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Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) has become an important area of activity for universities across Europe, not least due to their key role in advancing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and tackling complex social, economic and environmental challenges. For many universities, their dedication to this strategic priority is also front and centre in how they approach doctoral education, where significant progress has been made in diversifying doctoral candidate bodies and enhancing EDI in all its dimensions.
The 2025 EUA-CDE Thematic Workshop highlighted the central role of equity, diversity, and inclusion in doctoral education. The approach towards this topic varies significantly among European universities, reflecting the diverse national and institutional contexts. In some cases, doctoral schools have direct responsibility for implementing EDI-related activities, while in many institutions the overarching strategy is managed by the university. Given this complexity, the Workshop explored how doctoral education can be instrumental in influencing and contributing to university-wide EDI policies –notwithstanding whether a university has long-established or emerging practices on the topic.
Through keynote speeches, panel discussions and hands-on group-work sessions, the EUA-CDE community not only gained valuable insights into how to develop and implement EDI plans, but also explore ways to embed EDI into their doctoral programmes and curricula and foster a more inclusive culture and community within doctoral education.
Hosted by the University of Minho, in Braga, Portugal, this event created meaningful discussions on the current state of play, showcasing institutional strategies and best practices from EUA-CDE member universities and beyond. It also offered concrete suggestions on the path forward to establish and advance equity, diversity and inclusion at all stages of the doctorate, from the application procedure until graduation. Over two days, participants had the opportunity to share their own experiences, dive deep into emerging trends and key challenges and consider how to turn awareness into actionable policies and initiatives that foster a more inclusive, diverse and equitable academic environment for current and future generations of doctoral candidates.
As EDI is a university-wide topic that impacts everyone and requires a collective effort to drive institutional change, all members of the EUA-CDE community – including academic leaders, doctoral school managers, doctoral education professionals, EDI staff and early-stage researchers - were encouraged to attend the 2025 Thematic Workshop and engage in this important conversation.
Please note that the participation in the event is reserved to EUA-CDE member universities only. For updates, please subscribe to the EUA-CDE newsletter and/or follow us on X: @EUACDE.
Dear colleagues,
It is a great honour for the University of Minho to host on 16 and 17 of January 2025 the 2025 EUA-CDE Thematic Workshop.The University of Minho is located in the ancient cities of Braga and Guimarães, both rich in historical and cultural heritage. Braga is known as one of the oldest cities in Portugal, famous for its religious significance and historical monuments. Guimarães is considered the "cradle of Portugal, with highlights like the Guimarães Castle and the Historic Centre, which is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage.
University of Minho, established in 1873 offers a wide range of undergraduate, masters, and doctoral programs across disciplines such as, education, engineering, law, science, social sciences, humanities, nursery, health, management and psychology. With a commitment to the development of academic excellence, the University of Minho commits its Doctoral College to provide support for the doctoral candidates throughout their journey, encouraging collaboration between different fields of knowledge and strengthening ties with national and international institutions.
This year’s edition of the EUA-CDE Thematic Workshop will focus on a topic of utmost importance—equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in doctoral education across European universities. These are values that we actively foster at the University of Minho, and I am confident that this event will provide a valuable platform for meaningful discussions and collaborations.
Participants will have the opportunity to share experiences, insights, and best practices regarding EDI at their own institutions. Through the sessions, we hope to promote an open exchange of ideas that will inspire new approaches to tackle the challenges that universities face in this critical area.
Over the two days of the workshop, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the strategies and policies that are shaping doctoral education in Europe, while also addressing the key challenges that lie ahead. I strongly believe this event will help deepen our collective commitment to promoting more inclusive and equitable academic environments.
We look forward to welcoming you in Braga and to University of Minho!
Rui Vieira de Castro, Rector
University of Minho (UMinho) is a public foundation governed by private law and it is one of the most prestigious Portuguese higher education institutions.
Founded in 1973, UMinho has three campi, one in the city of Braga (Gualtar) and two in the city of Guimarães (Azurém and Couros).
UMinho is a comprehensive university, with 12 Schools and Institutes that cover the majority scientific fields of knowledge, offering 61 undergraduate programmes and integrated masters, 122 master programmes and 59 PhD programmes, with more than 20,500 students enrolled, including more than 2,300 foreigners.
UMinho is also strongly committed with the development of society through its 320 strategic partnerships (with municipalities, schools or companies) and its direct participation in the governance of 58 associations and foundations in several social, economic and cultural domains.
The University promotes 500 cultural events/year and has its own orchestra.
Internationalisation is another key area of activity. Around 400 UMinho students per year do an exchange abroad and around 600 foreign students choose to come to UMinho. More than 1000 agreements were signed with universities worldwide, comprising 90 different countries (in Europe, USA, Latin America, China and East Asia).
In recent years, UMinho has affirmed its position in the international rankings that evaluate higher education institutions. The Shanghai Ranking, the oldest and one of the most prestigious international rankings, has for 8 consecutive years included UMinho among the 500 best universities in the world for its performance in teaching and research. In the area of sustainability in higher education, the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings have placed UMinho in the national leadership position since 2017 and among the top 100 universities worldwide.
UMinho has also been recognised in the areas of promoting well-being and quality of life. In 2022, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) awarded UMinho "Platinum Certification" in the Healthy Campus Programme for achieving 92 validated criteria out of the 100 criteria established by FISU in the fields of healthy campus management, physical activity and sport, nutrition, disease prevention, mental and social health, risk behaviour, the environment, sustainability and social responsibility.
Braga is the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Portugal, with about 200,000 inhabitants, being the capital of Minho’s region. Braga is one of the most ancient cities in Portugal, where you can still find many roman and medieval archaeological remains. Braga’s markedly young population has led to its nomination as European Capital of Youth by the European Youth Forum in 2012. Braga was given the award of Best European Destination 2021.
www.cm-braga.pt
Official opening
Rui Vieira de Castro, Rector, University of Minho, PortugalPirjo Nikander, EUA-CDE Steering Committee Member; Research Director of the Doctoral School, Tampere University, Finland
Plenary session I Setting the scene – the big picture
Keynote I: Setting the scene - EDI at universitiesColin Scott, Deputy President and Vice-President for Academic Affairs, University College Dublin, Ireland
Keynote II: Presenting the bigger picture of EDI in Europe, beyond the university sectorAnnette Risberg, Guest Professor at Faculty of Culture and Society, Malmö University, Sweden; Professor of Organization and Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway
Short high-level-perspective panel: Introducing EDI at the doctoral level
Rachel Van Krimpen, Director of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and People in the Faculty of Science; Doctoral Training Partnership Manager, University of Nottingham, UK
Sean Bex, Coordinator Doctoral School, Ghent University, Belgium
Plenary session II Deep dive: EDI current practices, new initiatives and challenges at EUA-CDE member institutions
Britta Korkowsky, Coordinator of the Goettingen Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, University of Goettingen, Germany
Eva Cerezo Bagdasari, Deputy Director of the Doctoral School, University of Zaragoza, Spain
