In the context of aspiration for building up a society based on knowledge, the system for training PhD candidates is of essential importance and must provide the necessary quality of preparation of the “cadres”. One of the main challenges for the European scientific and research area is the optimisation of this system. The same challenge applies, to an even greater extent, to the new member-states, including Bulgaria.

Bulgaria has a long tradition in the training of scientists. With the changes from the end of the 80s amendments in the area of higher education were triggered. In the middle of 90s a process of transformation of university education in Bulgaria was started, aligning it with the directives of the Bologna process. A three stage system of higher education was introduced – bachelor, master and PhD.

Unfortunately, the reformations of higher education are still in progress. One of the problems is that the normative framework is not yet sufficiently updated. The regulation of the training and preparation of PhD candidates in Bulgaria is being carried out according to procedures which are several decades old and is out of step with current trends. At the moment draft regulations are being developed in order to develop a framework to make higher education – and in particular the training of PhD candidates – up-dated and harmonised with EU regulations. Moreover, academic autonomy, allowing further regulation of the training of PhD candidates, makes it even more difficult to interpret the frames of PhD study.

There are three main forms of training for a doctoral degree in Bulgaria – full-time, extra-mural and free. In order to begin to study on a full-time or on an extra-mural doctoral programme, one must take an entrance exam. Application to the third form of training for a doctorate degree is based on a scientific project.

PhD candidates in Bulgaria have the status of students. Full-time doctoral candidates are entitled to a monthly scholarship award and do not have a right of additional full-time job. The other two categories do not receive scholarship and consequently do not have such restrictions. The doctoral candidates pay fee for their study. The duration of study in a full-time and in a free PhD programme is 3 years, while that of the extra-mural programme is 4 years.

The value of the scholarship award for all full-time doctoral candidates was 125 euro until recently. It was related to the minimal salary (two and a half minimal salaries) in Bulgaria. However, the amount was established in 2002 and it has not been changed since then. All full-time doctoral candidates under the age of 26 are also entitled to health insurance but not social insurance. Thus they are forced to seek additional sources of income, guaranteeing them social insurance. Other difficulties for doctoral candidates are the lack of suitable conditions for developing their PhD thesis (working place, IT equipment, necessary materials and apparatus, access to new scientific literature, etc.). This to some extent dissuades them from persevering with their PhD thesis. Evidence for this is the low percentage, of the total, who have successfully defended their PhD thesis. This also contributes to the unattractiveness of the doctoral training.

This year the government of the country passed a package of measures for improvement of the financial status of the doctoral candidates. The monthly scholarship award for full-time doctoral students has been raised to 225 Euro. Special financing is also planned for the purchase or subscription of specialised scientific literature and for better provision of equipment and high technology infrastructure necessary in the process of education. The package also provides for granting of additional funds in the case of a successful defence of the thesis within the allotted timescale for the study.

A new law on the crediting of students and doctoral candidates has been adopted this year and this crediting will receive financial support of the state. A national council for the crediting of students and doctoral candidates will be created to support the minister for education and science in the application of state policy in the field. Representatives of the Ministry of education and science, the Ministry of finance, the Council of rectors, the Bulgarian academy of sciences, the Agrarian academy, the National representation of the students’ councils and of the Association of the banks of Bulgaria will take part in it.

As well as the low proportion of defended theses, the low level of their applicability is another serious trend. An attempt at a solution has been started in 2008 by the Ministry of education and science by the granting of scholarships for young researchers who are working for their doctorates in companies. The purpose of the programme is to build effective academy-industry relations: the company will provide suitable working conditions, and the scientific institution will provide the education. The doctoral candidate must be an employee of the company. The supervision of the student will be carried out jointly by the two organisations. Special financing is planned to cover all the costs for the training of doctoral candidates pursuing this route.

Serious information and communication deficiencies also exert a vast influence on the system of education of doctoral candidates in Bulgaria. There is no centralised registry in the country with publicly available detailed information about the doctoral candidates, their scientific specialty, topic of the dissertation, etc., either at institutional, regional or national level. This hinders the current academic policy of the institutions engaged with the problems of the doctoral community, as well as the creation of long term strategy for it. In this regard there is also the potential problem of duplication of research effort. Moreover, there is a low level of communication and integration between doctoral candidates in Bulgaria in general. They are, to a serious extent, ‘enclosed in the capsules’ of their institutions, faculties and even departments. This decreases the efficiency of their research and makes the exchange of experience between the young scientists more difficult – a problem in the context of the growing importance of the interdisciplinary approach to research.

An attempt to solve these problems, at least in part, is the project of Association of Doctoral Students in Bulgaria (ADSB) called ‘The Integrated Database of Bulgarian Doctoral Students and Academic Newsgroup’ (www.phdgate.net). In developing this, ADSB aimed to build up a complete information database of Bulgarian doctoral students in the country and abroad and to provide this information to interested parties. Among the main means of realisation of this aim are the modern channels of communication and new information technologies.

The site is built around a web database with various items of information about the doctoral students in Bulgaria. It contains data such as information about the institution, faculty, department, scientific field, dissertation topic, scientific adviser, type of doctoral study, enrolment date, scientific interests, etc. An essential element of the network is the publishing of brief information about events or meetings, projects, analytic texts, comments, law initiatives and other materials that directly influence the young scientific community. A system for notification about conferences, seminars, open calls for scholarships, research programmes, etc. according to the individual scientific interest of the user is also available. The virtual network PhDGate has a positive influence on the dynamic of information exchange between young researchers in Bulgaria and their colleagues abroad. Its effective functioning is a prerequisite not only for the individual development of its users, but for the forming of research teams on national and international level which can develop and carry out successful scientific projects.

In summary, the system of education of doctoral candidates in the country faces a number of challenges. However, there are now continuing efforts for its improvement and enhancement both at institutional and at government level. There is also active participation from the non-governmental sector in this process. During the year a number of promising initiatives for improvement of the conditions for preparation of doctoral students were undertaken. The achievement of positive results from them is a matter of time and continuing contributions from the state, scientific institutions, non-governmental sector and the doctoral students themselves. This will improve the quality of research work of the doctoral candidates of the country and will raise the status of Bulgarian science as a part of the European higher research and education area on the road of building a society based on knowledge.