attracting enough Dutch students, with many talented youths deterred from studying for a doctorate because only 30% of PhD holders are estimated to find work in academic institutions.
Furthermore, in many organisations outside the world of academia, a doctoral degree is not rewarded or is rewarded only to a limited extent.
The fact that PhD graduates are increasingly employed outside academe has been acknowledged by many Dutch universities and is reflected by the increased attention to transferable skills in many graduate schools.
The PhD Candidates Network of The Netherlands even set up a ‘professional PhD programme’ that provides students with the opportunity to work for several months outside their universities.
The Dutch authorities have tried repeatedly to address the imbalance between more doctorate holders leaving The Netherlands than those who graduated from local universities or migrated to The Netherlands with a degree taken elsewhere.
The Journal of Doctoral Studies published a report based on a survey that mapped the employment status of doctorate students at the time of graduation and looked at what factors influenced their initial labour market position.
The survey of 1,113 PhD candidates at four Dutch universities revealed that 86% of the respondents were in employment at the time of graduation, while 12% were working with a foreign university or university-affiliated organisation abroad.
Asked if they would seek work abroad, 11% reported they would go to another country, 14% were undecided and 75% said they hoped to find work in The Netherlands. Of internationally recruited PhD candidates who had come to The Netherlands to pursue their doctoral degree, 37% indicated they wanted to remain, 20% were undecided and 43% planned to leave.
The Social and Economic Council of The Netherlands, a powerful advisor to the government, published a report in January addressed to the Minister of Education and titled Making it in The Netherlands: Advisory report on retaining international students in The Netherlands.
The report calculates that if 19% of foreign students taking a degree in The Netherlands were to stay, this would generate €740 million a year in net return on investment.
It notes that, at present, only 7% of foreign students are studying science or technology – whereas in other countries the proportion is up to 52% – and calls for new strategies to recruit foreign students and retain them in programmes that will help alleviate labour market shortages.
Tax incentives
In an effort to boost the number of skilled workers and doctorate holders, the government introduced a 30% tax reduction scheme last year that also applies to postdocs. The extra incentives were intended to attract foreign specialists with specific skills or expertise that were scarce or not available in the local marketplace.
The most significant benefit is that the full Dutch taxable salary is reduced to a 70% salary, so that 30% of the agreed wage is exempt from payroll and personal income tax.
The Tax and Customs Administration offers a maximum effective tax rate of 36.4% so foreigners can cover their extra-territorial expenses, and these may include the costs of water, gas and electricity etc if prices in The Netherlands are higher than in the country of origin.
PhD and masters graduates who are hired within a year of completing their studies also benefit from a relaxation of the rules.
Conclusion
The high quality of Dutch researchers is demonstrated by the number of European Research Council grants awarded to young scientists at Dutch host institutions, second in the EU-27 grant round after France. A relatively small proportion of Dutch grant holders selected a host institution in another country, indicating untapped potential for recruitment of international talent.
Dutch PhD candidates were traditionally employed by the university where they earned their doctorate, but now universities want more flexibility by having the opportunity to offer scholarships instead of salaries.
But there is a lot of opposition from the PhD candidates, who fear a worsening of their working conditions. Universities, however, believe a more flexible system would increase the opportunities to recruit new PhD students, especially from abroad.
Professor Jo Ritzen, a former education minister in three Dutch governments and president of Maastricht University from 2003-11, says: “The Netherlands’ prosperity, its economy and Dutch higher education will all benefit enormously if talented foreign students can be persuaded to study in the country and remain after graduation.
“I am tremendously pleased with the dramatic increase in foreign PhDs. This is a great contribution to our future welfare because they bring talent and make academia blossom in international openness.
“Many play a substantial role after completion of their PhD either within The Netherlands or in other countries as partners in academic or economic activities which spur the development in The Netherlands”.
* Eric Beerkens works at Leiden University on internationalisation policies and strategies.
Through the ongoing internationalisation of graduate education in The Netherlands, a broad variety of different PhD trajectories have emerged.
The PhD candidate as an employee of the university is the traditional model and is still widespread, especially in the hard sciences and life sciences.
Increasingly, however, foreign PhD candidates come to The Netherlands to pursue the degree while being funded by their own governments. Chinese government-sponsored students and DIKTI students – lecturers funded by the Indonesian Directorate General of Higher Education – are important examples.
The PhD premium
The output-based financing in the Dutch system – through a so-called ‘PhD premium’ where universities receive around €90,000 (US$116,000) for each graduate – is an important factor contributing to the growth.
Data collected by the Dutch Association of Universities indicates that 50% of PhD candidates at the three technical universities are foreign, with 60% from Europe, 25% from Asia and Oceania, and 10% from North America. The percentage of international employed PhD candidates for all universities was 45% in 2010, up from 35% in 2006.
