WP 4 Board meeting September 14 2026

WP4 Board

ma 14 sep 2026

Samenvatting:

The board reviewed WP4 reporting, doctoral collaboration, networking, events, and advocacy activities.

• Draft report approved for September submission

• Table 7 to be revised as indicative

• PhD networking community proposed through DECIDIM

• Winter school planned for 27–29 November

• Partners must submit reporting files before 28 September

Actiepunten:

* Petru will schedule future WP4 Board meetings for Mondays around 14:00 or 14:30 Dutch time where feasible.

* Petru will continue sending meeting invitations through Teams while the meeting materials and meetings transition into DECIDIM.

* Petru will incorporate relevant summer and winter school material into the final WP4 deliverable.

* Each partner will review and update its own university information in table seven and return the revised table to Dimitris.

* Dimitris will compile the partners’ updates to table seven.

* The relevant DECIDIM colleagues will explore whether the platform can host a voluntary PhD candidate networking space.

* Petru will raise the DECIDIM PhD networking proposal at the next Executive Board meeting.

* Reporting-file recipients will complete and return the Excel files

* Lourdes Guàrdia Ortiz, Pastora, and Alfredo will meet to refine the planning and management of the Spanish co-creation event

* Petru will share relevant details and registration information for the OUNL innovation-in-higher-education event when available

* Meeting partners will review Table 7 and send their university’s PhD educational-programme profiles to Dimitris for incorporation into the report

* Partners will share co-creation event dates, short calls, and registration links with the consortium

* Petru will contact the people responsible for the co-creation events

* Petru will send recurring Monday work-package meeting invitations through Teams at 2:30 Dutch time

* Petru will explore creating a PhD community platform with short participant descriptions

* Petru will confirm with the executive board whether DECIDIM can support the PhD community platform

* Dimitris will revise the title of Table 7 to clarify that it presents indicative fields for potential joint doctoral work rather than a comprehensive catalogue of institutional offerings.

* Meeting participant will update Table 7 for the reporting stage.

Belangrijkste Bespreekpunten:

Meeting Scheduling and Document Management

The participants confirmed attendance and discussed rescheduling recurring WP4 Board meetings to Mondays around 14:00 or 14:30 Dutch time so Sandra could participate. They also discussed transitioning agendas, minutes, and meetings from Teams into DECIDIM while continuing to use Teams during the transition.

WP4 Deliverable Finalization

The board reviewed the draft deliverable prepared by Dimitris and agreed that it should be finalized for submission to the Executive Board by the end of September. The team identified missing current-year information and agreed to supplement the report with material from the summer and winter school documentation.

Doctoral Research-Field Mapping

The board examined table seven, which maps doctoral research specializations across partner institutions. Participants identified missing or potentially inaccurate information, particularly for OUNL and other partners, and agreed that each institution should review its own entries before Dimitris compiles the revisions.

Summer School Outcomes

Petru reported on the three-day summer school in The Hague, attended by 45 participants, and highlighted sustained participation and improved networking. He connected the event’s workshop feedback to the WP4 report and identified concrete follow-up opportunities for strengthening collaboration among PhD candidates.

DECIDIM Networking Platform Proposal

The board discussed creating a voluntary DECIDIM space where PhD candidates could publish short research profiles and contact information. Participants supported the idea as a practical way to address isolation, enable cross-university connections, support mobility and joint research, and align with the joint doctoral agreements work.

Open Access to Completed Theses

Angeles reported positive feedback from two summer school participants and proposed exploring an open space where completed student theses could be collected. The proposal was introduced as an additional possibility, with the language of the theses identified as a limitation.

PhD Community and Networking Platform

Participants discussed openly linking PhD manuscripts and repositories to researcher profiles and creating a cross-consortium community for distance-learning PhD students. The group favored broad multidisciplinary connections, profile information covering topics and methods, and a possible DECIDIM-based platform, pending formal confirmation.

Schools and Summer-School Follow-Up

Petru summarized the remaining summer-school follow-up and noted that the winter school was expected to take place at Hellenic Open University from 27–29 November. The date still required confirmation, while the summer-school report and associated actionable points were being integrated into the final reporting.

Advocacy and Alliance Outreach

The group reviewed advocacy opportunities through Spanish and Portuguese university alliance meetings. OpenEU could be included in workshops or presentations, with Pastora and Diogo identified as relevant representatives for the Spanish and Portuguese activities.

Reporting Requirements

Participants were reminded to complete and return the reporting Excel files. A reporting Q&A session was expected on 28 September, and the objective was to finalize the material by year-end for the midterm review.

Co-Creation Events

The group reviewed the Netherlands event planned for 11 November and the Veliko Tarnovo event scheduled for 12 November. The Netherlands event was expected to take place in person to support prototype development, while the OUNL event was being connected to an innovation-in-higher-education seminar.

Courses, Short Stays, and Joint Doctoral Agreements

The second round of courses was planned for October, with a possible move to two calls per year to align with semester-based provision. Short-stay activity had begun to increase, and a satellite workshop on joint doctoral agreements was planned for the Hague conference.

Consolidated Actions and Working Arrangements

Petru summarized actions concerning Table 7, report submission, co-creation communications, recurring work-package meetings, and the potential transition from Teams to DECIDIM. He also proposed exploring a permanent PhD community platform linked to agreements, events, and other consortium activities.

Table 7 Coverage and Interpretation

The meeting entered its final question round, focusing on concerns about the completeness and interpretation of Table 7. Lourdes and Sandra highlighted doctoral programmes, research units, and interdisciplinary fields that may not fit the current categories.

Revising Table 7 for Joint Doctoral Work

Dimitris explained that Table 7 is an indicative taxonomy based on information received from doctoral schools rather than a complete overview of available programmes. The group supported revising the title and updating the table for reporting, with the understanding that it can expand as multidisciplinary collaboration develops.

Meeting Close

Petru asked whether there were any further issues, and none were raised. He thanked participants and stated that invitations and future agendas would be distributed in due time before the meeting ended.