- We’re all PhD’s, so what’s the difference? -

PhD fellows, this is an exciting period for us… no, it is not because of our exciting research which we are so devoted to, but because the university organisation is changing, and that has direct consequences on us PhD students. Originally, PhD students were considered a “scientist in training” (dutch: “assistent in opleiding” or “AiO” in short) and received salary from the university based on a 4-year contract. Since AiOs had employee status, they received the same benefits as other employees. AiOs were not considered students studying for a PhD title, but they were considered young scientists who worked for the university, and could obtain their doctoral degree with this work (if they did a good job, of course). A few years ago, however, all university employees were rearranged into a new organisational profile, where everyone obtaining a PhD was to be called “promovendus”.

At the same time when PhDs had to be called promovendi, the salary for PhDs/promovendi was raised. This was supposed to make post-graduates want to become a promovendus rather than an employee of a company with the aim of the Dutch government to generate a higher educated society. Unfortunately, this plan turned out too ambitious. The numbers of promovendi for the financial position of the universities, who saw their number of promotions drop. Dutch universities receive money for every promotion, but not for the amount of people actually performing research. As such, a higher success rate in combination with lower expenses for the promotion track is financially attractive for Dutch universities.

At the end of the nineties, there had been experiments with bursaries, PhD students that get a grant instead of wage. Then, there is no need for paying different employer expenses, and because the grant is no income from work you can theoretically get exemption from income tax, lowering expenses even further. In short, bursaries are a lot cheaper than traditional AiOs, or promovendi as they are called now, and as such they seemed attractive for several universities. But because a bursary still performs research for a doctorate degree, he or she falls, as a student, into the ‘employee group’ of promovendi.

However, a problem exists here. In these bursary experiments, (groups of) bursaries suing the universities to get equal pay all resulted in the bursary system not being judged compliant with Dutch law; they do the same work, in the same environment, and hence you cannot pay differently. Also Dutch politics do not seem radiant about creating a bursary system: it is considered good for the national knowledge level to stick to the old and more expensive system, as it is supposed to be more attractive to start a PhD when you are actually employed by the university.

Despite these considerations, our university decided years ago to create bursary positions, but to reserve them for foreigners. Dutch people became promovendus and (most) foreigners bursary when obtaining a PhD here, even though foreigners can become promovendus as well. It is just that bursaries are cheaper for the university. Abroad, the Dutch system is not really known, while the grant here is often better than in other countries. For this reason it was estimated that foreign people would not present any problems in a bursary system. Dutch people, used to an employee contract and the ‘secondary conditions of employment’ (set of extras which involves among others a holiday bonus, protection of the position by law and arrangements in specified ‘given situations’) associated, would present more difficulties.

Last year another organisational change, the Graduate School, was initiated as a successor for the ‘onderzoeksscholen’. These ‘onderzoeksscholen’ (research schools), were anticipated to have beneficial effects on among others the tutoring, with an increase in promotion percentage (more money!) as a result. However, the organisational change did not live up to these expectations, and a new concept was conceived. The Graduate School, a new organizational form initiated last year was established in order to increase the amount of foreign PhD’s, to increase the amount of students altogether, reach a more professional tutoring system and more intricate links between research and tuition. The occasion was used to put the bursaries in a better defined organisational setting. Until now there were no separate organs for bursaries; they were students, but fell into the group of promovendi (though not employed by the university), and did not even exist by Dutch law! The latter hasn’t changed, but with the introduction of the Graduate School the board also attempts to create new organisational entities to include bursaries in the common system.

Furthermore, it turned out that cheaper foreign bursaries were more attractive to research groups, resulting in diminishing chances for Dutch people on a PhD position. This was not acceptable of course, but rather than abolishing the whole bursary system (which is the point of view of our minister of education), it was estimated that the time was right to progress further, and start with appointing Dutch bursaries, a repetition of the experiment from the nineties. To avoid the previous outcome, bursary contracts being forced into employee contracts after law suits, a new framework was developed by the Law department. With bursaries still a non-existing group by Dutch law, the question is if this framework will hold in coming law suits.

Last November the board got the new position, that of Dutch bursary or ‘promotiestudent’ through the University Council, despite heavy protests. It was allowed now for faculties to hire Dutch bursaries if their Faculty Council would agree, using a common contract valid for all faculties. These Dutch bursaries, cheaper then Dutch promovendi-employees but more expensive than foreign bursaries, also were falling into the same group of promovendi. So now we had three types of PhD’s in the group of promovendi: promovendi that work on an (expensive) employee-contract (the old aio’s), cheaper foreign bursaries, and Dutch bursaries that go by the name of promotie-student. Even though some faculties immediately said no to this latter form of PhD, others (e.g. FWN) went along, and had the first Dutch ‘promotiestudent’ in place within a few weeks.

So this is the situation at this moment; 3 groups of PhD’s, (Dutch or Foreign bursary, and promovendus) with different price tags, all with the same work environment and demands on output in the new organisational entity of the Graduate School. All are doing research for their doctorate degree, although a difference exists in payment, mode of paying (wage or grant), secondary conditions of employment and the (theoretical) amount of freedom they have in their work. Of course the latter is far more dependent on the atmosphere of the group rather than the actual legal position of a certain PhD, so the factual difference is small, validating the question if this is fair. Not surprisingly, unions have been asking questions lately, and a new round of trials from bursaries (Dutch or foreign) is being initiated by Abvakabo in cooperation with PNN to put these questions to the test, again (for information on this see elsewhere in this issue).