The first five years after 2000 saw the third highest growth rate of international students in the world in The Netherlands, after South Africa and New Zealand.
According to a Nuffic report, in 2011-12, 69,450 international students were in the country, up 45% since 2007-08. But this large number included exchange students, while those enrolled in degree courses amounted to 56,131 in 2011-12.
Spain and France had more than 2,000 students at Dutch higher education institutions, while Italy, Bulgaria, the US, the UK, Poland, Indonesia, Greece, Turkey and Romania each had more than 1,000.
Not enough Dutch PhD students
But The Netherlands authorities are worried that doctoral training – especially in the fields of natural sciences, life sciences and engineering – is not attracting enough Dutch students, with many talented youths deterred from studying for a doctorate because only 30% of PhD holders are estimated to find work in academic institutions.
Furthermore, in many organisations outside the world of academia, a doctoral degree is not rewarded or is rewarded only to a limited extent.
The fact that PhD graduates are increasingly employed outside academe has been acknowledged by many Dutch universities and is reflected by the increased attention to transferable skills in many graduate schools.
The PhD Candidates Network of The Netherlands even set up a ‘professional PhD programme’ that provides students with the opportunity to work for several months outside their universities.
The Dutch authorities have tried repeatedly to address the imbalance between more doctorate holders leaving The Netherlands than those who graduated from local universities or migrated to The Netherlands with a degree taken elsewhere.
The Journal of Doctoral Studies published a report based on a survey that mapped the employment status of doctorate students at the time of graduation and looked at what factors influenced their initial labour market position.
The survey of 1,113 PhD candidates at four Dutch universities revealed that 86% of the respondents were in employment at the time of graduation, while 12% were working with a foreign university or university-affiliated organisation abroad.
Asked if they would seek work abroad, 11% reported they would go to another country, 14% were undecided and 75% said they hoped to find work in The Netherlands. Of internationally recruited PhD candidates who had come to The Netherlands to pursue their doctoral degree, 37% indicated they wanted to remain, 20% were undecided and 43% planned to leave.
The Social and Economic Council of The Netherlands, a powerful advisor to the government, published a report in January addressed to the Minister of Education and titled Making it in The Netherlands: Advisory report on retaining international students in The Netherlands.
The report calculates that if 19% of foreign students taking a degree in The Netherlands were to stay, this would generate €740 million a year in net return on investment.
It notes that, at present, only 7% of foreign students are studying science or technology – whereas in other countries the proportion is up to 52% – and calls for new strategies to recruit foreign students and retain them in programmes that will help alleviate labour market shortages.
Tax incentives
In an effort to boost the number of skilled workers and doctorate holders, the government introduced a 30% tax reduction scheme last year that also applies to postdocs. The extra incentives were intended to attract foreign specialists with specific skills or expertise that were scarce or not available in the local marketplace.
The most significant benefit is that the full Dutch taxable salary is reduced to a 70% salary, so that 30% of the agreed wage is exempt from payroll and personal income tax.
The Tax and Customs Administration offers a maximum effective tax rate of 36.4% so foreigners can cover their extra-territorial expenses, and these may include the costs of water, gas and electricity etc if prices in The Netherlands are higher than in the country of origin.
PhD and masters graduates who are hired within a year of completing their studies also benefit from a relaxation of the rules.
Conclusion
The high quality of Dutch researchers is demonstrated by the number of European Research Council grants awarded to young scientists at Dutch host institutions, second in the EU-27 grant round after France. A relatively small proportion of Dutch grant holders selected a host institution in another country, indicating untapped potential for recruitment of international talent.
Dutch PhD candidates were traditionally employed by the university where they earned their doctorate, but now universities want more flexibility by having the opportunity to offer scholarships instead of salaries.
But there is a lot of opposition from the PhD candidates, who fear a worsening of their working conditions. Universities, however, believe a more flexible system would increase the opportunities to recruit new PhD students, especially from abroad.
Professor Jo Ritzen, a former education minister in three Dutch governments and president of Maastricht University from 2003-11, says: “The Netherlands’ prosperity, its economy and Dutch higher education will all benefit enormously if talented foreign students can be persuaded to study in the country and remain after graduation.
“I am tremendously pleased with the dramatic increase in foreign PhDs. This is a great contribution to our future welfare because they bring talent and make academia blossom in international openness.
“Many play a substantial role after completion of their PhD either within The Netherlands or in other countries as partners in academic or economic activities which spur the development in The Netherlands”.
* Eric Beerkens works at Leiden University on internationalisation policies and strategies.
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