Letter on employee status PhDs in newspaper NRC

Today a letter written my two other PNN board members and myself on the employment status of PhD candidates has appeared in NRC Handelsblad.

In the Netherlands, PhD candidates are employees of the universities, not students paid by scholarships. This system has clear advantages, especially for the PhD candidate, who is paid a reasonable salary, builds up pension and is entitled to unemployment benefits after the PhD work has ended. However, the fact that PhD candidates are employees also has benefits for the university, because PhDs can be held accountable for the work that they do. In addition, we think that by giving a salary and taking the PhDs seriously as an employer, fewer talents are lost to industry.

In yesterday’s NRC, two professors argued that PhD candidates in the Netherlands should be given student status, and scholarships instead of salaries. They argue this money could then be used to appoint more assistant professors. We vehemently disagree with this notion. PhD candidates in the Netherlands provide valuable output for the universities. First of all, on average they publish 4.25 articles in international peer-reviewed journals. Second, they take on large parts of the teaching loads of universities. Third, more than any other types of research, PhD projects result in start-up companies. In this way, they contribute to knowledge valorization. Anybody contributing to the universities’ business should be considered an employee and renumerated as such.