ENLIGHT signed joint PhD agreement to scale European doctoral collaboration

The ENLIGHT European University Alliance has signed a joint PhD framework agreement across all ten partner universities, marking a major step towards more integrated doctoral collaboration in Europe.

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The agreement establishes common principles for joint supervision, examination and defence, enabling double PhD degrees across institutions and disciplines. It addresses a key barrier to European research collaboration: the complexity of setting up joint doctorates. By replacing case‑by‑case cotutelle negotiations with a shared framework, ENLIGHT enables faster and more scalable development of cross-border PhD trajectories.

Vice Rector for Research, Professor Mari Moora, said that everyone who has dealt with joint supervision agreements knows how complex and time-consuming the process is. Sometimes, an agreement is never reached because the universities cannot agree, for example, on how the defence should be organised.
“The framework agreement that has been concluded could significantly simplify and speed up administrative processes for all ENLIGHT participants. In this way, we support joint doctoral researchers of ENLIGHT universities while recognising each university’s own regulations and traditions. We see this as a major step towards better understanding each other’s doctoral programmes and strengthening cooperation among early-career researchers,” said Moora.

The initiative aligns with European policy priorities on the European Research Area and the European Universities Initiative, supporting researcher mobility, stronger research careers and deeper institutional cooperation. The launching of the framework agreement resonates with the current developments towards the establishment of a joint European degree label at bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels, demonstrating how alliances can contribute to the realisation of European policy ambitions with workable, institution‑spanning doctoral pathways.

Coordinated by Ghent University through ENLIGHT’s Doctoral Network, the framework agreement is expected to simplify access to joint supervision, international research environments and mobility opportunities for doctoral candidates. With this agreement, ENLIGHT positions itself as a frontrunner in developing structural approaches to European research and doctoral collaboration.

ENLIGHT is a European University alliance of 10 comprehensive universities, funded by the European Universities Initiative. The alliance brings together Ghent University, the University of the Basque Country, the University of Bern, the University of Bordeaux, Comenius University Bratislava, the University of Galway, the University of Göttingen, the University of Groningen, Uppsala University and the University of Tartu.

ENLIGHT strives to enhance collaboration in education, R&I and service to society, paving the way towards universities of the future. The alliance promotes mobility, joint programmes and interdisciplinary cooperation to address key societal challenges and strengthen the European Higher Education and Research Areas.