Additional recruitment to the Doctoral School of Social Sciences  beyond the limit of places

Project description:    

Why is it that after many years of trying to mobilise Polish academics to publish in top international journals, 1/3 of all publications by Polish authors in the Web of Science database in 2022 were articles published by one publisher with a dubious reputation? Why were the last two decades of calls for Polish universities to catch up with the West accompanied by their successive and dramatic fall in all global university rankings?

To answer these questions, it is not enough to focus on factors such as insufficient funding, differences in mindset or excessive bureaucracy. It is necessary to go back to the source. Since the very start of capitalist transformation, all modernisation efforts in Polish science and higher education have been aimed at aligning the system with the Western model. However, the system was and continues to be very different, and this calls for a serious theoretical analysis and explanation.

The goal of this project is to elucidate the specifics that determined the origin and development of the peculiar form of capitalism in Polish science and higher education between 1990 and 2021. Our aim is to develop a new theory to systematically capture its dynamics in terms of peripheral academic capitalism, i.e., a system whose conditions and patterns of production differ, in essence and structure, from those of the centre. A complementary objective is to study the role of international organisations (such as the OECD and the World Bank) in the development of this phenomenon, the role and scale of resistance from students and academics, and the influence of large commercial academic publishers on policy-making in the sector.

The project will collect extensive data on the capitalist reality of Polish science and higher education and how it works, which will furnish the basis for a new theory of peripheral academic capitalism. We will present the main actors and narratives responsible for the shape that academic capitalism has taken in Poland. We will look into the public policies that aimed to transform the sector into a robust system of academic capitalism, determine who was responsible for the discourses developed within it, and how these were shaped by international organizations such as the OECD or the World Bank. We will analyse the resistance with which these changes were met among students and academics and the role of private capital, concentrated mainly in the sector of large commercial academic publishers, in shaping its current form. Last, but not least, we will analyse to what extent and why the form of academic capitalism that emerged in Poland differs from the one present in the countries that are at the centre of the capitalist world-system. The project will allow us to step beyond the unproductive dichotomy of modern debates on sector transformation, which often pits liberal modernisers, who want to copy ready-made solutions from central countries, against conservatives, who oppose the subordination of “Polish science” to Western models.

Dr Krystian Szadkowski

Kierownik - dodatkowe informacje

He earned his PhD at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (UAM), while working at the Education International research institute in Brussels within the framework of the Marie Curie-Skłodowska network. He was postdoctoral visiting researcher at the Centre for Global Higher Education, both at University College London and University of Oxford. His work is focused on developing new theoretical languages and methods for the study of science and higher education. He is a member of the AMU’s Scholarly Communication Research Group.

Selection Committee:    

Recruitment:

    Schedule of  the Doctoral  School enrolment procedure: 

Recruitment fee

The recruitment fee is 75 EUR.

Form of the selection procedure

One stage procedure.

Language of the selection procedure, including interviews:

Polish or English language. 

Required documents:

 1.        Candidates who have obtained the necessary education outside the territory of the Republic of Poland, shall additionally submit:

1)    a photocopy of a document which confirms their education, certified to be a true copy of the original document, i.e. a diploma with a supplement confirming completion of first cycle studies (Bachelor degree) and a diploma with a supplement confirming completion of second cycle studies (Master degree, MSc, MA) in the original language and in a certified translation into English or into Polish,

            2)    a photocopy of their passport. 

 Evaluation criteria

 1)    the grade awarded for the diploma of the second cycle studies or single cycle five year master’s studies - maximum 10 points; in the case of candidates who seek admission on the basis of superior academic achievements ("Pearls of Science") - 10 points;

 2)    evaluation of the candidate's scientific activity and scientific achievements; the candidate indicates for evaluation up to three documented scientific achievements, in accordance with the achievement criteria adopted by the selection committee for a given discipline - maximum 15 points;

 3)    evaluation of the candidate's other documented activity, based on a maximum of three achievements consistent with the achievement criteria adopted by the selection committee for a given discipline - maximum 5 points

 4)    the result of the interview, with the scope of the interview including:

 a)    the candidate's knowledge and competencies relevant to the planned research and appropriate to the indicated scientific discipline,

 b)    elements of research methodology appropriate for the discipline indicated.

 No more than 50 points can be awarded for the interview; the maximum duration of the interview is 30 minutes.

 5)    evaluation of the research project prepared and submitted for assessment to the selection committee (maximum 20 points), with particular emphasis on:

 a)    the ability to formulate the research objective and present the research problem;

 b)    research idea and the ability to propose a solution;

 c)    methodology appropriate to the discipline indicated;

          d)    knowledge of the state of research with a basic bibliography. 

Condition of admission to the Doctoral School 

Education Program

Education at the doctoral school lasts 8 semesters. Education at the Doctoral School  is offered on the basis of a framework curriculum and an individual research plan and ends with the submission of a doctoral dissertation.

The framework curriculum at the doctoral school includes a catalogue of modules of compulsory classes, elective compulsory classes and optional classes. It also:

1)    defines their schedule

2)    defines the way in which the classes are taught

3)    defines how learning outcomes are verified.

Education begins on 1st October, 2024.

Supervisors

A doctoral student works under the supervision of a supervisor or supervisors, or a supervisor and auxiliary supervisor, who will be appointed by the Deputy Rector at the request of a doctoral student (within 3 months of the start of his or her studies at the Doctoral School).

Scholarships

Each doctoral student receives a scholarship in the amount of PLN 3466.9  gross for the first two years of studies (before the mid-term evaluation) and PLN 5340.9 gross  for two years following mid-term evaluation (maximum 4 years). Disability allowance: PLN 1040 gross.

The amount should be reduced by 11,26% due to ZUS (social insurance) contributions.